Tsoureki
A Greek Easter bread distinguished from other sweet braids by two spices: mahlab, ground St Lucie cherry kernels with an almond-and-cherry aroma, and mastic, resin from the island of Chios with a piney note. Without them it is simply challah. The second distinction is structural: a good tsoureki pulls apart into long strands rather than crumbling — and that takes very long kneading.
Your own work in that: 20 min.
- Dough 30 min
- First rise 180 min
- Braiding 20 min
- Second rise 90 min
- Baking 40 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneGrind the mastic with sugar
Grind the mastic tears in a mortar with a teaspoon of sugar to a powder. Mastic alone sticks to the mortar and is hard to grind — the sugar acts as an abrasive. Do not add more: too much mastic tastes bitter and resinous.
Ingredients: 2 tsp mahlab · ½ tsp mastic · 1 tsp sugar
Mastic only with sugar — alone it sticks to the mortar.Knead the dough with the spices
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. In a mixer bowl combine the flour with the sugar, salt, grated orange zest, mahlab and ground mastic, add the yeasted milk and the eggs and knead 10 minutes. Mixed into the flour, the spices spread evenly through the dough.
Ingredients: 650 g bread flour · 200 ml milk · 25 g fresh yeast · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 120 g butter · 1½ tsp salt · 1 pcs orange
Work in the butter and knead long
Add the soft butter a piece at a time, kneading a further 15 minutes. The dough must pass the windowpane test: a stretched piece lets light through without tearing. That long knead is what gives tsoureki its stranded structure.
Ingredients: 650 g bread flour · 200 ml milk · 25 g fresh yeast · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 120 g butter · 1½ tsp salt · 1 pcs orange
The windowpane test — it stretches and lets light through.Rise three hours
Cover and leave 2–3 hours, until clearly doubled. A dough this rich rises slowly; sugar and butter hold the yeast back. Do not force it above 28°C, or the butter starts to render out.
Ingredients: 650 g bread flour · 200 ml milk · 25 g fresh yeast · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 120 g butter · 1½ tsp salt · 1 pcs orange
Roll three equal ropes
Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each into a 45 cm rope, tapering at the ends. Equal length and thickness matter — uneven ropes give a braid that looks crooked once proved.
Ingredients: 650 g bread flour · 200 ml milk · 25 g fresh yeast · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 120 g butter · 1½ tsp salt · 1 pcs orange
Braid tightly
Braid the three ropes tightly, working from the centre outwards in both directions, and tuck the ends underneath. Braiding from the centre gives a symmetrical loaf; starting at one end always leaves the other tapered.
Ingredients: 650 g bread flour · 200 ml milk · 25 g fresh yeast · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 120 g butter · 1½ tsp salt · 1 pcs orange
From the centre outwards — the braid comes out symmetrical.Prove and glaze with egg
Leave the braid on a lined tray for 90 minutes, until visibly puffed; towards the end heat the oven to 170°C. Brush with beaten egg twice, five minutes apart — two coats give the deep shine by which tsoureki is recognised. Scatter with almonds.
Ingredients: 1 pcs egg · 60 g flaked almonds · 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Bake 40 minutes and cool on a rack
Bake 35–40 minutes at 170°C, until deep golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped. If it darkens too fast, cover with foil after 20 minutes. Cool on a rack — left on the tray the base steams and turns soggy.
Ingredients: 1 pcs egg · 60 g flaked almonds · 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Before you start
Mahlab and mastic
Both are sold at Greek, Turkish and Middle Eastern grocers. Mahlab is ground St Lucie cherry kernels — it smells of almond and cherry at once. Without these spices the braid is good but is not tsoureki — they are what define it.
The red egg
An Easter tsoureki carries a red-dyed egg nestled into the braid, symbolising the blood of Christ. Use a hard-boiled, dyed egg — press it into the finished braid before the second rise.
Four days of freshness
All that butter and egg keeps it soft for four days in a plastic bag. Once it starts to go stale, tsoureki makes excellent toast and bread pudding.
