updated May 2021
Tsoureki is a delicious fixture on the Greek Easter table
Tsoureki is a traditional braided Greek sweet bread served during Easter. It’s a cousin of challah and brioche, but unique to itself. But, we always braid the dough using three strands to symbolize the holy trinity in the Greek Orthodox religion. This recipe makes one very large loaf or two smaller loaves. I normally make the two smaller loaves and freeze one for later. It also makes spectacular French toast!
My history with Tsoureki
In my early days of cooking and baking, my mom would haul me down to the Dayton, Ohio Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church every summer to help the community prepare for our annual Greek festival. I would turn out countless Spanakopitas and Tiropitas, Koulourakia butter cookies, and more. Additionally, one of my favorite weeks was when we would bake Tsoureki, a sweet Greek bread traditionally served at Easter.
I would spend the days in the blasting hot kitchen in the breeze of convection ovens, kneading and braiding the loaves, painting them with an egg wash, dotting them with sesame seeds, watching them rise, and monitoring their baking, so they would turn just the right shade of brown.
What Tsoureki shape should I make?
We baked our loaves in 8-inch cake pans. But, for this recipe you’ll either want to make two braided loaves, or one large braided circular 12 to 14-inch loaf. The long rectangular braided loaves are the most common and easiest to make. I normally line a baking sheet with parchment and bake them on that.
Activating your yeast
The key to successful bread baking is to make sure your yeast is active. To ensure this, you want to bloom it in warm water with a little bit of sugar (the yeast likes to eat the sugar). The water temperature should be around your body temp — 98ºF. If it’s 120ºF or hotter it will kill the yeast, so keep that in mind. Once you dissolve the yeast in the warm sugar water, it should become bubbly. That’s how you know it’s alive. If you don’t see any activity, your yeast is probably old/dead/expired, and you should get new yeast and start over.
Proofing your Tsoureki
How do you know if your tsoureki has proofed correctly? On the second rise, make an indentation in it with your finger or knuckle. You are good to go when it springs back slowly and leaves a small indentation. If it springs back very quickly then you need more time. It is likely over-proofed when it doesn’t spring back and holds the indentation. If it’s slightly over proofed, it’s ok. It just won’t expand as much when you bake it. These are all just things to be aware of and keep in mind. Baking has many variables and it’s easy to make mistakes.
Sweet Greek Tsoureki Recipe
Tsoureki is a traditional Greek sweet bread, similar to challah or brioche. Greeks commonly serve it during Easter.
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 2 packages dry yeast
- 1 cup warm milk (98ºF)
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon malhepi (crushed) or Mastiha (both are optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon anise extract (optional)
- 5 to 6 cups all purpose flour
- oil for greasing bowl
For the Glaze
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons milk
- Sesame seeds or slivered almonds
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water (around 98 degrees) with a teaspoon of sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and let bloom for 10 minutes. You should see bubbles and activity from the yeast. If you don't, then your yeast might be dead.
- Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the melted butter, malhepi, salt, vanilla, anise, yeast mixture, and milk, until they're combined really well.
- Switch out the paddle attachment on your mixer for the dough hook.
- Gradually beat in 5 cups of flour. If the dough is still very sticky at this point, add additional flour until it starts to pull away from the side of the bowl.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work in just enough of the remaining flour until a soft, not sticky, dough forms. Knead the dough by turning and pushing with the heel of your hand for 10 minutes (this will be a nice workout for you). The dough will become smooth and elastic.
- Grease a bowl with oil. Press the dough into the greased bowl and then turn the dough over so that both sides of it are greased.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and allow it to rise in a warm draft-free spot for about an hour and a half, or until it has doubled in size.
- Grease your baking pans or a cookie sheet, or line them with parchment paper.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Punch down the dough. Divide it into your desired portions. For 1 large 12 x 2 1/2-inch round pan, divide the dough into three equal portions. Roll each portion into a 30-inch rope. Braid the 3 ropes together, seal the ends, and form the braid into a circle. Gently lay the dough circle into the greased pan.
- For two braided loaves, divide the dough in half, then divide each half into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 14-inch rope, keeping the strip thicker in the center and tapering at the ends. Braid 3 strips together and seal the ends. Gently lay each braid on a greased (or parchment-lined) baking sheet.
- Cover each loaf with a towel, and allow to rest in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours for the large loaf, or 1 to 1 1/2 hours for the smaller loaves, or until they have increased in size.
- ***To know if the dough has properly proofed, press it with your thumb or knuckle, if it springs back slowly and leaves a small indentation then it is proofed properly. If you springs back quickly, then it needs more time. If a deep groove remains, then it is over-proofed.
- Prepare the glaze by combining the egg with the milk. Brush the dough with the glaze. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds or slivered almonds.
- Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 45-55 minutes for the large loaf, and 30 to 35 minutes for the small loaves. Use a digital thermometer to make sure your bread is properly baked. Insert it halfway down into the center of the loaf. It should be 190ºF. Remove the bread immediately from the pans and allow to cool on a rack.
- The bread can be stored in plastic bags and frozen up to three months.
Notes
See notes in blog post about yeast activation and proofing.