Tsoureki -Greek Easter Bread
Tsoureki is a sweet bread, that we look forward to making every Easter to add to our Easter table. It takes a little effort and time to make Tsoureki but it is so worth it.
Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread)
: Explore with taste
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients
- 4 packages of active dry yeast or 4 Tbsp.
- 1 1cups of warm almond milk
- 1-1/4 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1-1/2 cups fresh organic butter
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp. Anise
- 2 tsp. Mahlepi (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. Orange zest
- 10 cups of flour (about 5 lbs.)
- 10 eggs, (save one for egg wash)
- Red Easter eggs (optional)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in warm milk and set aside to rise.
- Melt the butter.
- Place orange juice, melted butter, 9 eggs and the sugar in the blender and blend.
- In a large bowl transfer the butter- egg and sugar mix, the dissolved yeast, and stir well. Add the anise, the mahlepi and the orange zest.
- Slowly add the flour, mixing continuously, until desired consistency of smooth and not sticky dough is achieved.
- Do not worry so much about how much flour you add, just make sure the dough is nice and smooth)
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or use a dough hook.
- Place dough into a large lightly greased bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. Let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours. The dough should double in size.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 pieces. Roll each piece to form 1 inch thick rope, about 10 inches long. Use two ropes and twist to form a braid. Pinch the ends together and loop to make a circle or wreath. Secure the end. You can also just make straight braids.
- Place kneaded ready breads onto greased baking sheets, and set aside for 1 hour to rise again.
- Before you put the breads in the oven, prepare the egg –cinnamon wash by adding one egg with 1 tsp. of cinnamon and whisk lightly.
- Brush each bread with the egg wash. Make an indentation in the middle or at the end depending on the shape of the bread and add a colored egg it.
- Preheat oven to 325 F and bake at 325 F for about 40-50 minutes and bake until golden.
Notes
If you wonder what is mahlepi, it is a Greek spice with a distinctive, fruity taste. The finely ground mahlepi powder is made from the inner kernels of fruit pits of a native Persian cherry tree. The sweet smell of mahlepi always suggests the aroma of freshly-baked tsoureki, the traditional sweet bread baked for Greek Easter.
Mahlepi is also used in holiday cakes and cookies.
Mahlepi is also used in holiday cakes and cookies.
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