Tsoureki - Greek Easter Sweet Bread

A traditional Greek Easter bread that is just too hard to resist! Tsoureki is a rich yet perfectly sweet and soft bread with a slightly chewy texture, similar to challah with a golden exterior. Before baking, the loaves are divided into three strands and braided to symbolize the Holy Trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nothing can quite beat the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread that wafts through the house. Once baked, it’s *almost* too pretty to slice!

History and Significance

Origins

There is some debate about the specific origins of Tsoureki and the name itself. Generally, it’s thought that Tsoureki's roots date back to the Ottoman Empire with the name derived from the Turkish word “corek.” “Corek” refers to a bread dough that is made with yeast. As this entails, many types of bread doughs, sweet and savory, can be made to fit into this description thus many regions have variations of ‘Corek.’

The Greeks cultivated their version, Tsoureki, as a sweet dough featuring eggs, butter, milk, and of course, yeast to make this unbelievably soft yet stringy bread when pulled apart, similar to a Jewish Challah bread.

What is Tsoureki?

With Orthodox Easter approaching, May 5th, households across Greece and Greek Americans are preparing for one of the most beloved holidays of the year. Among the many cherished traditions and customs, Tsoureki pronounced “tsoo-reh-kee,” stands as a favorite on Easter Sunday for the feast. Baked on Holy Thursday, Tsoureki represents the resurrection of Jesus; the baking process symbolizes this through the rising and proofing of the dough to the final form once baked signifying the transformation. Further, this sweet bread holds a special place in Greek culture, as it symbolizes the renewal of life. The most common shape of Tsoureki is a braid in a log form or a circular ring form. Each rope-shaped strand represents the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Some also opt to nestle three hard-boiled eggs and red-dyed eggs into dough to commemorate Christ and the blood he shed.

How to Make: Ingredients and Steps

As far back as I can recall, my mom measured and baked the Tsoureki loaves every year. No one else was to attempt taking this task, nor would anyone think to do so as she had the ‘special’ touch. As a little girl, I was mesmerized by the light dusting of flour on the black granite island as she divided the dough and rolled it into rope-like pieces. So eloquently, she braided the loaves, a mixture was braided straight in the form of a log, while the remaining dough was conjoined at the ends to form a circle with three red-dyed eggs wedged into the dough.

Freshly baked Tsoureki is always associated with Easter, here's how you can make and enjoy this with your friends and family.

Ingredients - Regular and Vegan Options

Active Dry Yeast: Quisitential ingredient to help the Tsoureki rise and remain light.

Warm Water:

All-Purpose Flour: Some Greek recipes call for “hard” flour which is another term for bread flour. This flour provides more structure and elicits more of a string-like texture. However, my mom has always made this recipe with all-purpose flour and I have no complaints!

Granular White Sugar: No substitute. Sugar feeds the yeast and provides a subtle sweetness throughout the bread.

Salt: Balances all the flavors.

Eggs: Room temperature eggs.

Vegan Option: Liquid egg replacement 1:1 ratio. My preference is JUST egg. One serving (44mL) = 1 egg

Milk: Whole milk is traditionally used when making this recipe. However, I have used unsweetened almond milk as a substitute and found no change in texture or consistency.

Vegan option: Unsweetened almond milk. I would not recommend using other plant-based milk as they potentially alter the final product's taste and texture.

Butter: Room temperature unsalted butter. Aids in richness and flavor.

Vegan option: Plant-based butter in stick form. I have tried using a plant-based butter spread, and although there was not a big difference due to the higher water content this does alter the texture.

Mahlepi or Vanilla: Mahlepi is a Greek spice that gives Tsoureki its trademark flavor. This spice has a slight fruity flavor. This spice is hard to come by and vanilla can be used instead.

Steps - Making the Dough

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast with warmed water (110 degrees Fahrenheit). Add 1/2 cup of sifted flour with 1 tbsp of granular white sugar with 1/4 tsp salt and add to yeast and water mixture. Gentle stir. Set aside and allow the mixture to rise in a warm place until the mixture bubbles and foams - this should take about 10 minutes.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk/beat the eggs. While eggs are beating, scald milk and then set aside to cool. Next, add the remaining 3 cups of sugar, cooled milk, and melted butter with the remaining 1 tbsp of salt. Add yeast mixture and mix to combine.

3. Whisk together mahlepi or vanilla extract with sifted flour. On low speed of stand mixture, slowly add sifted flour and mix to combine. The dough should be stiff and elastic-like.

4. On a clean and floured surface, knead dough for 5 minutes.

5. Place dough into two large greased bowls. Set aside covered with a clean damp towel allowing dough to double in size. This will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

6. Punch down the dough and flip it over in the bowl. Cover again - this time with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Allow to rise for a second time until doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 3 to 4 baking pans with parchment and lightly spray with a non-stick cooking spray.

8. Evenly divide the dough into 18 pieces - I recommend using a scale, however, if you do not have one, you can eyeball.

9. This dough makes 6 total loaves (3 pieces per). Roll each piece into a 14-inch long rope. Align three dough ropes to begin the braid; overlapping and gently pinching together the tops and bottoms to connect once the braid is complete. Place onto prepared baking pans; cover with plastic wrap allowing to rise a third time.

You can leave the braid in a log (straight) form or shape into a circle.

Tutorial: How to braid Tsoureki

Pre-baked braided dough with addition of boiled and dyed red eggs.

10. Once the shaped dough has doubled in size, brush with an egg wash.

Before baking, and if you wish, gently press 3 dyed red eggs into each of the three braids to form the shape of a cross - applicable for a loaf shaped into a circle. If doing a straight braid, gently press 1 dyed red egg at the top.

11. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Recipe Hacks and Notes:

This recipe makes 6 large loaves. My mixer cannot make the whole recipe at once so I mix half the ingredients at a time and then combine when kneading. Again, I personally do not have a bowl large enough to hold the entire recipe at once, so I evenly divide it into two greased bowls and allow to proof. Important to note, that this recipe can easily be cut in half without any changes. However, this does not cut down proofing time.
Yeast mixture - After the 10 minutes have passed, the mixture should double or triple in size, with a bubbly and foamy texture and consistency. If this has not occurred, most likely the yeast you are using has gone bad and cannot be used.
Measuring - Baking is, in fact, a science and I strongly urge having a scale on hand to ensure accurate and consistent measurements. If you do not have one on hand when measuring flour, scoop flour into a measuring cup with a spoon to avoid over-packing flour - this is the most common mistake.
Proofing - Tsoureki does take a significant amount of time from start to finish. This is due to the time needed to go through a total of three proofing periods before baking.