Easter Tsoureki

TSOUREKI CLUB

In Greek women possies all over, the tsoureki making feat is spoken about and critiqued as if one's life depends on it (or as if Michael Pierre White is judging).
The best never readily share their secrets or recipes.
I always felt like they were part of an exclusive 'Tsoureki Club', ostracising other Greek women who didn't wear doily aprons, had long polished fingernails and peroxide bouffant hair (my mum).
I was brought up amongst a posse of full time working Greek mums who much preferred to buy their tsourekia than spend hours kneading and waiting for molecules to react, so I never really learnt how to bake from scratch until much later on.
My 'formal' tsoureki training took place in Mrs Loula's kitchen.
Mrs Loula hailed from Athens (that's about all I can reveal about her identity, 'they' may be watching!)
A polished, softly spoken, super polite and compassionate lady who gave up her whole day one Greek Easter, divulging her secrets to little old me.
Her baking skills were legendary. Her tsourekia, a dream.
Armed with my handycam and a pencil, I recorded and scribbled as much of her info and instruction as possible.
I needed all I could get to enable me to replicate these new found skills in my own little kitchen.
The following year I baked and partly failed.
The year after that I became Mr Miyagi.
Following that, I was teaching others.

The recipe below is my posse's secret. Guard it as if your life depends on it.

And always remember:

The first rule of Tsoureki Club is, you do not talk about Tsoureki Club.
The second rule of Tsoureki Club is,….

GATHER

(To this day I don't muck around when it's Tsoureki baking time. I can't get enough of them and aim to over-indulge every Easter, so the quantity below makes about 13 Tsourekia, enough for giveaways and to curb my addiction.)

3 kg plain strong flour (eg. Western Milling Special White or Cake/Bread flour)
300g fresh yeast
1 cup warm water (about 40 C) for yeast
1 cup water (for mahlepi seeds)
2 1/2 cups full cream milk
1kg unsalted organic butter, melted
1 kg sugar
12 free range eggs
2 packets (15g each) mahlepi seeds or 30g ground mastic tears
4 tspn vanilla extract
grated zest of 2 lemons or oranges (if flavouring with mastiha, omit the zest)

To decorate:
5 beaten egg yolks with a little water, to glaze
red dyed eggs,1 per loaf (if using)
flaked almonds or sesame seeds

DO

Bring all ingredients to room temperature.
(Warm the room that you will be preparing and proving the dough in. I always say - “..Warm the room to a Byron Bay summer, strip down and start baking”. This is essential to get a good rise out of the dough.)

Preparation of starter dough: Place warm water and fresh yeast into a bowl, and dissolve it by hand, squishing away any lumps. 

Slowly add some of the flour (3 tablespoons at a time) until it turns into a very smooth batter.

Cover bowl with cling film and a blanket or kitchen towel, and place in a warm spot for about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

The mixture will rise and create air bubbles.

If using mahlepi seeds, add to a saucepan and pour in 1 cup water.

Simmer on low heat until this liquid concentrates the essence and reduces to about 1/2 cup. Strain and allow to cool to lukewarm.

Melt butter and allow to cool to lukewarm.

Warm milk to lukewarm.

Into a huge bowl or giant plastic 'lekani' (as my blue one in the top picture), add sugar, citrus zest &/or ground mastiha (if using) and eggs.

Add milk to sugar mixture and mix by hand.

Add mahlepi liquid (if using) and continue to mix by hand.

Add a little flour and continue mixing by hand.

Now add the starter dough.

Now alternating between the flour and melted butter, add slowly and gently mix until all ingredients are incorporated into a non-sticky elastic dough.

This dough should lift out of the bowl, leaving it clean.

If it becomes too sticky, add more melted butter.

Mix and keep kneading, until the sides come clean again.

Cover this bowl with cling film and a clean kitchen towel or blanket, and leave in a warm spot again to rise for another 2 hrs or until double in size.

Grease or line with baking paper 12-13 small pizza or biscuit trays.

When dough has doubled, remove from bowl and knead a little more, dusting with a little flour if required.

What should be present are 'elastic threads' in the dough (in Greek they are called 'Ιnes'. It is these that will create the flaky strands when you pull apart a well baked tsoureki.


Divide mix into 13 parts and mould into desired shapes. You can braid or form a ring of little round buns. Insert red egg into shape.

Place each loaf onto a greased tray or on baking paper (on a tray) and put aside in a warm place to rise again.

Brush with egg yolks, scatter with almonds or sesame and bake at 180C until lightly golden.

Don’t over bake, as you want them to still be slightly ‘doughy’. 

As they cool, they will dry up a little but still remain moist over the next few days.

Eat warm or wrap in cling film and store.

They can also be frozen - unthawed and sliced, they make a gorgeous ‘bread & butter’ pudding!!…


NOTES:

Mahlepi - is a spice derived from wild cherry seeds. Mahlepi can also be bought already ground into a powder. Use either.

Mastiha tears - the dried resin from the mastiha tree, commonly found on the island of Chios. 

Both can be purchased from all good Greek delicatessens.