The best tsoureki! A greek style brioche, tsoureki is the perfect Easter bread.
This is the best tsoureki recipe I’ve ever made. I’ve been making it for weeks and it comes out exactly the same every single time. It’s really delicious and makes the best french toast.
I let my stand mixer do all the work for me, but you can definitely knead by hand. Just add an additional 4-5 minutes to your kneading time. It has to be kneaded for a long time for the gluten to form and get that sweet bread texture.
Tsoureki starter:
- Milk
- Active dry yeast
- Flour
- Sugar
The flour and sugar feed the yeast, so put it all together for about 10 minutes. Make sure your milk is lukewarm. If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, it will take a lot longer to activate the yeast. You’ll know when the starter is ready when it develops a foamy fluffy cloud on top. It means the yeast is active. It’s important not to skip this step to make sure that your yeast is alive and active.
The dough:
- Bread flour
- Sugar
- Mahlepi
- Salt
- Mastiha aka ground mastic gum (optional)
- Milk
- Eggs
- Zest of one orange
- Pure vanilla extract
- Unsalted butter
What is Mastiha?
Mastiha is also known as Mastic Gum. You can find it in specialty food stores that sell Greek or Middle Eastern food products. It’s an acquired taste, not everybody likes it. But I grew up with this flavor in my desserts, so I’m used to it and I really love it. You only need a tiny bit. Sometimes when you can’t find things they become very expensive and really not worth all the effort. So, if you can find it, you can leave it out. You can just substitute vanilla extract or even some cardamom seeds if you like that.
What is Mahlepi?
Mahlepi is a definite must. It’s also known as mahlab. It’s cherry pits that you can grind yourself or you can find it already pre-ground. It’s delicious. You can’t substitute anything for this flavor but again, if you can’t find it, leave it out. You can use some vanilla extract or some dried fruit in there.
After you add all of the ingredients to your starter, knead it in your mixer for 8 Minutes. This is a fairly sticky dough, so don’t expect it to find a round ball of dough. It’s going to be sticky, but just make sure you knead it for 8 minutes. Then, add your butter a little at a time and knead for another 2 minutes.
Put 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil in a large bowl, and transfer your dough to this bowl. It’s going to be really sticky to work with, but once it touches the oil it becomes easier to work with. You can coat it with the oil, and form it into a ball. Cover it with plastic wrap and set it aside in the warmest place in your house. Leave it for about 1 and a half to 2 hours, until it completely doubles in size.
How to make bread proof quicker
I have a trick that cuts at least 30 minutes off the time my dough takes to double in size. I put it in the dryer! Put a bunch of towels in the dryer and run it on high heat for about a couple of minutes so it gets really nice and warm in there. Then, turn the dryer off and put your bowl in there. Close the door and let it just sit in there until it’s doubled. I use this method whenever I bake bread and it works every time.
When your dough has doubled, cut into two equal pieces. Set one aside and cut the other in 3 equal pieces. If your dough is sticky and difficult to work with, you can use a little flour to make it easier. Just make sure that you very lightly dust your workspace, like not more than a tablespoon. If you use too much flour, your dough will toughen up and you won’t have a light tsoureki.
How do you braid tsoureki?
Roll each of your 3 pieces into rods about 12-13 inches. I use my pan as a guide so they fit perfectly on the pan every time. Then, you just braid the 3 ropes together and pinch the ends. Carefully put it on a baking sheet that’s lined with parchment paper and repeat the process with the other half of the dough.
After you’ve braided both, cover the pan with plastic wrap. Put it back in the warm place in your house for about 30 minutes to rise again until puffy but, not doubled in size. Make sure you give them enough time to get beautiful and fluffy or you’ll have dense brioche. You don’t want that. It should be light and airy.
Make an egg wash with one egg yolk and a couple of tablespoons of water. Then brush it over your brioche loaves. It creates a beautiful mahogany-colored brioche when it’s ready.
