Thank you so much for this. We made this tonight and are going to our Greek friends tomorrow. We all live in Abu Dhabi so no Greek bakers so we made this and it turned out perfectly so we hope they will enjoy the tastes and the effort. I’m sure they will. Thank you so much.
It's great to see the infamous Greek tsoureki done by non-Greeks! Some recipes in Greece also added cardamom and some don't and cardamom is the same as mastic (or mastiha as we call it in Greece). If you want another tip to stop the dough from being sticky is to use a little bit of vegetable oil or rapeseed oil like 20-25ml something like that. I've also used honey instead of sugar which also works quite well. The tsoureki loaves that are sold in the Greek patisseries smell too much of vanilla for my liking so homemade ones are best. I'll also try versions with Greek yogurt added and also double cream which I've tried with other enriched or non doughs before and it worked quite well. In Greece they do this bread for easter with dyed red eggs and sometimes make em in a circular shape. Also some recipes call for orange juice to go in along with the orange zest but I haven't seen that make that much of a difference. The mastiha and mahlepi are the ones that set it apart and you'll also find some recipes have more than 2 eggs. It all depends how you like your enriched dough! I'd also recommend looking into the Greek koulouri which is quite fun to make and also the Greek biscuits which are called koulourakia.
I'll definitely try the cardamom! I love a koulouri in the morning with my coffee, perhaps Ill give that a go :) Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment, great tips, cheers.
So happy to see non Greeks making our recipes, a tip put your spices in the mil and butter mixture to bring out more of their essence. And if it gets too sticky avoid te urge to add flour, use a little oil on your hands. The more you kneed the better, I use stand mixture and beat low speed about 15 minutes, if by hand I add about 8 more minutes.
blimey, you made it, it smells fantastic, you can also use ground cardamom seeds for more flavour. Northern Greece uses sesame instead of almond flakes. the strands/braids seemed to pull as they held to each other. to avoid this it's best to butter the counter top when forming the final braids. for 500g grams you could go up to 75g, I agree not too sweet is the sweet spot for this beauty. Weighing is crucial as people tend to add flour as it is a sticky dough, great rendition and you fully respected the recipe, I learned today that an upside down tray stops the tsoureki from browning too much. It should sound hollow when tapped underneath and for geeks the internal temperature should be 85 degrees, instead of 90+ for breads. Thank you so much. Next year you should try flaouna, which is a Cypriot Easter cheese baked item with halloumi and mint.
This is a really nice bread, it's got an identity all of its own. I'll give the cardamom a whirl, I love that spice too. I think you've got to be really careful with the masticha, I tried it with 1.5g but it was too much for me. I'll check out the Flaouna now. Cheers
@@CulinaryExploration 2 drops would have been fine. cardamom rounds everything up, being stingy withe powerful aromatics is imperative, it took me years to know when mastic and mahlap are too much, I think less mahlap would have been fine. Thermomix has a nice recipe for flaounas, which I do and it is the most comprehensive, if you have no luck finding that specifically in English I would be more than happy to translate it for you.
@@TheArteditors Do you use Instagram? Ive found a couple of interesting recipes, but if you could DM me a link to another I can have a few options to test out.
