Tsoureki - Greek Sweet Bread
Introducing Tsoureki, the sweet, soft, and melt-in-your-mouth Greek bread that everyone goes crazy for 😍
A must-have for Easter (or any time of year!), this iconic braided bread is like the Greek cousin of brioche — but even more stretchy, fluffy, and deliciously aromatic thanks to hints of mahlepi and mastic 😮💨 One bite, and you’ll see why it’s a Greek favourite!
Ingredients
14g yeast
150ml whole milk, warm
1 tsp sugar
500g strong white bread flour
2 tsp ground mahlebi (a ground cherry kernel)
1 tsp ground mastic (a mastic resin)
120g caster sugar
50g melted butter
Zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs
100g room temperature butter, chunks to add little by little to the Tsoureki as it’s kneading
To decorate:Egg Wash
A handful of almond flakes
3 hours 40 minutes (including rising and cooling) | Yields two loaves
Method
In a bowl, combine the flour and mahlebi and mastic. Set aside.
In another bowl, add the warm milk, dry active yeast and sugar, and whisk to combine . Set it aside to activate for at least 10 minutes (recommended is 15).
To the activated yeast, add the flour, sugar, melted butter, orange zest, and eggs. Knead on a slow speed for the first 2 minutes as the dough begins to homogenise, then gradually increase the speed, adding little chunks of butter in increments and kneading the dough for a total of 15 minutes.
Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for at least an hour and a half until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius fan. Once doubled, cut the dough into two pieces, and divide each piece into three. Roll out each piece into a long log (of roughly 16 inches). Braid the three logs and tuck in both ends. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Place the Tsoureki on a tray lined with parchment paper and brush the tops with egg wash, and top with almond flakes. Cover and leave to rise for a second time for a total of an hour.
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown on top. Place the Tsoureki on a cooling rack to cool for half an hour before enjoying.
