Greek Easter bread “tsoureki”

“Tsoureki” is the name of a spicy Greek bread, also known in Turkish as “Paskalya Çöreği” (literally “Easter bread”) and in Armenia as “Choreg”. It is a tradition to bake it in every home for Easter and its typical braided shape represents the Holy Trinity. However, as it is a very tasty and appreciated bread, it is common to find it throughout the year in bakeries.

Start by dissolving the yeast in the water/milk. Add a teaspoon of sugar and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the dry ingredients (spices, grated orange peel and a pinch of salt). Make a hole in the middle and pour the egg, the yeast mixture and the honey there. Start mixing with a spoon and when all the liquid has been absorbed, add the melted butter to continue kneading with your hands. After achieving a smooth ball, put in back in the bowl, cover with film and let it rise for 1 or 2 hours (this depends on the room temperature) until the dough has approximately doubled in volume.

Transfer to a flat surface and knead briefly, then divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Form a slim baguette with each one. Join the three ends of each part and form a braid until the other 3 ends are joined. Arrange the braided bread on a baking tray covered with baking paper, cover and let it rest for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Finally, brush the bread with an egg yolk and sprinkle the slivered almonds on top. Bake at medium height for about 30 minutes or until the surface reaches the desired golden brown color. Remove from the oven and let the bread rest on a rack. In this way, all residual moisture that has been trapped can evaporate.

Tips and tricks:

1. The first indicated step serves to activate the yeast. After about 10 minutes, we will see some bubbles on the surface that indicate that the process has begun. If we do not see any similar reaction, it means that the yeast is dead and we must discard the mixture and use a new one.
2. It is recommended that the liquids (both milk and water) are lukewarm, since the yeast is not activated in a cold environment, but also “dies” at high temperatures.
3. It is possible to use water, milk or a mixture of both.
4. Strong flour is always used for this recipe, since its high gluten content allows a quick and efficient fermentation, thus obtaining a very elastic dough, and then a very spongy bread. For this reason, it is also very important not to skip or rush the proofing steps.
5. When we start the kneading, we will notice that the dough will be quite sticky, but after adding the butter it will gradually become more manageable. It is important to trust this process and not add more flour than indicated.
6. The dough of this bread is relatively dry, the hydration being approx. 50%. We can vary the amount of spices and honey or sugar according to our preference, but it will always be essential to respect a similar hydration ratio if we make larger quantities of bread. Within this percentage, each egg is considered 50 g or ml of liquid, that’s why it’s important to choose a medium sized egg.
7. Spices are one of the peculiarities of this bread that make it unique. If you cannot find mahleb or mastiha, you can use vanilla essence instead.
8. Slivered ​​almonds can be replaced with sesame or poppy seeds.