@@CulinaryExploration I do and I rarely use it. check your email, you used for youtube purposes. sent you an initial message, if you did, I shall sent you the full recipe
Try this recipe, please, with sourdough. This is a sweet bread as Greeks use to make it. It is amazing : FOR LEVAIN (We have already renewed starter 2 times the previous 10 hours: morning, noon & evening we make the final 3rd renewal) 75 gr starter 100% hydration 100 gr of strong flour 50 gr water & 50 gr whole milk 50 gr of sugar (dissolve in water) DOUGH (after 5-8 hours)
All the levain 400 g flour strong (about 13% -13.5% protein) 80 gr of whole milk 130 gr of sugar 2 eggs (room temperature) 80 gr of butter (room temperature but not melted) ½ tsp. mahlab ½ tsp. mastic powder 1/3 tsp. cardamom powder 1 tsp jest of lemon 1 tsp orange jest Lightly beat the eggs and pour all the ingredients into the mixer bowl, except the butter and beat at the first speed with the hook for 5 minutes and then gradually pour the butter until it is fully absorbed. Let the mixer work at medium speed until the dough sticks out of the bowl walls, and gathers on the hook (total about 10 minutes). Put the dough in a large oiled bowl (or large cap with lid) covered with a plastic film until dough doubles in 8 to 16 hours. Overnight ideally. Cut two pieces of paper, one for each brioche. Pour the work surface and our hands with oil (ideally seed oil) and cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Make the pieces of dough balls and let them rest for 5 minutes. Knead the 4 balls of the dough as baguettes and leave to rest for 10 minutes. We take the first two pieces of dough, open them on cords and knit them so: ua-cam.com/video/6fBEKd4qiAk/v-deo.html and place our brioche on one piece of the cardboard. With 4 or 6 cords for some strange reason they become more inflatable. Continue with the other two doughs and make the other brioche. Let the brioche in a warm place inflate enough. About 3-4 hours. The cooker oven preheated to 50C and turned off is the most suitable place. The fermentation rate of the dough depends on the strength of the sourdough, the quality of the flour and the ambient temperature. At least 3 - 4 hours. Before we put them in the oven, we dip the brioches very carefully with an egg and, if we want, sprinkle with almonds flakes, poppy seeds or sesame seeds or all of them. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes in a preheated oven at 170-180 C degrees, in the resistances, because with air they lose their moisture.
Tsoureki, love this bread so much. We Greeks make it at Easter time usually with red dyed eggs within the braids. Try to use whole kernals of mahlepi and grind them yourself as the powdered mahlepi has flour or soy flour added and is less fragrant. Sesame seeds instead of flaked almonds are much tastier, but that’s just my opinion.
Best regards from Greece! A secret, in order to disolve masticha without adding it inside the milk, to make powder, is to add a teaspoon of sugar inside the mortar and then to beat masticha with the pestle. Otherwise it will stick on the pestle.
Keep the great content coming! I’ve been going through your some of your older videos - just did my first successful scotch egg today using your recipe 😋
@@CulinaryExploration all good mate, no covid lock down for months now, we are free of it. I see Europe is in a mess. No borders I guess. Nightmare. Stay safe.
It goes great with coffee, it holds up well to jams and marmalades. I like it plain the day it's baked. Toasted with butter and jam the next morning (I don't think that's traditional!), if it lasts to day three... it makes an awesome French toast (definitely NOT traditional!)
@@CulinaryExploration I've never seen nor heard of an oven fan, so I did a quick google search. Seems they are a thing in convection ovens. No fans in regular ovens here in the US, so I should be good. :-)
You can, but generally you don't want the milk too hot. The eggs are one consideration, the other is the speed that the dough will ferment. If the ingredients are cooler we'll get more flavour out of the longer ferment. Cheers, Philip
Thank you so much!! I cannot wait to make this! I'll post the finished product on Instagram and tag you in it :) Right on time for easter! P.S: I've also been practicing your sourdough recipe and it's really lovely!
The smell alone is worth making this bread - okay, you sold me! Looks simply divine! 👍😊⭐
Thank you so much for this. We made this tonight and are going to our Greek friends tomorrow. We all live in Abu Dhabi so no Greek bakers so we made this and it turned out perfectly so we hope they will enjoy the tastes and the effort. I’m sure they will. Thank you so much.
It's great to see the infamous Greek tsoureki done by non-Greeks! Some recipes in Greece also added cardamom and some don't and cardamom is the same as mastic (or mastiha as we call it in Greece). If you want another tip to stop the dough from being sticky is to use a little bit of vegetable oil or rapeseed oil like 20-25ml something like that. I've also used honey instead of sugar which also works quite well. The tsoureki loaves that are sold in the Greek patisseries smell too much of vanilla for my liking so homemade ones are best. I'll also try versions with Greek yogurt added and also double cream which I've tried with other enriched or non doughs before and it worked quite well. In Greece they do this bread for easter with dyed red eggs and sometimes make em in a circular shape. Also some recipes call for orange juice to go in along with the orange zest but I haven't seen that make that much of a difference. The mastiha and mahlepi are the ones that set it apart and you'll also find some recipes have more than 2 eggs. It all depends how you like your enriched dough! I'd also recommend looking into the Greek koulouri which is quite fun to make and also the Greek biscuits which are called koulourakia.
I'll definitely try the cardamom! I love a koulouri in the morning with my coffee, perhaps Ill give that a go :) Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment, great tips, cheers.
Love this so much. Eye candy for a guy that loves enriched breads.
