Easter Bread (Tsoureki) Recipe
| Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|
| 30m | 40m | 1h 10m plus proving |
Tsoureki is traditionally made at Easter time. It is made in Greek and Macedonian communities and it is also eaten in Turkey, Armenia and other middle eastern countries.
It’s a brioche like sweet bread that is usually braided and decorated with red coloured eggs and sesame seeds or almond flakes.
The distinctive flavours of tsoureki come from mahleb, an aromatic spice made from cherries seeds and mastic. Mastic is a resin obtained from Pistachio lentiscus (mastic tree) both found in specialty shops. Alternatively orange zest and vanilla can be used to flavour the bread.
In our recipe we’ve added a little bit of Canada and sweetened our Easter bread with our dark robust.
It makes a lovely treat for breakfast and so delicious in a bread and butter pudding.
Ingredients
- 3 tsp yeast
- 3 tsp sugar
- 620g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 250ml milk
- 100g unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 120g Pure Maple Syrup, Dark Robust
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Zest of 1 orange
- 3 – 4 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra
- 1 egg, beaten for egg wash
- Handful of almond flakes
Instructions
- Weigh out the flour and warm about 150ml of milk until lukewarm. Place the yeast, sugar and 1 tbsp of the flour in a bowl and whisk in the warm milk. Set aside for about 15 minutes until light and frothy.
- Next melt the butter in the remaining milk and allow to cool until it is just warm.
- To half the flour add the salt and whisk. Add 2 eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, grated orange, yeast mixture and a little of the melted butter and milk mixture. Stir it with a wooden spoon and add some flour mixing it all together. Alternate between additions of milk and butter and flour until it forms a sticky dough.
- Place the dough in a mixer with a dough hook and add a little sunflower oil to prevent it sticking too much.
- Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Add a little more sunflower oil to cover the dough and then cover the bowl with cling film. Set it aside to double in size in a warm place for up to 2 hours.
Next knock back the dough by pushing your fist into the centre of the dough and turn it out onto slightly floured surface.- Cut the dough in half to make 2 smaller loaves.
- Cut the 1 half into 4 pieces and roll out into long sausage like shapes of dough. Stretch each of the 4 pieces to make long uniform shapes.
- Join them at the top and take the 4th long piece and place it over the 3rd piece. Then take the 2nd piece and place it over the 1st piece. Finally take the 1st piece and place it over the 4th piece and this completes your first braid pattern. Following the same pattern, repeat until all the dough is braided.(Pictures are included in the gallery to guide you.)
- When the braids are completed brush a little extra sunflower oil on the cling film and cover both. Allow to prove for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. Brush each dough with egg wash and sprinkle with almond flakes. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until golden brown.
- Rest on a wire rack to cool before serving.