If your oven is accurate, these will take exactly 30 minutes in the oven. You’ll want to look for a beautiful dark golden color. Let them rest for 30 minutes so they cool properly and aren’t doughy on the inside.
This is a perfect easter greek brioche bread that’s not too sweet and compliments lots of dishes. Try my other tsoureki recipes as well… apple-filled tsoureki, pumpkin and cranberry tsoureki, and my tsoureki french toast.
TSOUREKI: GREEK BRIOCHE
The best tsoureki! A greek style brioche, tsoureki is the perfect Easter bread.
Ingredients
For the starter:
- 1/2 cup milk, lukewarm
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
The Dry Ingredients:
- 4- 4 and 1/2 cups (720 grams) bread flour
- 1 cup (240 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground mahlepi
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mastic gum (optional)
The Wet Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (177 ml) lukewarm milk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- zest of an orange
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- The egg wash: 2 egg yolks plus 2-4 tablespoons milk
Optional Fillings:
- dried cranberries, raisins, chopped nuts, candied fruit, ground cardamom, vanilla or almond extract
Instructions
- Combine the starter ingredients together in the bowl of a tabletop mixer. Whisk and set aside for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. It is ready when a puffy cloud forms above the mixture.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, orange zest, salt, mahlepi, and mastic gum together. Mix well to combine.
- Once the yeast is activated, add all of the remaining ingredients to the mixer's bowl. Turn the mixer on low and knead for 8 minutes.
- Add the softened butter and increase the speed to medium (4 on the Kitchen aid) and knead for 2 minutes.
- Place some oil in the bottom of a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Toss around to coat and form a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in volume. About 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Quick Rise Tip: My favorite place to keep the dough so that it rises quickly is in the dryer. Here is what I do:
- 1) I put 3-4 clean bath towels in the dryer and turn it on (high heat setting) for about 5-6 minutes.
- 2) I place the bowl with the dough into the dryer (on top of the warm towels) and close the door.
- 3) Make sure the dryer is OFF!!
- 4) Remove from the dryer when it has doubled in volume.
- This trick usually cuts 30 minutes from the rise time.
- Punch down the dough to remove the air. Cut into 2 equal portions.
- Cut each portion in thirds.
- Roll each portion into about 13 inch long ropes.
- Form the 3 ropes into a braid and do the same with the remaining three ropes to shape 2 loaves of brioche.
- Place both braided loaves onto a baking tray (18 by 13 inch) lined with parchment paper.
- Cover with plastic wrap or with a clean towel.
- Set aside for 30-40 minutes or until puffy. They should not double in size this time.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
- Brush the tops of the brioche dough with the egg wash.
- Optional: Place a hard-boiled, dyed egg in the braids or top with sliced almonds.
- Bake in the center rack of the oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Once baked and cooled, the bread can be frozen up to a month. Just make sure to wrap it well with plastic wrap.
- Enjoy!
Notes
This dough can be prepared in a tabletop mixer or kneaded by hand in a large bowl or on the countertop. Using a mixer will require less kneading time. About 10 minutes. If making the dough by hand, knead it at least 15 minutes so that the gluten forms well to achieve the desired consistency and texture.
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Hi
I was unable to subscribe to your website 🙁
Hi Betty,
I’m sorry about that. I’ll look into it to see what went wrong. Did you use the pop-up form or the form on the side bar?
I’ll add you manually for now 🙂
Dimitra
Hi Dimitra,
I love this recipe and taste of tsoureki. I have made it and it turned out perfect… I was wondering do you have a way to make this low carb/keto but still keep the great taste it has.
Thanks
Petros
Hi Petro! I will test some recipes and see what happens. If I come up a decent recipe I will share 🙂 Thanks so much for being here and I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe!
Hey Dimitra! If I wanted to double this recipe – what would the new measurements be? I need to make a lot of tsourekia.
