Tsourekia for miles

I was a little surprised when my mom Penny asked me to help her test out recipes for the Long Beach  cookbook, but it turns out hardly anyone in my family bakes and she knew that I started making bread last year. I will not talk about how one can come from a family that does not bake because I would like them to keep giving me good recipes from all the yiayiades. 

My favorite bread to make is challah because it makes such nice French toast, so mom and Maria asked if I would be willing to test out some tsoureki recipes, since they are both so similar. Since I know just enough to get into trouble in the kitchen, they figured it would be a good way to make sure the recipes make sense for experts and novices alike.

The first thing I noticed about the recipe is that it uses a LOT of yeast. Like twice as much as I am used to. I was not sure what to think, but I dove right in and did just what it said. My second surprise was after kneading, when I turned the dough into a buttered dish. I've never buttered my dough before, but between the extra yeast and the butter, the dough was an absolute joy to work with -- not sticky at all and it rolled out the most beautiful ropes for braiding. 

I was a little worried after the second rise of only 15 minutes that the dough hadn't expanded enough, especially given how much yeast the recipe used. And sure enough, the dough over-proofed in the oven and the braids tore apart in the middle. But even though the loaves came out a little ugly, they were incredibly delicious and fluffy inside. 

I suspect the problem is just that I am pretty new at baking so I don't always get my braids exactly right (the trickiest part of sweet breads!) Knowing this, I saved half of the dough in the refrigerator to try again. Instead of waiting 15 minutes like the recipe calls for, I will use the "poke test" to test them for readiness. If I poke the dough and the indentation from my finger springs back slowly and doesn't quite fill all the way in, I will know they are ready to go in.

Tragedy with the braid aside, this recipe was fantastic. Not only have I been having bread pudding and French toast for days, I put my adventure on Twitter and friends and strangers alike are already asking me whether I can send them the recipe or whether they can buy a copy of the cookbook when it is ready. So I would say my first experiment was pretty successful!

Braided Easter Bread (Tsourekia)

Prep time: 3 hours
Makes: 4 loaves

Ingredients

4 pkgs. dry yeast

1/3 c. warm water (105⁰-115⁰)
7 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. melted unsalted butter with an additional 1 T. melted butter to coat bowl
1 1/2 c. warm milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. slivered almonds
8-9 c. unbleached flour and 1-2 T. flour for pan dusting
colored hard-cooked egg (optional) *

Pre-heat oven to 350⁰F.

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and let stand 10 minutes at room temperature. With an electric hand mixer, beat 6 eggs with sugar, melted butter, warm milk and salt for 1 minute.  Add yeast mixture to egg mixture. Gradually add flour until dough is soft, but not sticky.  Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place kneaded bread into a buttered bowl, then turn buttered bread side up to coat entirely.  Cover with damp towel and let rise in warm place until doubled for 2 hours. After it has risen, punch dough down and divide into 4 portions.  Divide each portion into 3 pieces and roll into 12”-14” long ropes.  Braid 3 ropes to form a long loaf into desired shape and size.  Repeat with remaining ropes.  Place braided breads on a large greased baking pan dusted with flour.  Cover the braided breads with a clean towel allowing them to rise until the dough does not spring back using the 'poke” test;  gently indent the dough with your thumb watching it  pop back slowly and not filling completely in.   Beat the remaining egg and brush over each loaf, then sprinkle tops with almonds.  Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown.  

* If adding an Easter egg, make one indentation in the bread and press a hard-boiled egg firmly into the depression before placing bread in oven.  Best to use a non-dyed, hard-boiled egg and switch out for a traditionally red colored Easter egg after baking the bread to prevent the dye from getting on the bread.

 

* If adding an Easter egg, make one indentation in the bread and press a hard boiled egg firmly into the depression before placing bread in oven.  Best to use a non-dyed, hard-boiled egg and switch out for a traditionally red colored Easter egg after baking the bread to prevent the dye from getting on the bread.