The most delicious Greek Sweet Bread – Tsoureki you will ever make is as easy as you want it to be!
Fantastic and easy recipe, step by step!
Ingredients
Mixture Α
- 150 g sweet bread flour or strong white flour
- 120 g water, at room temperature
- 25 g active dry yeast
Mixture Β
- 200 g milk
- 100 g butter
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 14 g mahlab
- 310 g granulated sugar
- 3 g mastic
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 eggs, medium
- pinch of salt
Mixture C
- 850 g sweet bread flour or hard flour
- 100 g melted butter
Preparation
Mixture Α
- Place the flour, water and yeast in the mixer and mix them well with a whisk.
- Leave the mixture to rest for 15 minutes for the yeast to be activated.
Mixture B
- In a mortar add 1 tbsp. sugar and mastic and beat until finely ground.
- Cut the butter in pieces, put it in a saucepan, then add the mastic mixture, milk, mahlab, vanilla extract and the rest of the sugar.
- Place the saucepan on low heat until the butter melts and all the ingredients are completely incorporated. *
- Remove the saucepan from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the eggs, salt and whisk thoroughly. **
- Add to mixer’s bowl that contains the yeast (mixture A). Beat for 5 minutes on low speed with the hook attachment.
Mixture C
- Add the flour to mixer’s bowl and continue beating for 10-14 minutes on low speed until all the flour is incorporated and then speed up.
- Add the melted butter and beat at low speed for 5-7 minutes until the butter is absorbed.
- When the dough pulls back from the sides of bowl is ready.
- In a separate bowl, brush the sides with vegetable oil and transfer the dough to it.
- Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and put aside for 1- 1 ½ hours, until it doubles in size.
Formation
- Divide the dough in two pieces and then cut each part in four equal sized pieces. Then shape into 50cm round strips.
- Tsoureki has the form of braids and in order to create the braid, you must connect the four ends on one side.
- Name each strip a number, 1-2-3-4.
- Fold strip 4 over strip 2. Strip 1 over strip 3 and strip 2 over strip 3. Repeat this process until you make a beautiful braid.
- Carefully transfer the braid to a baking pan with cooking paper and follow the same process for the second sweet bread – tsoureki.
- Preheat the oven 150ο C fan.
- Cover the sweet breads with a plastic wrap and let them to rise for 30 minutes.
- Brush with the egg***, sprinkle with almond and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Tips
* Attention! You do not want the mixture to boil. Only to warm a little.
** The eggs should be 50g each, 200g in total.
*** The yolk of the egg mixed with little water.