Tsoureki

This week's recipe comes from my Yiayia, which means "grandma" in Greek. She is an amazing cook, and makes the best Greek food I've ever tasted. Greek Easter is in two weeks, so she has been busy preparing all kinds of goodies for friends, neighbors, and family.

She let me help her make "Tsoureki," a traditional Greek Easter Bread. It is an egg bread, and is decorated with traditional red Greek Easter eggs. Even though Greek Easter is still two weeks away, everyone who knows my yiayia starts requesting it in advance, so we had to get busy!

Ingredients:
12 cups of flour
3 tablespoons of active dry yeast
1 cup of melted butter
1 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar
6 eggs
1/2 tablespoon of mahlab (or crushed aniseed, or vanilla extract) + 2 cups of water
2-3 pieces of mastic, crushed with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar (or grated peel of 1 orange)
1 cup of lukewarm milk
3/4 teaspoon of sea salt
egg wash - 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
sesame seeds or blanched sliced almonds (optional)
hard boiled dyed red eggs (optional)
Preparation:
Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk. Add a few spoonfuls of flour to make a paste. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise.

In a bowl, combine 10 cups of the flour and salt, and add melted butter. Boil mahlab (mahlepi) in 2 cups of water, strain, and add the liquid to the flour. (Alternatively, add 1 teaspoon of mahlepi or other flavoring + 2 cups of liquid - 1 cup each of orange juice, milk or water.)

Add the eggs, mastic, sugar, and the risen yeast mixture. On a floured surface or in a mixer, knead the mixture well, adding in remaining flour until it becomes a malleable dough, about 15-20 minutes (or 10 minutes with a mixer). Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (1 1/2 - 2 hours).

Punch down the dough and create shapes:

Braids: Form 12 or 15 ropes, each about 15 inches long. Braid sets of 3 ropes to form loaves, tucking ends in underneath the loaves. For the traditional Easter loaf, tuck one or more red eggs (choose eggs that have no cracks) into the braids.

Twists (photo): Shape into ropes 20-24 inches long. Fold each rope in half and twist gently.. Tuck a red egg into the top of the twist.

Other shapes: They can also be shaped into round loaves, rings, or shapes of your choice.
Place the loaves on greased cookie sheets or baking pans, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Brush with egg wash.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

(Optional) Sprinkle with sugar, sesame seeds, or blanched almond slices.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or until golden brown. (Tap on the bottom; they should sound hollow.) Cool for 5 minutes, then move to racks to cool completely.

Yield: 4 to 6 loaves



This was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever made. Good thing I had a professional like Yiayia to help me get through it!