I have made “tsoureki” before but this time I have decided to perfect it. I wanted to make a combination of low in sugar, soft and sweet Easter bread. This recipe is taken and modified by the one and only, Afrodite’s Kitchen. The main thing I changed is that I used half a cup of honey instead of sugar. Go on… bake away!
Ingredients
550g all purpose flour
1/8 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 cup honey
3/4 tsp mahlepi
1/8 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp mastic powder
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 envelope yeast (7-8g)
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
pinch of salt
1 egg beaten for egg wash
Method
Add the yeast, 1/2 tsp of sugar and milk in a bowl, over in cling film and let it rest for 10 minutes. Mix all the dry ingredients (mahlepi, mastic powder, vanilla, flour and salt).
In the meantime beat the eggs and mix very well with honey. Add the orange juice, orange zest, and yeast mixture. Then add everything to the flour mixture. Knead into a nice dough ball. Add more flour if needed.
Let it rest for 2 hours, covered in cling film and a towel. The dough should double in size.
Then divide it into 3 long pieces. Then divide each piece by 3 again, making it into a braid. You should have 3 braided breads. Let it rest for another 1.5 hours until it has doubled in size. Bake for 30 minutes and tadaaaaaa!
