Sweet Tsoureki Recipe (Traditional Greek Easter Bread)

Two pieces of tsoureki (Greek Easter bread) on a white counter with pastel coloured easter eggs.

5 from 3 votes

Sweet Tsoureki Recipe (Traditional Greek Easter Bread)

Tsoureki is a traditional Greek easter bread that is beautifully braided to symbolize the Holy Trinity. It's infused with aromatic spices like mahlepi, mastiha, and orange zest. The texture of this sweet bread is stringy when pulled apart and is so delicious!

Prep Time5

Cook Time1 15

Additional Time5

Total Time6 20

Course: Desserts, Holidays

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: greek easter bread, holidays, sweet bread

Servings: tsourekia

Calories: 1235kcal

Author: Ria Mavrikos

Ingredients

Yeast mixture

2 tablespoons quick rise instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup homogenized milk lukewarm - added to the yeast

Tsoureki dough

3 eggs room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsalted butter melted but not hot
1 cup homogenized milk lukewarm
1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon mastiha powder ground
1 1/2 teaspoons mahlepi powder ground
zest of two oranges
pinch of salt about 1/8 teaspoon

Egg wash

1 egg to brush on top of the tsoureki before it goes in the oven
1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Prepare the yeast mixture.
In a medium-sized bowl, add two tablespoons of instant yeast, ½ teaspoon of sugar, and ¼ cup of warm milk. Stir together, then cover the bowl with saran wrap and loosely with a dry kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a dry, warm place like your pantry. Allow the yeast to rise for 15 minutes. If the yeast doesn't bubble at this stage, then the yeast may be expired. If this is the case, it's best to start over with a fresh packet of instant dry yeast.
Beat the eggs, sugar, and butter.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the three eggs, pure vanilla extract, and 1¼ cups of sugar. Whisk together on medium-low speed (#2 on a KitchenAid mixer) for 15-20 minutes. Then add 1/2 cup melted butter. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and butter. The remainder of 1/4 cup of the melted butter will be added to the tsoureki mixture at the end of the recipe.
Prepare the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, orange zest, ground mastiha, mahlepi, a pinch of salt, and whisk together.
Add the yeast and milk to the egg mixture.
Increase the speed to medium speed, add in the yeast mixture until it's incorporated and then slowly add the lukewarm milk. Go slowly when adding in the liquids to prevent the batter from curdling. Allow the milk to be absorbed before continuing to add more. If the batter curdles at any point, then you can add a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture and then continue adding in the liquid. Mix for 10 minutes and then turn off the mixer. Change the whisk attachment to the dough hook attachment.
Add the dry ingredients and first rise.
Turn on the mixer, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and then add ¼ cup of the melted butter. Mix until incorporated and a soft dough forms. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Use your hands to press the dough a little bit in the mixing bowl. Transfer the dough to a large, wide, greased bowl (use a little bit of melted butter). The bowl should be big enough so that there's space for the dough to expand as it rises. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean towel. Place the bowl in a warm, dry place and allow the dough to rise for 45-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
Braid the tsoureki.
Gently press down on the dough and transfer it to a clean and lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a log shape and then cut it into six even pieces. The dough balls should be similar in size. From there, cut each dough ball in half so you'll end up with 12 small even sized dough balls. Each tsoureki will need 3 dough balls for the braid. Roll out each dough ball into a long rope shape. They should be even in thickness and length. Braid the tsourekia and place them on a non-stick, greased baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. This recipe will give you four tsourekia.
Second rise.
Cover the braided tsourekia loosely with saran wrap and a dry, light, clean kitchen towel. You don't want the towels to be too heavy otherwise, it may impact how much the tsoureki rises. Place the tsoureki in a warm, dry place so that it can rise for 45-60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F on bake so that the oven is ready once the tsourekia are ready to go in.
Brush with egg wash and bake the tsoureki.
In a small bowl, whisk one egg with a bit of milk. Brush the tsoureki with egg wash to get a beautiful golden colour once baked. Bake the tsoureki in the oven at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. The tsourekia will rise more in the oven, so it's good to leave about 6 inches in between the tsourekia. Once the tsourekia are ready, remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Congrats, you did it!

Notes

- I'd recommend using a light-coloured baking sheet so that the tsoureki bakes evenly, and I like to bake the tsoureki on the second rack from the bottom
- It's also essential to allow the dough to rise properly. If the quick yeast doesn't bubble, then it's gone bad. In this case, it's best to start fresh with fresh new instant yeast. Otherwise, your tsoureki may not rise properly. Also, when adding milk to the yeast, it should be slightly warm but not too hot, or it could kill the yeast.
- You can make tsoureki in different sizes. For fluffier tsoureki, you can use larger dough ball amounts and then not roll the dough as thin for the braids.
- The dough will be soft and slightly sticky, but you should be able to handle it without it sticking to your hands. Buttering your hands or the surface before braiding the tsourekia can also be helpful.
- The tsoureki will rise more in the oven, so it's good to leave enough space in between the tsoureki. I recommend only putting two tsourekia on one baking sheet (if there's enough space between them) since they will rise and puff up as they bake.

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