They would stay the same. Are you making them using a tabletop mixer (what size), plus keep in mind that these mixers can not take too much of a load or else the motor will burn… Or, are you making them by hand? If you’re making them by hand (kneading without a mixer) then, double the recipe for each batch that you will make. Knead for 15 minutes. Also. these can be made smaller too!! I have a new tsoureki recipe that will go up on Wednesday. They will be smaller (wreaths) and will be filled. It might be a good idea to wait for that one 🙂 Please let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks for being here 🙂
Hi Dimitra – I want to try your recipe for Greek Easter next week but I’m having trouble finding bread flour at this time due to the Covid pandemic. I do have All purpose flour. Do you think it will make a big difference? Have you tried it with all purpose flour?
Same here!! No bread flour anywhere so, I tested my recipe using all-purpose flour ad it worked!! I put all of my tips for doing this in this new tsoureki video that was posted yesterday. Please read it carefully because the all-purpose flour will not work unless the dough is kneaded for much longer (double the time that bread flour takes). If you follow the tips you will be so peasantly surprised. I hope this post helps you and feel free to post as many questions as you have in the comments. I’m checking back very often as I know that many of us are baking a lot these days and need extra help. I’m here to help!!
Here’s the new tsoureki recipe. You do not have to fill them as I did.
https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/stuffed-tsoureki-minis-greek-easter-bread-wreaths-twists/
Thank you for your reply Dimitra… tried the recipe today with all purpose flour and kneaded it extra as you suggested and it turned out amazing. I wonder whether our flour up here in Canada is different because the dough was very dry but no worries I added a little extra warm milk. So happy to have yummy tsoureki for Greek Easter!
I’ve been making tsourekia for about 30 years. I always use all purpose flour and I live in Canada. Never have the tsourekia been dry. You may have added too much flour. My tsoureki recipe is almost the same, a couple of differences. I make anywhere from 10 to 12 at a time. Family and friends are always waiting for them. .
Good evening. Sooo glad I found your video site. Can you please tell me what quart size your Kitchen Aid mixer is? I have a 5 at and I’m afraid that it will not hold all of the ingredients in the recipe and I hate waste flour at this point in the grocery crisis. Thank you in advance. Keep up the great work!!
Hi! It’s so good to have you here 🙂
My Kitchen Aid is a 5-quart. So, it will work!! All the best 🙂
I have a new oven and now has a convection mode. Before it was just a conventional oven. Are you making 350 in conventional or 350 in a convection? Thanks
Hi! My oven does not have a convection option. I wouldn’t use it in this recipe. If you do keep an eye on it as it might be ready 10 minutes ahead of time 🙂
Hope this helps!!
Hello! Thank you for the YouTube video and recipe! They turned out amazing!!! Should I be freezing these until Easter next week?
Yes! They will stay freshest if frozen then, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. On Easter Day, let them come to room temperature. Enjoy!!
Hi Dimitra
I just want to thank you for this recipe. I made it and it came out perfect! Kali Anastasi
Hello
my dough didn’t rise at all, don’t know what I did wrong. Followed recipe to the T
Hi Despina! I’m so sorry about that. I covered that problem and many more in this brand new article:https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/the-ultimate-tsoureki-baking-guide/
Hope this helps. xx Dimitra
Hey Dimitra!!
Just curious, how/when can I add the red eggs to the bread? And it may be a duuuuuumb question but they do need to be fully hard boiled right lol? Any help would be appreciated…trying to surprise my Yiayia, Mama and Thea so I can’t ask them for their tricks like I normally would!
Hey Christina!! No question is a dumb question 🙂
I covered that question and almost every other tsoueki-related question/problem in this post right here:https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/the-ultimate-tsoureki-baking-guide/
Hope it helps! xx DImitra
do you have a video for the mini tsoureki stuffed?
Yes, here is the link on Youtube. I will also add the video to this page. Thank you!! https://youtu.be/RBU3xLr7Uzc
How can you make this using a bread machine to make the dough?
I’m sorry but, I’ve never used a bread machine so, I cannot help this time.
I had trouble buying bread flour but I did find white spelt flour that says on the packaging “all purpose flour bread baking quality”. Do I need to change the recipe at all to use this flour? Thanks.
