Tsoureki τσουρέκι (Easter bread)

Tsoureki   τσουρέκι (Easter bread)

Traditionally made at Easter braided with a red Easter egg.

The red egg represents the Blood of Christ

This bread was a staple in our home at Easter time. The smell of this bread is amazing as it cooks. Although it is delicious for several days after it is baked, it is my personal belief that there is nothing more perfect than a fresh slice while it is still warm from the oven.

Syrup

4 cups sugar

5 cups water

zest from 4 to 5 large oranges

Bread dough

5 tablespoons yeast

2 cups warm water

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar

6 to 8 cups flour

1 rounded table spoon salt

1/2 lb butter

1 1/2 cups cold milk

6 eggs

1 tablespoon Malhepi

Egg wash

Optional

Red dyed hard boiled eggs

Almond slices (for decoration)

Early in the day or the day before  prepare a syrup for the dough:

4 cups sugar and 5 cups water cooked until sugar dissolves. This must cool completely prior to use

then remove the zest from 4-5 large oranges you can zest them with a fine grater or, and this is Margarita's technique: cut them off with a pairing knife into small pieces free of the bitter pith then she puts these into a small food processor or magic bullet blender along with some of the syrup you made earlier and blend until fine paste and relatively smooth 

5 tablespoons yeast dissolved into 2 cups warm-to-the-hand water with two to three tablespoon sugar until frothy (make sure bowl is big for yeast to froth up)

Add 3 cups flour into mixer and one rounded table spoon salt then add in your activated yeast on low to medium speed mix until well blended add sugar water until dough is a loose composition meanwhile in a sauce pan melt ½ lbs butter when melted add 1 ½ cups cold milk to, this way you ensure that the butter is not too hot for dough.  

Start adding eggs one at a time (total of six eggs) blend continuously.  Then add the milk, butter and blended zest add 1 tablespoon  mahlepi flavoring then alternating add flour and the sugar water  making sure you use all of the water before you finish with the flour (usually this would be 6 to 8 more cups of flour) at this point your mixer will likely be over flowing with dough that is still too loose. Remove the overly wet dough and put into a very large bowl.  Put half to a third of the dough back into your mixer  and resume adding flour until the dough is very smooth, stays on the dough hook when you stop mixing it and is very elastic and pliable.will look shinny and light in texture and will not be too sticky to handle (it will smell and taste like heaven) Repeat this method with the remaining dough until all the dough is ready.