Greek Easter Bread (Tsoureki

• Produce

  • 1 tbsp Lemon, zest
  • 1 tbsp Orange, zest

• Refrigerated

  • 4 Dyed eggs, hard cooked red
  • 6 Egg

• Baking & Spices

  • 9 cups Bread flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Sugar
  • 4 tsp Yeast, Instant dry

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 1/4 cup Almonds

• Dairy

  • 8 tbsp Butter
  • 2 cups Milk

• Other

  • 2 teaspoons ground Mahlab

Found on savorthebest.com

Description

Directions

• Add 2 cups of the flour, all of the yeast and 1/2 cup of the sugar to a bowl.  Add the warm milk and mix (by hand or with a mixer) until all the lumps are gone (you will have a very thin mixture) Cover the bowl and let it stand for 30 to 45 minutes. This will develop the sponge and give the yeast a jump start. 
• Add the melted butter and eggs and mix well. Add 5 cups (600 grams) of flour, the salt, remaining 1 cup of sugar, ground Mahlab, orange and lemon zest to the dough and mix thoroughly to blend all the ingredients. Slowly add the remaining 2 to 3 cups of flour to the dough and knead for about 10 minutes. If you are not using a stand mixer then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand. The dough will be very soft and sticky but will get easier to work with after a long knead. It will also become firmer after it proofs. If your tempted to add more flour, wait until after it proofs. 
•  Form into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean dishtowel and set aside to rise for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
• Place the dough on a floured work surface. Divide into 6 equal sections, rolling each section into ropes about 15 long. For each loaf, braid 3 ropes, then press the eggs into each braid. Set bread aside to rise again for 1 hour on a greased baking sheet.
•  Preheat oven to 350˚. Brush bread with beaten egg, sprinkle with slivered almonds, and bake until golden, 40–50 minutes