Hi Dimitra
Thank you for your recipe, we tried Tsoureki for the first time using your recipe and they were great (maybe a little too long in the oven which we will perfect next time!). We did not have a machine and kneaded by hand for 15 minutes. A fun family activity in isolation! Smells delicious – from our kitchen in Melbourne, Australia!
Hello Dimitra!
Love your how-to video! I will attempt making tsoureki for the first time tomorrow 🙂 Currently, I’m living in Greece so there is an obligation factor (hehehehe). Anyway, is it possible use to dough blade on my food processor for the kneading portion?
Hi Maria! You can start with that and if it starts to slow down, switch to kneading by hand. All the best, Dimitra xx
Hi Dimitra, I’m just curious, what do you mean 4-4 and 1/2 cups of bread flour? Is that a typo? Do you mean 4 and 1/2 cups of bread flour?
I figured it out! 4 to 4 and 1/2 cups, sorry I was reading this recipe at 4am! 🙂
Hey Dimitra,
So I’ve had the issue of finding bread flour as well. I picked this up after looking in 3-4 different stores. https://products.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/bobs-red-mill-gluten-free-homemade-wonderful-bread-mix-674e75
The baker said it should work, but I wanted to ask you if I should use this or all purpose flour (which I do have), now that we know it works?
I’ve never used that and would rather use all-purpose flour instead 🙂
First time Tsoureki maker. I have a proof setting on my oven. Can I use that?
I’m concerned about the plastic wrap
I’ve never used it bt, sounds like a great option 🙂
Hi Dimitra, I made this recipe today and the tsoureki is delicious! I didn’t have the masticha ingredient but it worked out okay 🙂 I went to 3 different supermarkets and couldn’t find bread flour and I had to use all purpose flour. I followed your directions about kneading the dough 15 minutes and it worked out perfectly fine. I have to say the inside of the tsoureki is so soft and fluffy! Thank you so much and I will be using again!
We made your recipe this year. People are telling us it is the best they ever had!!!! This was my sister and I first time trying to make it and we hit it out of the park!!!! Xronia polla!!! Xristos Anesti!!!
Hi Dimitra, My daughter and I made your traditional tsoureki yesterday (twice for four loaves). We used bread flour and watched your tutorial. It turned out perfectly. We were so happy, as we had limited success in the past using my mother-in-law’s recipe. Your method/recipe produced the best tsoureki we have ever made or tasted! Everyone was raving about it. Even fussy yiayia and papou loved it! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and wisdom. By the way, we wrapped the bowl in an electric blanket for the first rise and used the dryer method for the second, shorter rise, as our dryer does not retain heat very long. Thanks again!
Just wanted to point out two things. Your recipe says to put the zest in the WET ingredients, but your video puts it in the dry ingredients bowl. Your recipe says NOT to let the braided dough double in size, but your video say to let me double in size. A bit confusing. Also I didn’t understand whether to us 4 or 4 and a half cups of flour. I didn’t want it too dense as I tried another recipe that called for more flour (totally different tsoureki recipe, but it was tsoureki) and it was too dense so I used 4 cups and then it was too loose when I put it in the oiled bowl. Can you clarify if any of this makes a difference. This batch is in the dryer rising for the first round. Not sure how it will come out. Tricky to know for a first time maker. Thank you.
Hi Allison,
Thanks so much for being here today and for giving my recipe a try. Firstly, I would like to apologize for the confusion. That tsoureki video is an older one and I’ve created an updated version (using all-purpose flour due to the stay at home order) that is a bit easier to follow.
Let me answer your questions one by one:
As for the zest, it doesn’t really make a difference so, don’t worry about it at all 🙂
Allow the dough to double in volume for the first rise. If the dough is still too sticky to work with try kneading it with a little bit of olive oil. A few tablespoons (2-3) should be enough. If it is still too sticky go ahead and knead in enough flour until the dough is still soft but no longer sticky. All flour is different and I’ve received lots of feedback that is why I adjusted the flour measurements on the written recipe. I’ve made it a hundred times so far (literally,lol) and I prefer to weigh the flour and follow the grams measurement. It comes out perfect every time. However, if you keep these notes in mind yours will be delicious as well.
