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Greek-Tsoureki-Bread-Recipe
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4.31 from 23 votes

Greek Easter Bread (Tsoureki)

A soft and very aromatic sweet bread recipe that's always served during Easter in Greece.
Prep Time50 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Course: bread, Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: Easter, mastiha, Oven baked
Servings: 2 breads
Calories: 1751kcal

Ingredients

To Activate Yeast:

  • 60 grams (2.1 oz) bread flour sifted
  • 30 grams (1.05 oz) fresh yeast or 10 grams (0.35 oz) of dry yeast
  • tablespoon sugar
  • 100 ml lukewarm water (under 35°C / 95°F)

For The Tsoureki Dough:

  • 470 grams / 16.6 oz bread flour sifted
  • 100 ml milk
  • 155 grams / 5.4 oz sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 + ⅓ teaspoon Mahleb powder
  • teaspoon Cardamom powder
  • teaspoon salt
  • ½ orange zest
  • teaspoon Mastiha Powder or ½ teaspoon Mastiha tears (see note 1 at the bottom of the recipe)
  • 100 grams / 3.5 oz butter melted and at room temperature

Optional:

  • flaked almonds or sesame seeds

Instructions

Activate The Yeast:

  • Crumble the fresh yeast into a measuring cup. Add the water and stir. Add also the sugar and flour and mix until fully combined and no flour lumps remain. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for about 20 minutes or until tripled in size.

To Make The Tsoureki Dough:

  • Separate the eggs. Add one egg and one egg yolk to a bowl and beat lightly. Keep the egg white to use later on for the egg wash.
  • In a small saucepan add the milk, sugar, orange zest, and spices. Heat over low heat gently just until sugar dissolves.
  • Cool this mixture down to 35°C / 95°F.
  • Mix in the eggs.
  • Combine flour and salt.
  • Make the dough. Using a wooden spoon stir the flour into the dough gradually. Wait until all flour is mixed in before adding the next batch. You will need to add some strength here. And make sure you scrape the sides as well. Once all flour is added you will end up with a very sticky dough. (see note 2 below)
  • Rest the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rest for about 20 minutes.
  • Fold in the butter. Add the butter in a little bit a time and knead and fold the dough until all is fully absorbed. Make sure there are no dough remnants on the sides of the bowl. The dough will turn out really soft at this point.
  • Rest and Rise. Cover the bowl again with plastic wrap. Rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
  • Divide the dough. Press the dough down with your palms to gently remove the air. Then transfer it to your working surface. Cut and divide the dough in half.
  • Make a two-cord Tsoureki: Take one piece of the dough and cut it in half. Shape into round balls and then into two long cords. Pinch together the top ends of both cords to stick. Then braid them together. Press the bottom ends to stick. Then tuck under both the top and bottom end to secure.
  • Make a three-cord Tsoureki: Take the remaining piece of the dough and cut it into 3 pieces. Follow the exact same procedure as in the step above.
  • Second Rise. Place each Tsoureki bread into a parchment paper-covered loaf pan. Preheat your oven to 50°C /122°F. Then turn it off and add in the loaf pans. If your oven has a proofing setting, turn it on to 35°C / 95°F and add the loaf pans without switching it off. Leave the bread to rise and double in size.
  • Remove loaf pans from the oven and heat the oven to 170°C / 338°F.
  • Add the egg wash. Mix the egg white with 2 tablespoons of water. Gently brush over the Tsourekis. Then sprinkle some flaked almonds or sesame seeds on top (optional).
  • Bake the Tsoureki. Bake for about 30 minutes until nicely colored on top.
  • Remove from the oven and let the Tsoureki cool down to room temperature inside the pan.
  • Slice and serve with butter or any other spread you prefer. It's also very flavorful on its own!

Video

Notes

Note 1: If using Mastiha tears save 2 tablespoons of the sugar and blend it together with the tears in a small food processor. The sugar helps to powder the Mastiha. Alternatively, you can add the sugar and Mastiha to a pestle and mortar and powder it there. 
Note 2: You can use an electric mixer instead of mixing the dough with a wooden spoon. Use the hook attachment and rest the dough (step 6) in the fridge. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1bread | Calories: 1751kcal | Carbohydrates: 280g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 300mg | Sodium: 810mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 85g | Vitamin A: 1621IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 4mg