Recipe Ingredients for Greek Tsoureki ( light version )
- 2 eggs
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 Tbs sugar
- 2 Tbs water
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup soft margarine
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 Tsp mahlepi or aniseed
- 1 Tsp masticha
- 1 1/3 cup of milk 1,5 % fat
- 4 cups for all purposes flour
- 1 Pinch of salt
- 1 Packet yeast
Preparation
1. Firstly, combine in a large bowl with your mixer (medium speed) the milk, the 2 eggs, the yeast, a pinch of salt, the margarine and the sugar.
2. When your ingredients are homogenized put in the half amount of the all purpose flour, the vanilla, the aniseed or mahlepi (or both), the masticha and mix well with the mixer (with hook) . After they are mixed all together put the rest flour and make an emulsion and smooth dough
3. Next step cover the dough with a cloth, and set aside in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about two hours.
4. After 2 hours push down the dough and create 8-9 balls (you may need a little bit more flour to knead if your dough is sticky). With the 8 balls make 8 sticks and after that make braids. You can do 2 tsourekia with 3 sticks and the other one with 2 or you can make a 6-stick tsoureki and another one with 2 sticks and of course you can connect the 2 edges of your braid to create wreaths.( If you want to place a red boiled egg that’s the right time)
5. Transfer your braids or your wreaths to a baking sheet with a parchment paper, cover again with a cloth, and set aside in a warm place, about an hour.
6. One hour after beat together the egg yolk, the 1 tbsp of sugar and the 2 tbsp of water and brush gently over tsoureki loaves. If you wish sprinkle slivered almonds or truffle on.
7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, in well preheated oven, to 170°C conventional with Fan, until golden brown. Remove and cool on racks. :)
Nutrition facts per serving (30g) : about 125 kcal, 20 g of carbohydrates, 4 g of fats and 2g of proteins.
Tsoureki is well known as Easter bread and probably comes from the Turkish word çörek. It is based on milk, flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, butter, and a flavoring which can be mahlepi, Chian mastic, vanilla, cardamom, aniseed or a combination of them.
The word tsoureki refers not only to the Easter batches, but to the traditionally sweet bread that's made under most circumstances. The bread is symbolic because it represents the Resurrection of Christ, as the flour comes alive and transformed into bread.
On Holy Saturday, Easter breads and red eggs are placed in baskets and then they are taken to church to be blessed. Some of them will be given as gift to godparents from children. In earlier times the newly married women also offered Easter bread to their parents in law.
Since Easter Monday is associated with funerary customs, it is common for people to visit the cemeteries and place red eggs, Easter breads and cookies on the graves. The departed can thus share in family joys.
*Tip of the day
“Cooking is an art and patience a virtue...Careful shopping, fresh ingredients and an unhurried approach are nearly all you need. There is one more thing - love. Love for food and love for those you invite to your table. With a combination of these things you can be an artist - not perhaps in the representational style of a Dutch master, but rather more like Gauguin, the naïve, or Van Gogh, the impressionist. Plates or pictures of sunshine taste of happiness and love.” - Keith Floyd
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