Tsoureki (Greek Easter Sweet Bread)

evelyn/athens's Note:

This is a traditional Easter bread served in Greece to break the Lenten fast. It is traditionally braided, with a red-dyed*, hard-boiled egg inserted at one end, and then baked. Beautiful to look at - delicious to eat. Like many yeast breads, these loaves require two risings, so take that into consideration when timing to make them. I like to eat it most at breakfast, with a piece of graviera (a Greek cheese resembling Swiss) and a huge glass of ice-cold milk. A bite of tsoureki; a nibble of cheese; a swallow of cold milk - heaven!!!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 25 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 2 loaves

• 2 cups milk
• 2 (¼ ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
• 8 -9 cups bread flour
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 1 cup almonds , very finely chopped (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 orange, zest of , grated
• 2 teaspoons finely ground anise seed or 1 tablespoon mahlepi
• 1 teaspoon ground masticha (optional)
• ¼ cup butter , melted
• 5 eggs , very well beaten

Glaze

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 -3 tablespoons milk
• ½ cup slivered almond

Directions:

1. Warm two cups of milk and place in a large bowl. Add the yeast, one cup of the flour, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Cover and proof for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine seven cups of flour, the ground almonds, salt, remaining sugar, orange rind, aniseed or mahlepi and masticha (if using). Make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, melted butter and eggs. Work from the center outwards, bringing flour into the well, stirring the mixture until a dough begins to form.
3. Dust a worksurface with a little of the remaining flour and knead, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to your hands, about 12 minutes.
4. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and set aside in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about two hours. Punch down dough.
5. Divide into six small balls and roll each into strips 12-15 inches long, and abut 2 inches in diameter. Lay three strips side by side, pinching together at one end, and braid. Pinch together at the other end to hold the loaf intact.
6. Optional: At this point you can press two red-dyed eggs between the strips of the braid or just leave the braided loaf plain.
7. Repeat the procedure to make the second loaf.
8. Place the breads on a parchment-lined baking sheet, covered, and let rise for two hours, or until doubled in bulk. While the braids are rising, preheat oven to 360F (180°C), placing rack on lower shelf of oven.
9. Beat together the egg yolk and remaining milk. Brush over tsoureki loaves and sprinkle with slivered almonds.
10. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. I check my breads after about 15 minutes as they do tend to colour quickly and drape them with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove and cool on racks.
11. *The special red dye used by Greeks to dye Easter eggs, as well as the spices Mahlepi (Mahleb) and Masticha can be found at all good ethnic grocery stores and in the Penzeys Catalague.

Reviews

[bostonfoodlover]

Thank you so very much for this recipe!! My tsoureki turned out a delicious masterpiece! I had made many previous attempts to master this somewhat difficult Easter bread, most times a disaster, other times not so bad, but this recipe is by far a miracle!! It will be the only one I will be using from now on! Thanksssssss sssooo much, my greek family will be very happy :) as am I :)

[Julie the Greek]

Thank you! My Greek husband loves Tsoureki. His YaYa and aunt made it for him all the time when he was little. Today, I made this recipe and he loved it! You made me a tsoureki making star with these easy to follow instructions.

[artemea]

I had been looking for a good and authentic Tsoureki recipe for a long, long time -- and I am happy to say "this is IT!!!" Absolutely love the delicate flavor of the anise...and the wonderful texture. I made this on Easter, braided with a Greek "red egg" on one end...and got oodles and oodles of compliments! So many in fact, that as I write this, I am making my FOURTH batch since Easter! Right now I am waiting for the yeast to proof. A couple thoughts: I agree that the oven temp. should be at 360 and even with that -- you MUST watch the bread as it has a tendency to brown very quickly and can get "overdone" if you are not careful. I used anise seed but did not have mastiche or mahlep, so substituted vanilla extract -- which worked out just fine. Also, since I live in a high altitude, I recommend using either King Arthur's or Hungarian High Altitude flour for those of you in high places. Also, I used large oranges, and even when I halved the recipe, to make just one loaf, I still used the zest of one entire orange -- and it came out great! When I did make just one loaf, I upped the eggs to 3 (the recipe was for 5 for two loaves...and how would you get half an egg??) and 2% lowfat milk. In my experience, do NOT use evaporated milk -- it totally changes the taste and texture! Also, I used kosher or sea salt. When I made one loaf, I upped the anise to 1.5 teaspoons, as 1 teaspoon did not seem enough the first time I tried making just one loaf. Overall, an excellent recipe. I will look for MORE from this cook. Evelyn, Epharisto para puli!