Greek Easter Bread

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

24 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 16 servings

Nutritional Info
Per each of 16 servings: about	-
cal	283283 cal
pro	8 g8g pro
total fat	6 g6g total fat
sat. fat	2 g2g sat. fat
carb	49 g49g carb
fibre	2 g2g fibre
chol	76 mg76mg chol
sodium	188 mg188mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	44 calcium
iron	2626 iron
vit A	55 vit A
vit C	22 vit C
folate	4545 folate

Tsoureki, a traditional Greek sweet bread with dyed red eggs nestled on top, breaks the fast of Lent and symbolizes the rebirth and blood of Christ. Rich in eggs and butter, it's sprinkled with almonds or sesame seeds and flavoured with orange, vanilla, allspice or mahleb, a sweet cherry spice. These breads are often saved for wall decorations. The eggs are coloured with dye found in Greek bakeries.

Ingredients

5 small eggs 5 5small eggeggs
1 tbsp vinegar 1 1tbsp tbspvinegar
1 pkg red Greek Easter egg dye 1 1pkg pkgred Greek Easter egg dye
Dough
3/4 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 3/4cup cuppacked brown sugar
2 tbsp active dry yeast 2 2tbsp tbspactive dry yeast
1/2 cup milk 1/2 1/2cup cupmilk
2 tbsp butter 2 2tbsp tbspbutter
1 tsp salt 1 1tsp tspsalt
5 eggs 5 5eggeggs
2 tbsp grated orange rind 2 2tbsp tbspgrated orange rind
3-1/4 cups all purpose flour 3-1/4 3-1/4cups cupsall purpose flour
3-1/4 cups cake and pastry flour 3-1/4 3-1/4cups cupscake and pastry flour
Topping
1 egg yolk 1 1egg yolkegg yolks
1 tsp liquid honey 1 1tsp tspliquid honey
1 tsp milk 1 1tsp tspmilk
1/2 cup slivered almonds 1/2 1/2cup cupslivered almonds or sesame seeds

Preparation

1- Place eggs in saucepan; cover with water to come 1 inch (2.5 cm) above eggs. Add vinegar and red dye; cover and bring to boil over high heat. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, for 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to bowl; wipe eggs dry and refrigerate. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

2- Dough: In measuring cup, dissolve 1 tsp (5 mL) of the brown sugar in 1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, heat together milk, butter, salt and remaining sugar over medium heat, stirring, until butter is melted; let cool until lukewarm.

3- In large bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in yeast mixture. Whisk in milk mixture and orange rind. Stir in 2-3/4 cups (675 mL) each of the all-purpose and cake-and-pastry flours to make soft sticky dough.

4- Turn out dough onto floured surface, knead for 10 minutes, adding equal amounts of the remaining flours to make dough elastic. Let stand for 5 minutes. Divide into thirds; roll each into 22-inch (55 cm) long rope, letting rest if too springy. Place side by side on greased baking sheet; pinch together on one end.

5- Starting at pinched end, braid dough. Join ends to form circle, leaving 4-inch (10 cm) space in centre; pinch to seal. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

6- Topping: Press eggs into braid. Stir egg yolk, honey and milk; brush over loaf. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 25 minutes. Let cool on rack. Do not eat eggs. (Make-ahead: Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 week.)

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: April 2004