TSOUREKI (Sweet Greek Easter Bread)

Ingredients:

5 ¾ cups of flour 

3 teaspoonfuls of Royal Baking Powder or 2 Sachets of Baking Powder

1 cup of butter or Spry

1 cup of sugar

1 sachet of yeast

¾ of a cup of lukewarm water

4 large eggs

½ teaspoonful of Mahlab

½ teaspoonful of Mastic Powder

Grated peel of one fresh lemon

Procedure and step by step instructions:

1)      In a plastic mixing bowl, pour your measurement of lukewarm water

2)      Add a teaspoon of sugar, the yeast and ½ cup of flour

3)      Stir well with a whisk until the contents form a smooth mixture

4)      Place a wet, lukewarm towel on top of the bowl and wait for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you should notice the formation of bubbles on the top of your mixture; this indicates that the yeast has activated. However, during the 20 minutes that you will be waiting, please proceed to step 5.

5)      In another bowl pour in 4 cups of flour, baking powder, Mahlab and Mastic powder. Blend together.

6)      In a cooking pot, put your butter and ensure that is melts well.

7)      When your butter has melted, remove the pot from the heat, add the remaining sugar and stir well for a few minutes.

8)      When you have finished stirring, add the grated peel of lemon and stir again for few more minutes.

9)      Combine your third bowl with the butter, sugar and lemon peel with your first bowl, which by now contains a well-activated yeast mixture. Mix the contents well.

10)  Add 3 eggs and continue stirring until the entire mixture is well blended and smooth.

 

11)  Add the remaining mixture of the second bowl (flour, mahlab, baking powder and Mastic powder) very slowly until the dough becomes non-sticky. In some cases, you may need to add all of the flour.

12)  Again cover your bowl with a lukewarm damp tea-towel for at least 1 hour.

13)  When one hour has lapsed, you need to use your hands to break small pieces of the dough into palm-sized balls. Use your hands to knead them well. Using a flat surface, flatten each ball using your hands as if they were a rolling-pin. Apply pressure with the palms of your hands, rolling the ball back and forth, applying pressure from the centre, working outwards. Please refer to the picture below that indicates the shape and appearance that your dough will now take (approximately 20-20 CMs in length)

14)  Continue with step 13 until you have created 3 identical lengths. Using your hand, you will need to pleat these pieces together as per the picture below.

15)  After you have completed step 14, place your Tsoureki bread dough onto a lightly oiled baking tin, and cover with a tea-towel. Leave for 20 minutes. Ensure that you turn your oven on to a pre-heat temperature of 150 degrees Celsius. Uncover your Tsoureki bread dough and apply eggs to the surface of the dough. This will ensure that the finished bread is golden in colour.

 

16)  Place in the oven and cook for 45-50 minutes.