Mealtime Magic: Tsoureki Bread

In Greek culture, celebrations with family and friends are the most important part of community life. When it comes to breaking bread together, Easter is no exception.
This year, Greek Orthodox Easter and the Western Christian Easter fall on the same day, April 20^th, something that only happens every four years! If you want to try out something new and different for the holiday, here’s a recipe for a delicious Easter bread called Tsoureki.

A braided yeast bread, Tsoureki is known for the decorative red eggs that are baked right into the loaf. The red eggs, a Greek tradition, represent the blood of Christ. (For a colorful variation on this tradition, you can also bake multicolored eggs into your braided bread.)
Every family has its own version of this recipe. This one comes from the Kontos family, owners of Kontos Foods, a Paterson, NJ-based provider of traditional Mediterranean foods.

 

2 pkgs. yeast
¼ cup sugar
Flour (follow below instruction)
2 cups warm water
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup oil
2 eggs beaten
Couple/few colored hard-boiled eggs
 

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Add enough flour to mix to heavy batter. Add salt, oil and all but 2 teaspoons of beaten eggs. Add enough flour to make a firm dough. Knead for 5 minutes. 

2. Cut dough in half, and each half into thirds. Make 3 long ropes and braid. Bend braid into a tight straight, or circle, loaf. 

3. Let dough rise for 45 minutes. Use remaining 2 teaspoons of egg to brush on dough. 

4. To decorate your bread, gently press a red, or other color, egg into the center of your loaf. 

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

To learn more about Kontos Foods, visit www.kontos.com or www.Flatbread.com.You can also find Kontos Foods on @KontosFoods or www.facebook/KontosFoods.