I'd pay a pretty penny for a candle that smells like tsoureki, fresh out of the oven...
Tsoureki is a traditional Greek Easter bread, and I grew up watching my parents bake it every year. As is the case with most Greek recipes, tsoureki recipes vary between regions and families. I'm biased, but I think this recipe is the best!
Fortunately, my mom gave me the green light to share the recipe here on the blog. I thought it was a secret family recipe, but she told me that my Yiayia (grandmother) found it in a newspaper! If Yiayia were alive today, I think she would love the idea of sharing it on the internet because this recipe is too good for you all to miss.
This year, I made a few large loaves and a bunch of small "social distance friendly" loaves to drop off to friends who aren't able to celebrate Easter with their families.
If you've never made tsoureki before, it might seem daunting. Don't stress! This recipe isn't finicky and I've included detailed instructions to help you along the way. I don't consider myself a baker, mainly because I don't usually have patience for long, complicated recipes with lots of ingredients and measurements.
This recipe is very straightforward and will have you feeling like a pro!
Tsoureki ~ Greek Easter Bread
Makes 8 Large Loaves
(or 4 large and 8 mini loaves)
Ingredients:
5lbs All Purpose Flour (about 20 cups, plus more for kneading)
*you can use bread flour or 00 flour, but you will likely use more than 5lbs
4 Cups White Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Salt
3 Teaspoons Ground Mahlepi
2 Packages Active Dry Yeast (4.5 teaspoons)
1 Cup Lukewarm Water
2 Cups Unsalted Butter, melted & cooled
10 Eggs, well-beaten + 2 eggs for egg wash
2 Cups Lukewarm Milk
Sesame Seeds
Method:
1. I recommend taking your time to set up your kitchen and measure out all of your ingredients before you start making the dough. Measure everything into individual bowls, melt and cool your butter, beat your eggs, warm the water and milk. I enjoy baking much more when I stay organized and don't have to second guess how many cups of flour I just measured!
2. Add the yeast to the warm water and let sit for a few minutes.
3. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and mahlepi. The easiest way to do this (especially if you have limited space in your kitchen) is to put them in the large bowl and just sift everything together directly in there. You want everything to be completely combined and for all of the flour to have a powdery consistency.
4. With your hands, form a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the cooled melted butter, 10 beaten eggs, water with yeast, and warm milk into the well. Using a spoon, mix the ingredients until they come together. The dough will be very sticky.
5. Lightly flour your work surface. This can be a clean kitchen counter, table, or cutting board. Roll up your sleeves and get kneading! Knead the dough for about 10-12 minutes, adding flour a little at a time, as needed, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If you aren't sure whether you've kneaded it enough, knead it a little longer!
6. Clean the large bowl (it will probably have dough stuck to it) and grease it with Crisco (I'm sure you could also use another kind of unflavored oil). Place the dough in the greased bowl and cover the top of the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place one or two towels on top of the plastic wrap.
7. The dough requires a minimum of 4-5 hours to rise, but I prefer making it the night before and letting it rise overnight.
8. After the dough has about doubled in size, it's time to form your loaves. Punch down the dough and divide it into however many portions of bread you'd like to make. This recipe typically makes about 8 large loaves. This year, I split my dough in half to make 4 large loaves and 8 small "social distance friendly" loaves. (If you want to be really fancy, you could measure and weigh your dough so everything's even. I personally don't do that, but I know it would make them look more uniform and always tell myself that one day I'll invest in a scale and be all professional...we'll see about that!)
9. Split each section into thirds so that you can form three ropes and start braiding. (I find that the dough needs a little bit of time to rest after dividing it up - it's easier to form the ropes when it's rested for a few minutes.) The easiest way to braid them is to pinch the three ropes together at the top and then simply cross the ropes underneath each other, one at a time, keeping them tight as you go and pinching them again at the bottom. The longer the dough has rested, the easier it will be to work with as you're braiding. Don't worry if they don't look perfect! You aren't entering them into a beauty contest. (Well I don't know, are you? That would be weird.)
10. After you've braided the loaves, cover them with wet paper towels and let them proof for about an hour. I have tried baking them right away and letting them proof, and I've found that letting them proof creates a better texture!
11. Once the breads have proofed, preheat your oven to 350' F and beat together the two eggs for the egg wash.
12. Place the breads on greased cookie sheets (or line them with parchment paper - I ran out of it this time!). Brush the tops of the breads with the egg wash (I prefer silicone pastry brushes because I hate when the bristles of natural brushes come off onto my breads, but that's just me!) and sprinkle sesame seeds generously on top.
12. If you've made the "normal" sized loaves, they take about 30-40 minutes to bake. This year, my "normal" loaves took about 40 minutes and the "social distance friendly" loaves took about 30 minutes. The exact times will depend on your oven, the weather, and the size of your loaves. Always start with lowest amount of time and check on them to make sure they don't burn! You want them to be gloriously golden brown.
13. Allow the breads to cool on wire racks. Your house will smell divine! (Seriously, if anyone knows how to make a tsoureki candle, I think we can make millions here.)
If you aren't going to eat (or share) the bread within the next couple of days, I recommend freezing them so they stay fresh. My mom's trick is to wrap them tightly with plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, and then place them in a freezer bag. If you do that, they'll honestly last months - maybe even a year - in the freezer.
This bread is delicious on its own, toasted with butter, or made into French toast!
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading! I hope my notes are helpful for you if you choose to give this recipe a shot. Amidst all of the challenges we are enduring right now, it brought me a great deal of joy to be able to make this recipe and share it with all of you.