Here’s the VERY important part. Once you form the braids, set it aside and let it rise (in a warm spot) for just 30-35 minutes until it puffs but NOT doubled in size. I’m so sorry about the confusion in the video!! If it doubles in size once it is in braid form, it might not hold the shape in the oven.
I hope this helps and feel free to post any questions. I’m here to help 🙂
xoxo
Dimitra
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have tried several other recipes, each time offering them up to my Greek parents for their approval. This is the recipe that received nothing but compliments. My father told me to save this one. Other recipes I have tried made the dough coarse; your dough is so soft and pillowy. It’s exactly what I expect from a sweet bread loaf.
Hi I love this recipe and I have used it many times and it comes out perfect every single time. Quick question can I make this in a round pan instead of braided? I want to use it as a New Year’s vasilopita and was wondering if I can use it in a round baking pan? Please let me know, thank you and happy new year!!
Dimitra, thank you for this recipe. The dough is so aromatic and it made the house smell wonderful. The taste is also exactly what we were looking for. I have one question about the flour measurement. Is it really 720 grams? That would make it six cups of bread flour (120 grams per cup). That was what I used and the bread came out very dense. I used the dough to make your Cinnamon Raisin bread. I’m looking to make this again and I usually measure the flours by grams not cups, and I’m hoping for a better result next time. Can you help?
Hi Dimitra. Started early to experiment to see which recipe I’d use for Greek Easter. So happy I came across yours. Made 2 loaves yesterday and they turned out great. I melted chocolate and caramel on one of them. Both were delicious and I’m so satisfied. This was only my 2nd attempt. Last year’s not worth mentioning. LOL
I only have one comment. When I viewed your video, in the second rising, your loaves looked like they expanded width wise. Mine rose in height. Did I braid too tightly?
Apologies Dimitra…would you mind removing my last name
From Vicky
Love this Easter bread, made with mahalab.
But now would like to use in different ways other than
Toasted or in French toast. Any ideas?
Sure, it makes a fabulous bread pudding and it’s also nice in trifles. But, honestly my favorite way to eat it is slathered with butter alongside a hot cup of Greek coffee 🙂
720g of flour brings me to about 8 cups. What am I doing wrong? 🤷♀️
Hi!! I tackled this problem in my most recent tsoureki video. I measured on camera so that you can have a good idea 🙂 hope this helps. Here’s that link:https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/the-ultimate-tsoureki-baking-guide/
Hi Dimitra – love your site and am getting some super tips, was just wondering if I can leave the tsoureki to rise overnight.
I suppose that you can 🙂 It’ll be nice and light. Let me know how it turns out!!
Hi Dimitra 🙂 I am in the UK and we don’t use cups so I tried with your flour measurements (720g) and it came out so stiff and hard, i threw the dough away before baking because it looked nothing like yours. I tried using a different cup to gram converter and I actually needed around 600g flour and 200g sugar. Just an FYI – It might have been bad luck the first time I tried 🙂 second time they came out beautifully!! <3
Been following you for a few years now. Love your recipes. Was looking for a tsoureki that was similar to my mom’s and I tried this tsoureki recipe last year and it came out fantastic, just like my mom’s. Letting the dough rise in the oven with only the light on, no heat, works great also. Use this method for bread dough and yogurt all the time. Thanks for your fabulous recipes and videos!
You are truly brilliant! I’ve been making tsoureki for many years and it was always a hit or miss. When I moved to a high altitude state, it became even more difficult to have the dough rise properly.
I tried your dryer method for both rise times this year and am truly amazed at how well it worked.
My bread came out beautiful and delicious!
Thank you so much for discovering this method.
Waiting to taste, but smells delicious. My bread seemed to spread out when it baked…what went wrong? Could I not have added enough flour. I did use I unbleached flour.
Just wondering when you can top with blanched almonds? This is my first attempt!
