Tsoureki – Greek Easter Bread

It’s coming up to Easter, and Greek Easter too, which for me means baking this amazing-smelling, super tasty, light and delicious bread.

The recipe is loosely based on a couple I found elsewhere many moons ago, but I have amended the ingredients slightly to improve that orangey spicy smell and deliver a softer and slightly sweeter crumb.

Below is a short TikToK I made of how to make this yummy bread showing a bit of the kneading, how I prove the dough, and the all-important plating. I recommend plating from the middle as this will help if you wish to make into a ring. If kept as a straight loaf it lets you can tidy the ends neatly by tucking under.

Happy Baking !

@vincehomemade

Making Tsoureki – traditional Greek Easter Bread A practice bake for Greek Easter. I will be posting the recipe and videos to my website, and would welcome comments there too. #linkinbio #tsoureki #Easter #GreekEaster #bread #breadmaking #baker #homebaker #special #specialbread #vincehomemade #cookingwithstyle #cookingwithtaste #desirabledelicacies

♬ original sound – Vince Home made

Ingredients

• 35 g unsalted butter at room temperature (4.7 oz.)
• 135 g milk at room temperature(4.7 oz.)
• 200 g sugar 7 oz.
• 4 medium eggs at room temperature
• 870 g bread flour 30 oz.
• 21 g dry yeast 0.7 oz.
• 100 g lukewarm water 3.5 0z.
• 1 large Orange – zest and juice
• 3 g ground mastic 0.11 oz.
• 4 g ground mahlepi 0.14 oz.

Glaze

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp water

Method

1. Combine the lukewarm water, a pinch of sugar and yeast and stir. Set
   aside for about 6-7 minutes, until the yeast rises and starts bubbling
2. Use a pestle or a blender to ground the masticha and mahlepi, along
   with a pinch of sugar and set aside.
   These aromatic spices will give Greek Easter bread its distinctive taste
   and amazing smell. But be careful not to add any more mastic than
   this tsoureki recipe calls for, as it will leave a slightly bitter taste to
   your Greek Easter bread.
3. In a saucepan add the butter, sugar and milk. Place over very low heat
   and stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolved. The key is to
   melt the butter at very low heat, so that the temperature doesn’t ‘kill’
   the yeast. Remove the pan from the stove and check the temperature.
   The mixture should be at the same temperature as your finger. If it is
   warmer, leave to cool down for a few minutes and check again.
4. Pour the butter mixture in a large bowl and whisk in the eggs. Add
   the yeast mixture and whisk to combine.
5. Add the flour, the ground mastic and mahlepi, orange zest and the
   butter-egg-yeast mixture from step 4 all into the mixer. Using the
   dough hook, mix at first at low speed, until the ingredients start to
   combine and then mix at medium-high speed for about 15 minutes,
   until the dough doesn’t stick on the sides of the bowl. At this point
   the dough should be really soft and a little sticky. (Be careful not to
   add any more flour than this tsoureki recipe calls for, as the dough
   should be really soft and not firm).
6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in a warm environment,
   until at least it doubles in size (for about 2-3 hours).
7. Gently deflate the tsoureki dough with your hands and cut in 6 equal
   portions (three for each Greek Easter bread). Take one piece of the
   dough (do not flour the working surface!) and roll it a little bit with
   your hands. Hold with your hands from the edges and shake to
   stretch the dough into a rope. This technique will help the Greek
   Easter bread (tsoureki) form the characteristic stringy texture, as seen
   in the picture. Form the Greek Easter bread into a braid and transfer
   on a large baking tray layered with parchment paper. Repeat the
   same procedure with the second tsoureki. Let the Greek Easter bread
   rise for about 1 more hour at room temperature, until it almost
   doubles in size.
8. For the glaze, combine the egg and 1 tbsp water and whisk with a
   fork. Brush the top of each Greek Easter bread with the egg, being careful not to deflate it,
9. Bake in preheated oven at 160C for about 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned and fluffy.
10. Let the Greek Easter bread cool down and wrap well with plastic wrap, so that it doesn’t become hard and dry. Store for up to 5-7 days at room temperature.

Notes

This is a nut free version of the traditional recipe, as we are a nut free home. The classic version has flaked almonds sprinkled on top of the glaze just before putting in the oven.

There are also some very yummy chocolate versions out there which look amazing, and I have seen dried fruit versions too.