Cheers Blair
Thanks for introducing two new ingredients I have never heard of, mastika and mahleb spice. Beautiful bread!
So happy to see non Greeks making our recipes, a tip put your spices in the mil and butter mixture to bring out more of their essence. And if it gets too sticky avoid te urge to add flour, use a little oil on your hands. The more you kneed the better, I use stand mixture and beat low speed about 15 minutes, if by hand I add about 8 more minutes.
I tried this recipe and it turned out perfectly.Thank you for your tips ! ^_^
You're welcome, pleased you enjoyed the recipe :)
Will try making your recipe today.
blimey, you made it, it smells fantastic, you can also use ground cardamom seeds for more flavour. Northern Greece uses sesame instead of almond flakes. the strands/braids seemed to pull as they held to each other. to avoid this it's best to butter the counter top when forming the final braids. for 500g grams you could go up to 75g, I agree not too sweet is the sweet spot for this beauty. Weighing is crucial as people tend to add flour as it is a sticky dough, great rendition and you fully respected the recipe, I learned today that an upside down tray stops the tsoureki from browning too much. It should sound hollow when tapped underneath and for geeks the internal temperature should be 85 degrees, instead of 90+ for breads. Thank you so much. Next year you should try flaouna, which is a Cypriot Easter cheese baked item with halloumi and mint.
This is a really nice bread, it's got an identity all of its own. I'll give the cardamom a whirl, I love that spice too. I think you've got to be really careful with the masticha, I tried it with 1.5g but it was too much for me. I'll check out the Flaouna now. Cheers
@@CulinaryExploration 2 drops would have been fine. cardamom rounds everything up, being stingy withe powerful aromatics is imperative, it took me years to know when mastic and mahlap are too much, I think less mahlap would have been fine. Thermomix has a nice recipe for flaounas, which I do and it is the most comprehensive, if you have no luck finding that specifically in English I would be more than happy to translate it for you.
@@TheArteditors That would be great. Ill have a look
@@TheArteditors Do you use Instagram? Ive found a couple of interesting recipes, but if you could DM me a link to another I can have a few options to test out.
@@CulinaryExploration I do and I rarely use it. check your email, you used for youtube purposes. sent you an initial message, if you did, I shall sent you the full recipe
Try this recipe, please, with sourdough. This is a sweet bread as Greeks use to make it. It is amazing : FOR LEVAIN
(We have already renewed starter 2 times the previous 10 hours: morning, noon & evening we make the final 3rd renewal)
75 gr starter 100% hydration
100 gr of strong flour
50 gr water & 50 gr whole milk
50 gr of sugar (dissolve in water)
DOUGH (after 5-8 hours)
All the levain
400 g flour strong (about 13% -13.5% protein)
80 gr of whole milk
130 gr of sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
80 gr of butter (room temperature but not melted)
½ tsp. mahlab
½ tsp. mastic powder
1/3 tsp. cardamom powder
1 tsp jest of lemon
1 tsp orange jest
Lightly beat the eggs and pour all the ingredients into the mixer bowl, except the butter and beat at the first speed with the hook for 5 minutes and then gradually pour the butter until it is fully absorbed. Let the mixer work at medium speed until the dough sticks out of the bowl walls, and gathers on the hook (total about 10 minutes). Put the dough in a large oiled bowl (or large cap with lid) covered with a plastic film until dough doubles in 8 to 16 hours. Overnight ideally.
Cut two pieces of paper, one for each brioche. Pour the work surface and our hands with oil (ideally seed oil) and cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Make the pieces of dough balls and let them rest for 5 minutes. Knead the 4 balls of the dough as baguettes and leave to rest for 10 minutes. We take the first two pieces of dough, open them on cords and knit them so: ua-cam.com/video/6fBEKd4qiAk/v-deo.html and place our brioche on one piece of the cardboard. With 4 or 6 cords for some strange reason they become more inflatable. Continue with the other two doughs and make the other brioche. Let the brioche in a warm place inflate enough. About 3-4 hours. The cooker oven preheated to 50C and turned off is the most suitable place. The fermentation rate of the dough depends on the strength of the sourdough, the quality of the flour and the ambient temperature. At least 3 - 4 hours.
Before we put them in the oven, we dip the brioches very carefully with an egg and, if we want, sprinkle with almonds flakes, poppy seeds or sesame seeds or all of them.
