Tsoureki (Greek Easter sweet bread) with olive oil, orange and vanilla
An easy recipe for "tsoureki" the Greek sweet bread with olive oil, so much tasty and full of flavor, so light and above all... healthy! The perfect accompaniment to a morning coffee or to an afternoon tea brake... Just try it!!!
Ingredients:
- 170gr. tepid water
- 3 sachet (8g/each) dried yeast
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 4 tablesppoons of flour for all purpose
- 140gr. olive oil, preferably extra virgin
- ½ litre of orange juice
- zest of 2 oranges
- 180gr. sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 kilo of flour for all purpose or for bread
- milk or 1 egg yolk for the glaze
- almond slivers for sprinkling
Prepare the leaven: In a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm water, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 4 tablespoons of flour. Mix the igredients together, cover the bowl and let stand for 20 minutes, until bubbly.
In another big bowl pour the olive oil, orange juice, add the sugar, aromatics (orange zest and vanilla extract) and the salt and mix. Finally add the leaven and the flour little by little kneading it in at the same time until you get a dough smoothy and shiny. Oil the dough slightly and place in a big bowl covered with a cloth set aside in a warm place and let the dough rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until doubled in bulk. Deflate the dough, divide into 4 balls and form in shapes (braid, snail etc.). Place tsoureki loaves on a non-stick baking sheet, covered with a towel, and let them rise again for 20 minutes, until almost doubled in bulk. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 160oC – 180oC (depending on the oven). If you want your loaves to have a nice sheen brush them with milk or an egg yolk mixed with some milk. Sprinkle with the almond slivers and bake for about 30 minutes or until nice and golden.
Tip:
- With these quantities of ingredients you can make 4 medium size tsoureki loaves.
- All the ingredients must be in room temperature!
- In case that the dough is too sticky, you may add some more flour (not more than 100 gr.), until the dough is smooth and doesn’t stick to your hands.
- You may add some special spices that used by Greeks :1 teaspoon of masticha powder and 2 teaspoons of mahlepi (mahleb), finely ground, which can be found at all good ethnic grocery stores.
Authentic Greek flavor! Just try it !
