Tsoureki. My first foray into Greek Cooking. Which is a lot like Italian Cooking, except it doesn't have basil, because basil was found by St. Somebody around the foot of the cross. I know that's not very specific. But, speaking candidly, I don't care what was growing around the foot of the cross. Especially if it was basil, because basil is delicious, medicinal, and easy to grow. I can't imagine that Jesus would feel that if basil were growing around his cross that it should be verboten to his beloved people forever. I mean, he made it. He knows how good it is. If He had died atop a hill of johnson grass, maybe I would feel differently.
I had heard about these legendary Easter Breads in passing, read about them once or twice (Italians make them too) and finally came across a recipe that sounded so tasty that I could not resist making it for Easter. I modified it for size because the original made 5-6 loaves. I mean, when a recipe is so large the author is not clear on how many whole loaves it makes it is too large for my kitchen. And in addition, the actual yield of the original recipe, based on my experience, is 1000. Yes. Possibly 2000. It's a lot. My cut-down recipe, which I cannot even honestly call a "small batch", makes one hubcab-sized loaf or, likely, 2-3 normal-sized loaves. But it was worth it because it is not only great fresh, it is lucious day after day for breakfast slathered in butter and dunked in your hot beverage of choice. It is rich, and just lightly sweet, with a velvety, almost cakey texture. I think I need to go make some more, because my hubcab of Easter love didn't last very long.
Medium-Batch Tsoureki
1 package fast-rising yeast
1/2 C. warm water
3-4 C.sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, separated
1/2-1/3 C. milk
1/2 C. butter (one stick, in America)
half a can of sesame seeds
1 TB. vanilla or almond extract (I made mine with vanilla)
Hardboiled and festively dyed eggs for decoration (extremely optional, but attractive)
Mix together the warm water, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the yeast and let proof for 5-10 minutes or until seriously foamy. As in, "froth on beer" foamy, not "I stirred it a little and I think I see bubbles" foamy. That is not enough foamy. That amount of foamy could be "yeast is actually dead but faking you out" foamy, otherwise known as "ahahahaha try and burn ME in the oven, your bread will never rise, yeast-hater" foamy. Stir in 2 egg yolks and 1 egg white. (The other egg white is for brushing on top later.) Add in your milk. Sift your flour and stir it into the yeast micture one cup at a time, mixing it well to make a smooth batter, then, as you continue adding flour, a glossy dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead it about 10 minutes, adding in additional flour as necessary to prevent it becoming too sticky. When you're done, you should have a satiny elastic dough that does not tear easily. Put it in a well-greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap (or wet cheesecloth, it works just fine). Set your dough in a warm place. (I've had good success with putting the oven on the lowest setting, letting it preheat, then putting in the dough to rise and turning the oven off after I shut the door). Let it rise until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. This will be your longest rising time. When it's risen, punch it down and let it rise until doubled again (about 45 minutes). When it's done so, turn it out onto your work surface and cut it into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a long snake. Braid three snakes together, then turn them into a wreath. Put your wreaths onto your baking sheets. Tuck the dyed eggs in amongst the sections of braid if you want the eggs in for decoration. Then, brush each wreath with the egg white and sprinkle sesame seeds all over them until they are basically more sesame seed than bread. Yum. Put them in the oven and bake at 350 until golden brown on top and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. I had to tent mine with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes or so to prevent the crust from scorching, but a rich caramel brown crust is actually pretty tasty, and this bread's texture doesn't result in a tough crust. Au contraire. Weap, packaged white bread, weap. Toothsome crusts come from the home oven now.
I had heard about these legendary Easter Breads in passing, read about them once or twice (Italians make them too) and finally came across a recipe that sounded so tasty that I could not resist making it for Easter. I modified it for size because the original made 5-6 loaves. I mean, when a recipe is so large the author is not clear on how many whole loaves it makes it is too large for my kitchen. And in addition, the actual yield of the original recipe, based on my experience, is 1000. Yes. Possibly 2000. It's a lot. My cut-down recipe, which I cannot even honestly call a "small batch", makes one hubcab-sized loaf or, likely, 2-3 normal-sized loaves. But it was worth it because it is not only great fresh, it is lucious day after day for breakfast slathered in butter and dunked in your hot beverage of choice. It is rich, and just lightly sweet, with a velvety, almost cakey texture. I think I need to go make some more, because my hubcab of Easter love didn't last very long.
Medium-Batch Tsoureki
1 package fast-rising yeast
1/2 C. warm water
3-4 C.sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, separated
1/2-1/3 C. milk
1/2 C. butter (one stick, in America)
half a can of sesame seeds
1 TB. vanilla or almond extract (I made mine with vanilla)
Hardboiled and festively dyed eggs for decoration (extremely optional, but attractive)
Mix together the warm water, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the yeast and let proof for 5-10 minutes or until seriously foamy. As in, "froth on beer" foamy, not "I stirred it a little and I think I see bubbles" foamy. That is not enough foamy. That amount of foamy could be "yeast is actually dead but faking you out" foamy, otherwise known as "ahahahaha try and burn ME in the oven, your bread will never rise, yeast-hater" foamy. Stir in 2 egg yolks and 1 egg white. (The other egg white is for brushing on top later.) Add in your milk. Sift your flour and stir it into the yeast micture one cup at a time, mixing it well to make a smooth batter, then, as you continue adding flour, a glossy dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead it about 10 minutes, adding in additional flour as necessary to prevent it becoming too sticky. When you're done, you should have a satiny elastic dough that does not tear easily. Put it in a well-greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap (or wet cheesecloth, it works just fine). Set your dough in a warm place. (I've had good success with putting the oven on the lowest setting, letting it preheat, then putting in the dough to rise and turning the oven off after I shut the door). Let it rise until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. This will be your longest rising time. When it's risen, punch it down and let it rise until doubled again (about 45 minutes). When it's done so, turn it out onto your work surface and cut it into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a long snake. Braid three snakes together, then turn them into a wreath. Put your wreaths onto your baking sheets. Tuck the dyed eggs in amongst the sections of braid if you want the eggs in for decoration. Then, brush each wreath with the egg white and sprinkle sesame seeds all over them until they are basically more sesame seed than bread. Yum. Put them in the oven and bake at 350 until golden brown on top and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. I had to tent mine with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes or so to prevent the crust from scorching, but a rich caramel brown crust is actually pretty tasty, and this bread's texture doesn't result in a tough crust. Au contraire. Weap, packaged white bread, weap. Toothsome crusts come from the home oven now.
