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Argiro Barbarigou's Tsoureki

This is the delicious sweet bread, a bit like brioche made for Greek Easter - but is great any time of the year. Argiro Barabarigou's recipe is very easy to follow but her best advice is patience! She advises that the whole process will take about 5-6 hours, so allow yourself time. It is well worth the effort!
 
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Course Sweet Stuff
Cuisine Greek

Ingredients
  

For activating the yeast

  • 100 gm fresh yeast
  • 40 gm sugar
  • 80 ml warm water

For the dough

  • 250 gm butter
  • 300 gm sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 350 ml milk
  • 1,100 gm strong flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 masicha 'tears', ground to a powder 'Tears' are crystalised masticha gum. They are not absolutely essential to the recipe, but they do give part of the distintive taste.
  • 2 tsp ground mahlepi Mahlepi is an essential spice for the distinctive tsoureki flavour. It can be bought on line or from any good ethnic grocer.
  • 50 gm melted or softened butter This is to grease your hands for kneading the dough.
  • flaked almonds To scatter on top of the bread before baking.

The egg glaze

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 dessert spoon sugar
  • 2 table spoon water

Instructions
 

Activating the yeast

  • Start by activating the yeast. Blend the yeast with the sugar and then add the warm water. Mix well so that it has a creamy consistency. Cover and leave for about 5-10 minutes until the surface is covered in frothy bubbles.

Making the dough

  • Sift the flour into a very large bowl - remember that the dough will triple in volume. Add the salt, the groung mahlepi and the masticha, if you are using it.
  • Put the butter in a pan and warm gently to melt it. Add the sugar and heat it very gently until the sugat has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
  • In another bowl, whisk the eggs and the milk and then add the sugar/butter mixture. Mix it really well.
  • Next combine all the liquid ingredients and add the dissolved yeast, and add them all to the flour.
  • Mix it all together really well with a wooden spoon until you have a well-combined dough.
  • Cover the bowl with the dough in and leave to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours. It should treble in volume.
  • After a couple of hours put the risen dough onto the kitchen work surface. Now put some of the extra melted butter on your hands, and knead the dough really well. It should be a soft and buttery, and not stick to your hands.
  • Now decide how to shape the dough. The most popular shape is a long plait. So divide the dough into two, and then divide each half into three equal parts.
  • Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment
  • Make long 'sausages' and, using three for each loaf, make a plait and put on the baking trays. Now cover the loaves and allow them to rise for another few hours. They will treble in size.
  • When they have risen, put the oven on at 160°, leave it to warm up. Now make the egg glaze.

Make the egg glaze

  • Put all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk really well

Finishing up

  • Brush the risen loaves with the egg glaze - it's good to let the dough recover a bit after you've glazed them as brushing the surface knocks it back a but.
  • Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and bake for about 40 minutes.
  • When the loaves are lovely and brown, take them out of the oven, peel off the baking parchment and allow to cool.

Notes

 
Here are links to her original versions - one is in Greek and the other is with American measurements. 
http://argirobarbarigou.com/recipes/the-best-easter-holy-bread/
https://www.argiro.gr/recipe/pasxalina-tsourekia/
Keyword Easter