Easter is approaching fast and we invited our favorite Food Blogger, Elpida, back into the kitchen to make the famous no-knead Tsourekia! The tsoureki (traditional Greek Easter bread), although mainly eaten on Easter, is a delicacy that has no season, time or mood! No matter how hard you think it is, Elpida’s magical recipe will make you love them and make them all the time. The floor and the ladles, as always, go to Elpida..

NO-knead tsourekia, I think this says it all. Three years ago, when I first thought about trying this recipe, I did not anticipate the excitement that would follow! So the time came for me to also share it with my beloved Travelen friends!

The tsoureki has become an ordinary custom, as we eat it all year long (maybe a bit more on Easter). Plain, with praline, yellow or white cheese…Yes, you should try it. If I told you that it is as easy as making a cake, what would you say? Dough in the fridge and behold the tsoureki? YES!! You will work a little at night and in the morning you will have soft, fragrant no-knead tsourekia. Let’s go and play around in the kitchen and, just like that, prepare the tsourekia that have become a bestseller on elpidas little corner..

Fantastic, effortless and delicious recipe!

Ingredients ?:

• 1200gr Bread flour
• 4 Fresh eggs
• 400gr Sugar
• 500ml Milk
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 185gr Butter
• 50gr Moist yeast OR 1.5 Envelopes of dry yeast
• 1tsp Mahlab
• 1tsp Cardamom
• Zest from one orange and one lemon (if you do not have zest, you can add 2 tbsp of orange marmalade)

For the coating ?:

• 1 Egg yolk
• 1tbsp Water
• Flaked almonds or sesame
• Dark or white chocolate (optional)
• A bit of corn oil

Info

?   Level of Difficulty: Easy
⏰  Time: 45’ (dough refrigeration not included)
?️  Serves: 4 tsourekia of 500gr each or 16 individual small tsourekia

? Read Also 

Sfakian Pie (by Elpida Charalampidou)

Βήματα ?:

1) In a bowl, I pour the flour, yeast, spices and leave it aside.
2) In a pot, I pour the milk, sugar and butter on low fire.
3) I stir softly until the butter melts and watch so that the milk does not burn.
4) I take them off the fire and add the salt and eggs, which I have already beaten gently.
5) I whisk the materials with a balloon whisk or a fork so that they blend.
6) I add the milk little-by-little into the flour and mix with a rubber spatula.
7) I cover it and let it leaven for about two hours. After two hours, I see that the dough has doubled or even tripled in volume.
8) I take a rubber spatula and fold the dough inside the bowl. I fold it 5-6 times (it deflates), I cover the bowl and put it in the fridge. (I have smeared the bowl with a bit of corn oil, while I also sprinkle some on the dough.)
9) The next day, the dough is malleable and fragrant. I take it out of the fridge, split it and knead it.
10) I rub my hands and smear the counter with some corn oil and I also sprinkle a bit on the dough.
11) I cut it in equal parts and split each part into two or three lines and braid them. You can also make circular braids or whatever pattern you like.
12) I pre-heat the oven at 180°C (fan mode), I take it down to 160°C and bake the large ones for about 30’ and the small ones for 15’. (Always adjusted to how your oven bakes.)

“ Whoever tries them once…makes them all the time! ”

For the coating ?:

• Before I put them in the oven, I smear the diluted egg yolk on the tsourekia and sprinkle them with almonds or sesame.
• After the baking, if you want, you can melt some dark or white chocolate to coat them.

? Read Also 

Zagorian Alevropita (flour pie)

Extra Tips:

? Caution the milk must be lukewarm for the tsourekia to succeed. If you add milk that is very hot you will burn the yeast and…bye bye tsourekia!
? Every type of flour is different. It shows you how much you need to add, so that it comes off the bowl and is slightly sticky (not firm).
? It will help you if you use a hand spatula. It does the job that your hand would do. If you don’t have one, then a wooden spoon is perfectly fine.
? In order for them to stay soft for days, make sure to wrap them well with plastic wrap as soon as they are baked and get a little cold.
? They must definitely get in the fridge. The fridge, during the night, will do the work that you would have to do if you were to knead!
? YES without kneading! No matter how unbelievable it may seem, you will not have to put your hands in the dough at all. Just mix with a spoon, until you see that all the flour has blended in.
? They must all have the same weight, so that they are baked evenly. It would be best to weigh them. Bake the large separately from the small ones.
? In order for the dough to have the beloved “fibers”, you will have to fold it. The folding is what produces the fibers, not the kneading.
? You can fill them with whatever you like, or leave them plain. Just make sure that your filling is completely dry. Examples: You can add dry nuts-dark chocolate-chestnut, which are solid materials, while cherry, sour cherry and other spoon sweets should be dried off, the praline should stay in the freezer for some time etc.

“ I have been told that people find it hard to convince their mother-in-laws! ”

? Use butter and not margarine. You do not have to buy some expensive butter, normal butter will do.
? It is okay if the dough stays in the fridge for more hours. (Just don’t overdo it!).
? If you have prepared them in a very cold room and they did not expand, what do you do? Prepare half a batch in a warm room and mix the batches. This way you will save them!
? Sugar is added according to one’s taste, depending on how sweet you want them to be!
? You must first let them expand and then smear them with egg. You must always smear them very carefully without piercing them, otherwise they will go flat.
? Be careful when shaping the dough, it should be done on an oiled surface with oiled hands, while you should pour a very small amount of flour, only if it is needed (just like salting food)! If you add too much flour, the tsourekia will become firm, like bread!
? We do not overwork the dough. No dough likes to be overworked, it will firm up. With your spatula, fold it again and again, so it becomes perfect.
? Be careful with the baking; do not over-bake them as they will become dry.
? The baking paper will help you a lot. Your tsourekia will be baked without sticking on the baking sheet.
? You will not begin by wondering “are they going to be a success?”. Read the recipe once or twice and get all of the ingredients in front of you. Whatever you make with love always succeeds, this is the rule for guaranteed success ? !

 Watch the video with the recipe  ?