Greek tsoureki by @bakergirlofficial - cooking at home recipes with photos and instructions.

Greek tsoureki by @bakergirlofficial

  • Prep time: 1 hour 20 minutes + 28 hours for rest and proofing
  • Cook time: 40 minutes
  • Serves: 1 tsoureki
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Course: baking
  • Cookware: zest grater, silicone brush
  • Cuisine: Greek

Ingredients

For levain:

  • 100 g ripe stiff wheat sourdough starter
  • 35 g strong flour
  • 35 g whole grain flour
  • 70 g milk (warm)
  • 15 g sugar

For the dough:

  • 350 g flour
  • 100 g butter
  • 90 g sugar
  • 2 eggs (room temperature)
  • 30 g condensed milk
  • 1 tsp mahlab
  • 1 tsp mastic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • zest of 1 orange

For brushing:

  • 1 egg

For decoration:

  • Almond flakes / pearl sugar

Cooking method

STEP 1

13.00 Prepare the levain.
Put all the ingredients for the levain into a bowl and mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, let stand in a warm place (25-26C) for 4 hours. The fermentation time can be increased by 1 hour if the levain is not bubbling enough.

STEP 2

16:30 Prepare the egg-butter mixture.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, add sugar, spices, orange zest and leave to cool. Add eggs, condensed milk and stir until smooth.

STEP 3

17:00 Knead the dough.
Pour flour and salt into the mixer bowl. Add dough and egg-butter mixture. Knead the dough with a mixer for 10-15 minutes or by hand until smooth and slightly sticky. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

STEP 4

17:30 Knead the dough.
After the dough has rested, use a mixer to knead it for about 15 minutes or by hand, until the dough is smooth and shiny. Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 4 hours.

STEP 5

from 17:45 to 21:45 Proofing.
Transfer the dough. To do this, visually divide the dough into four parts, then gently with wet hands pull it over the edge of the first part and put the stretched dough in the center, then turn the bowl, lift the dough by the edge of the second part, stretch it out and fold it back into the center. Do the same on each of the four sides. Repeat two more times every 30 minutes. The remaining 3 hours the dough is resting. The dough should visually grow slightly and be soft to the touch.

STEP 6

from 21:45 to 7:00 Proofing in the refrigerator.
Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film and put in the refrigerator until morning.

STEP 7

7:00 Shaping the tsoureki.
Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Lay out the dough. Divide into three equal parts and roll them into bundles. Weave the tsoureki into a braid.

STEP 8

from 7:30 to 13:00 Proofing.
Cover the baking sheet with parchment. Gently transfer the tsoureki to a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the tsoureki stand at room temperature for about 6 hours. The dough should visually grow and feel soft to the touch.

STEP 9

12:15 pm Preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 230C. Place a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven.

STEP 10

from 13:00 to 13:40 Baking.
Brush tsoureki with beaten egg, sprinkle with almond flakes or pearl sugar. Pour a mug of hot water into a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven. Reduce the temperature to 180C and bake tsoureki until golden brown for about 30-40 minutes.

My tips and tricks:

Mahlab (also called mechlebe or mahlepi) and mastic are very important spices for traditional Greek pastries. They have a special aroma, which, perhaps, is not similar to other spices, so it is impossible to replace them. Alternatively, you can use ground cardamom and ground anise to give your baked goods an unusual and festive flavor. For our recipe, you will need 5 g of ground cardamom and 5 g of ground anise.

Greek tsoureki by @bakergirlofficial
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: pastry
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For levain:
  • 100 g ripe stiff wheat sourdough starter
  • 35 g strong flour
  • 35 g whole grain flour
  • 70 g milk (warm)
  • 15 g sugar
For the dough:
  • 350 g flour
  • 100 g butter
  • 90 g sugar
  • 2 eggs (room temperature)
  • 30 g condensed milk
  • 1 tsp mahlab
  • 1 tsp mastic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • zest of 1 orange
For brushing:
  • 1 egg
For decoration:
  • Almond flakes / pearl sugar
Cooking method
  1. Prepare the levain.
  2. Put all the ingredients for the levain into a bowl and mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, let stand in a warm place (25-26C) for 4 hours. The fermentation time can be increased by 1 hour if the levain is not bubbling enough.
  3. :30 Prepare the egg-butter mixture.
  4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, add sugar, spices, orange zest and leave to cool. Add eggs, condensed milk and stir until smooth.
  5. :00 Knead the dough.
  6. Pour flour and salt into the mixer bowl. Add dough and egg-butter mixture. Knead the dough with a mixer for 10-15 minutes or by hand until smooth and slightly sticky. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
  7. :30 Knead the dough.
  8. After the dough has rested, use a mixer to knead it for about 15 minutes or by hand, until the dough is smooth and shiny. Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 4 hours.
  9. from 17:45 to 21:45 Proofing.
  10. Transfer the dough. To do this, visually divide the dough into four parts, then gently with wet hands pull it over the edge of the first part and put the stretched dough in the center, then turn the bowl, lift the dough by the edge of the second part, stretch it out and fold it back into the center. Do the same on each of the four sides. Repeat two more times every 30 minutes. The remaining 3 hours the dough is resting. The dough should visually grow slightly and be soft to the touch.
  11. from 21:45 to 7:00 Proofing in the refrigerator.
  12. Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film and put in the refrigerator until morning.
  13. :00 Shaping the tsoureki.
  14. Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Lay out the dough. Divide into three equal parts and roll them into bundles. Weave the tsoureki into a braid.
  15. from 7:30 to 13:00 Proofing.
  16. Cover the baking sheet with parchment. Gently transfer the tsoureki to a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the tsoureki stand at room temperature for about 6 hours. The dough should visually grow and feel soft to the touch.
  17. :15 pm Preheat the oven.
  18. Preheat the oven to 230C. Place a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven.
  19. from 13:00 to 13:40 Baking.
  20. Brush tsoureki with beaten egg, sprinkle with almond flakes or pearl sugar. Pour a mug of hot water into a baking sheet at the bottom of the oven. Reduce the temperature to 180C and bake tsoureki until golden brown for about 30-40 minutes.
My tips and tricks
Mahlab (also called mechlebe or mahlepi) and mastic are very important spices for traditional Greek pastries. They have a special aroma, which, perhaps, is not similar to other spices, so it is impossible to replace them. Alternatively, you can use ground cardamom and ground anise to give your baked goods an unusual and festive flavor. For our recipe, you will need 5 g of ground cardamom and 5 g of ground anise.