The blanched almonds get sprinkled on top over the egg wash, right before baking. Enjoy it!!
Hi Dimitra
I tried your recipe but I added a little coconut flour and ground cardamom as well. I baked at 400 and they turned out great. I haven’t tasted them yet.
I just watched the newest video and noticed you turn on the scale before putting the bowl on. Did you forget to tare? I just can’t figure out how you get to 720 grams with 4.5 cups. The HEB label says the standard 30 grams per quarter cup, so 4.5 cups should be 540 grams. It’s not like you’re packing the measuring cup so it just doesn’t make sense to me.
I did tare it and that’s what it measures to. But, it’s best to save a cup of the flour and add it at the end if the dough seems too sticky.
Hello Dimitra, I made tsoureki for the first time using your recipe and can I just say, “WOW!” It came out amazing and was an absolute hit with everyone!! Growing up my Mom spoiled us with the traditional Easter tsourekia. Always making enough for my sisters and I to enjoy and freeze. After my parents retired to Greece, I purchased ready made tsourekia from our Mediterranean market, never feeling comfortable with the tsoureki baking process. Although the store bought were very good, I missed the smell and fuss over my Mom’s homemade ones. After watching your video, I was determined to try my baker’s hand at making them. Although I didn’t have my mom’s recipe, watching your video, seeing the ease of your recipe, detailed instructions, and your ultimate tsoureki baking guide, I was confident I could do it. I not only did it, I think they came out even better than my Moms. Shhhhh …. Can’t say that to my dear Mom, but I did tell her I made them following Dimitra’s Dishes recipe and she was so pleased with my success! Thank you, thank you! Love your channel! T
Hi. The recipe you have on your website for tsourecki it’s different than the one you had in your video at Easter time. For example it on the video you said to use one and 1/4 cup milk for the starter and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Which is correct? Thanks
I’m making it for my sister this weekend because she was gone at Easter and really likes it!
Hi. The recipe for Tsoureki on this website is a little different than the one you had in your video at Easter. The starter you recommended had one and a4 cup milk and you eliminated the milk in the wet ingredients. Does it make any difference? Which method do you recommend?
I making it this weekend for my sister who was not here at Easter. Thank you
Hello can you tell me how much flour. Didn’t understand 4-4 1/2 cups. Is that 4 cups or 8 cups. 720 grams should be around four cups but that doesn’t seem enough
About 4 and a half cups. 8 cups would be way too much.
gun go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Hi. Your recipe looks delicious. I will definitely try it. However, my question to you is as follows:
Can i make 3 smaller loaves instead of two bigger ones? Would that alter baking time?
Thanks 😊
Yes, absolutely. I wrote a tsoureki baking guide and I have several recipes for mini tsourekia on this site. I believe that they’re ready in 20-25 minutes 🙂
dear Dimitra,
I love this recipe. I make it every year and send them to all of my children. I love your style and your enthusiasm. Cooking is my passion and I enjoy watching others who share in this art form. Bravosou.
Kali Anastasi,
Deme
Does the oven need to be fan forced or no fan
No fan 🙂
Hello!
My Yia Yia loves your recipes, so I attempted this one instead of her recipe. I bake a lot, and if a recipe gives me grams measurements I use those (figure that I can dirty one less thing). I put everything together and my dough just wasn’t right. Unfortunately, the grams measurements listed on this recipe are off. I should have double checked the math. But 4 cups of bread flour is roughly 496 grams, not 720.
Luckily, I had enough ingredients to make a batch following my Yia Yia’s recipe and it’s proving now. I will for sure make your recipe again with the right amount of flour next time. Xristos Anesti!!
How many grams of butter do I need …
I tried this today & the taste is great however, it didn’t hold its shape. What can I do? The dough was super soft &mi had a horrible time trying to braid it. Please help🤦🏼♀️
Hi Dimitra. This recipe is amazing! The only question I have is how did you convert cups to grams? From what I have read, one cup of flour is 120 grams. One cup of sugar is 200 grams. I weighed my flour to 720 grams as you state in your recipe, and it was way too much. I had to add additional milk to thin out the dough. I am going to try the recipe again, but this time measure the flour and then weigh it to see the difference. Thoughts?