Bake for 25 - 35 minutes in a preheated oven at 170-180 C degrees, in the resistances, because with air they lose their moisture.
I enjoy my tsoureki with cardamom and mahlepi only. I made it this Easter with sourdough, it was amazing!
Nice one Phillip king of Macedonia excellent video, gonna follow your tips
Tsoureki, love this bread so much. We Greeks make it at Easter time usually with red dyed eggs within the braids. Try to use whole kernals of mahlepi and grind them yourself as the powdered mahlepi has flour or soy flour added and is less fragrant. Sesame seeds instead of flaked almonds are much tastier, but that’s just my opinion.
Very well done!! If you try the tsoureki with sourdough levain, you'll be thrilled! Stays fresh for more and the texture is magnificent!!!
how much levain would you use?
It looks so yummy!🍞
Best regards from Greece! A secret, in order to disolve masticha without adding it inside the milk, to make powder, is to add a teaspoon of sugar inside the mortar and then to beat masticha with the pestle. Otherwise it will stick on the pestle.
Nice tip! I’m definitely giving that a go 👍
Keep the great content coming! I’ve been going through your some of your older videos - just did my first successful scotch egg today using your recipe 😋
Nice! What did you think?
@@CulinaryExploration absolutely perfect mate. Made another during the week too!
Superb as ever. Think I'll adapt it to a fridge prove sour. Thanks again. Constant little tips. Perfect.
That would work. You could do a pre-ferment too. Let me know what adjustments you make :)
Another great recipe. Love your content!
Cheers!
This looks so delicious
Thats a new one for me mate. Looked epic.
Thanks man, hope you guys are keeping well over there
@@CulinaryExploration all good mate, no covid lock down for months now, we are free of it. I see Europe is in a mess. No borders I guess. Nightmare. Stay safe.
Looks delicious!
LOOKS GOOD
Gonna give it a try!
The smells of this dough is amazing, let me know what you think :)
@@CulinaryExploration I‘m just braiding it, it really does smell amazing!
@@wlhlmknrd6456 Damn, you are fast! Keep me updated :)
@@CulinaryExploration it‘ all done, just waiting until it‘s at room-temperature but the smell is intoxicating!
@@wlhlmknrd6456 I'm tapping my foot here...
Agree on less sugar is better, you spread some butter and if you wish some homemade apricot jam or ginger jam and . . .heaven
Quality mate!
Cheers buddy
Μπράβο φιλε!
Thanks man :)
Question: can the butter be replaced with olive oil?
I’m starving just watching! Would this be considered more of a dessert bread ?
It goes great with coffee, it holds up well to jams and marmalades. I like it plain the day it's baked. Toasted with butter and jam the next morning (I don't think that's traditional!), if it lasts to day three... it makes an awesome French toast (definitely NOT traditional!)
@@CulinaryExploration hahah it won’t last with us but yes goin to try! Can’t wait cheers 🍻
@@mr.Mikeyboy Haha, cheers bud
What does turning the fan off in the oven mean? Is this something that doesn't happen in the US?
You'll get a nice even bake and colour with the fan turned off. Try baking both ways and see which you prefer.
@@CulinaryExploration I've never seen nor heard of an oven fan, so I did a quick google search. Seems they are a thing in convection ovens. No fans in regular ovens here in the US, so I should be good. :-)
@@NancyAnneMartin Well I've learnt something new! Thank you very much for that info, much appreciated :)
Very true about the smell
Can you leave a link for your sauce pan?
Sorry, I don' remember where I bought the pan. If I find it again, I will link to it :)
Deberías mirar "Rosca gallega" o "Roscón de reyes".
I'll take a look, cheers!
Yu-mmy!
Why not add the remaining milk before the eggs so you don't have to worry about the warmed butter/sugar/milk are too hot to add the eggs?
You can, but generally you don't want the milk too hot. The eggs are one consideration, the other is the speed that the dough will ferment. If the ingredients are cooler we'll get more flavour out of the longer ferment. Cheers, Philip
No lemon in tsoureki just orange zest
Thank you so much!! I cannot wait to make this! I'll post the finished product on Instagram and tag you in it :) Right on time for easter! P.S: I've also been practicing your sourdough recipe and it's really lovely!
You're more than welcome! Pleased you are enjoying the sourdough recipe, let me know how you go with the Tsoureki :)