Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread)

• 1 cup sugar

• 5 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 1 cup whole milk, warmed to 110˚F

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground mahlab

• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  plus zest of 1 large (or 2 small) oranges

• 1 tablespoon good-quality honey

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• 2 to 3 cups unbleached bread flour (I use King Arthur Flour)

• grapeseed or other flavorless oil (for oiling bowl)

• 1 egg (for egg wash)
   

​Directions:
Stir sugar and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk in warmed milk and let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour until mixture is combined, scraping down the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

If your mixer doesn’t naturally sit in a warm spot in your kitchen, remove the bowl and sit it in a warm spot for the 30-minute bubble time.

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Generously oil a large bowl (for proofing). Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining 1 cup all-purpose flour, kosher salt, and mahlab. Set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the orange juice, zest, honey, vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside. In a small bowl, add your fears that this recipe will fail you. Set aside.

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Place your mixing bowl back on the stand (if you removed it to a warmer climate) and fit with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the all-purpose flour mixture and stir on low until incorporated. Add the butter and wet ingredients (give them a brief whisk just before to unsettle any honey sticking to the bottom) and continue to mix until combined.

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Remove the paddle attachment and replace with the dough hook, scraping off excess dough from the paddle attachment on its way out. Gradually mix in 2 cups of bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Continue to add the final 1 cup of bread flour a little at a time until the mixture forms a soft, slightly sticky dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl. Don’t be heavy-handed with the last bit of flour: you want a soft, pliable dough, not a dry, tight one, and you can always add, but never subtract.

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Once you’re done adding flour, increase speed to medium-high and mix until dough is very smooth, about 8 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl using a rubber scraper (it works well for this) and form dough into a ball. Roll it around the oiled bowl until all sides are coated, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until 1 1/2 to 2 times its size, about 1 1/2 hours.

*Proof Station if Needed

Use boiling water in a teakettle, adding it to a mug, placing the mug in the back of a microwave or oven, then placing the bowl of proofing dough into the Proof Station and closing it. Not only does it provide a draft-free, warm environment, but it gets a little humidity in there as well. Works every time.

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If you are making two straight loaves, line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper. If you are making two round doughs using 9-inch springform pans, spray them ever-so-lightly with cooking spray.
 

Remove dough bowl from its warm home, uncover, and punch down the dough. Cut the dough in half with a large knife or bench scraper, then cut each half into 3 equal pieces (I do this by shaping it into an even rectangle and eyeing it up). Cover 3 pieces covered with plastic wrap while you work with the remaining 3. Gently shape each piece into a rough log with your hands, then roll it out into about 24 to 30-inch long ropes, working slowly so your dough rolls out evenly. As I mentioned above, if you notice your ropes shrinking when you remove pressure or feel them pull against you, leave them sit for a few minutes and come back to them.

Place the ropes next to each other, pinching the ends on one side to seal. Tuck ends under for a smooth finish, and spread out the ropes as wide as possible on your counter. Loosely braid your ropes together, laying one strand on top of the other, not pulling or stretching them. You want a braid free from gaps, but you don’t want to strangle it either. Adjust your ropes throughout so they stay wide on your work surface, which will make for a more even finished product. When you reach the end, pinch the ends together and tuck them under as you did the other side.

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If you’re making straight loaves, simply transfer the braid carefully onto a prepared sheet pan. If you’re making springform rounds, transfer to the prepared pan, leaving  about a 1/2 inch of space between the outer edge of your bread ring and the perimeter of the pan. Cover each loaf with a kitchen towel and place back in your warm spot to let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours, give or take.

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If needed use the same coffee cup/boiling water method from before. When it’s time to turn the oven on, simply move the dough out and to a different warmish spot; by then, it’s already well on its way to gorgeous, so nothing to fret about.

Ready your egg wash by lightly beating an egg in a small bowl. Preheat oven to 350˚F and place a rack in the lower third of the oven.

 

I refuse to bake most anything more than one sheet at a time, and this is no exception. Pick the one loaf which looks the most ready to go and gently brush the entire thing with egg wash. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, checking at the 20-minute mark until loaves are a deep golden brown and sound hollow when you tap them. As you look at the braid expanding, the inner crevasses should still be light golden and not at all overdone; see the photos above as a guide to what you’re looking for. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining loaf.