I weighed it using my kitchen scale. Bread recipes are tricky because the results with cary depending on elevation, temperature, and sometimes on different brands too. It’s best to slowly add the flour and stop if it gets too thick instead of thinning it out later on. Hope this helps!
Can’t wait to try this recipe
Thank you for explaining it
Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into your website and videos. I made Tsoureki following your directions last year, and brought the loaves to a Greek Easter dinner hosted by Greek friends. They all raved about the Tsoureki! Just finished two loaves for tomorrow. The dinner is a highlight of our year, with great food, conversation, love and friendship. Your Tsoureki is now a part of our Easter tradition. Thanks again.
God bless you and your family.
Thank you very much!! May God bless you and yours as well!
Dimitra,
Thank you so much for this AMAZING recipe. My daughter has severe milk allergies and I used your recipe with Almond milk and vegan shortening and the tsoureki were absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Moist and flavorful! So very easy to make! I found I only needed 30 minutes for the tsoureki to become the rich mahogany color (I am in Queens NY).
Thank you for your very clear instructions and for your videos and thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Using the bread flour made such a difference.My tsoureki came out beautiful and delicious. Thank you for your delicious recipes. Your techniques and recipes are so much like my Mom’s. Christos Anesti
I tried making the Easter bread for the first time. It’s still in the oven, and so far it looks good. I followed your videos regularly and I followed your advice to clean as I go. That sort of backfired today. While the bread was kneading in my KitchenAid, I was cleaning up all the dishes. I heard a crashing sound. I turned and saw my mixer had scooted off of the edge of the counter! Luckily the dough was still in the bowl kneading away. I’m now I’m going to refer to this as suicidal tsoureki. So you might advise your viewers to keep an eye on their mixer while kneading😊
Oh no!! lol!! Thankfully you didn’t get hurt and the mixer didn’t have a glass bowl. 😱 I will mention that in the post!!
They are soooo good! Why did my not turn out as pretty? Was it because of the egg wash?
Oh my, what happened? After leaving it to rise, it was much too sticky to do anything with. Any suggestions?
Could it be that I don’t have a kitchen aid for kneading??
I think 4 – 4.5 cups flour is 520-585 grams.
This was my first time ever making Tsoureki. My husband is Greek. When he took his first bite he closed his eyes and smiled. It reminded him of his mother’s Easter bread. It was soooo good!
That makes my heart so happy!! I’m so glad you both enjoyed it 🙂
Trying this recipe for the first time. Just wanted to let you know that when I actually printed out the recipe, the butter was not included. I had to frantically go back to my ipad and look to see if the amount of butter was listed anywhere. It was, just not in the print out. Thanks.
Hello Dimitra, just wanted you to clarify – once the bread is braided, the video says let rise 1.5 hours but the printed recipe says 30-40 mins? I made the recipe before but I can’t remember which one I used – it had come out great!
Hi Emilia! SO that all depends on the temperature in your home. If it’s warm, 30 minutes should be enough. They should be puffy but not doubled in volume 🙂 Hope that helps!! All the best
Hi Dimitra, your recipe is wonderful, except that I believe the conversion from cups to grams or mLs may not be correct. Weights are different for different ingredients. I weighed my flour and sugar and both were too much for the recipe. 1 cup flour is about 120 grams, which would be closer to 540 grams (for 4.5 cups), vs. 720 grams. For sugar, 1 cup is about 200 grams, not 240. When I was mixing the dough, it became super stiff, so I added almost 1/2 cup more milk. I think it turned out OK. Looks and smells amazing. I went back and made 2 more loaves using the imperial system and it was definitely different!! I feel I need to find a good in-between, but the real taste test will happen on Easter this weekend. Kali Anastasi!!
This conversion chart from King Arthur is a very handy reference: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart