Vivian's Tsoureki-Easter 2010

Tsoureki is the traditional yeast bread which Greek families serve at Easter. The recipe which follows, is the one I used this year, and is a combination of several recipes that I have used in the past. The tsourekia this year not only looked good, they also tasted great!!

Ingredients
2 cups milk
2 envelopes of active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
9 cups of all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 teaspoon of orange zest
1 teaspoon of lemon zest(optional)
*1 tablespoon of mahlepi, ground very fine
¼ cup butter, melted
5 eggs, well beaten

Glaze
1 egg
3 tablespoons of milk
½ cup whole blanched almonds

Procedure

• Warm the milk and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast, ¼ cup of the sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and proof for one hour.

• In another bowl, combine eight cups of flour, the salt, remaining sugar, orange rind, lemon rind, and the mahlepi* Make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, melted butter and the beaten eggs. Start mixing from the center, outwards, while bringing the flour in the well. Stir the mixture together until a ball forms.

• Dust a surface with flour and begin kneading the dough until it is smooth. If the dough sticks to your hands, add a little more flour. Knead for about 10 minutes.

• Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and put in a warm, draft free place, until it becomes double in size. This takes at least two hours.

• When double in size, punch dough down

• Divide into six small balls and roll the first three balls into strips about 12 inches long and about 2 inches in diameter. Place the three strips side by side, and pinch the strips together at one end. Begin braiding the strips and when you have finished braiding, pinch the other end of the braid. You have formed your first tsoureki.

• Repeat this procedure for the second tsoureki.

• Place the braided tsourekia on a parchment lined baking sheet and let them rise again, for two hours, until they have doubled in bulk.

• While the tsourekia are rising, preheat oven to 350.

• Prepare the glaze by beating together the milk, and the egg.

• When the tsourekia have doubled in bulk, brush them with the glaze.

• Decorate with blanched almonds

• Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the tsourekia are golden brown.

• Remove from the oven and cool on a rack

ENJOY!!!

*Mahlepi is an aromatic spice made from the seeds of the St Lucie Cherry (Prunus Mahaleb.) The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5 mm diameter. Mahlepi has a very strong aroma, and therefore, a very small quantity is used in in baking to obtain the desired smell and taste. The flavour of mahlepi is similar to a combination of bitter almond and cherry.

*Mahlepi can be purchased from ethnic Greek grocery stores and is usually sold as seed kernels, which must be ground up before use.

VKA