Tsoureki Recipe (Greek Easter Sweet Bread)

Tsoureki is the bread that appears on essentially every Greek table at Easter, recognisable at a glance by its glossy, braided top, often with a single dyed red egg nestled into one of the folds, and recognisable in the mouth by a texture unlike almost any other enriched bread: pull a piece apart and it comes away in long, feathery strands rather than a dense, uniform crumb.

That stretchy texture is not an accident of a standard brioche recipe, it comes specifically from mahlepi, ground cherry pit kernels, and mastic, a resin from a specific Chios tree, both worked into the dough alongside a longer, more careful kneading than most sweet breads get. These two aromatics are what make tsoureki instantly recognisable and impossible to fake with a plain enriched dough.

This is a real project bread, generally started the day before with its long, slow first rise, and it rewards patience at every stage rather than rushing any single step.

Key preparation steps

1. Grind mahlepi and mastic and work them into an enriched, buttery dough.
2. Knead thoroughly and prove until genuinely doubled.
3. Divide into three ropes and braid, tucking in a dyed red egg if using.
4. Prove again, brush with egg wash, and bake until deeply golden.

Mahlepi and mastic, the two aromatics that define tsoureki

Mahlepi is the ground kernel from inside cherry stones, with a flavour somewhere between almond and cherry blossom, faintly bitter if overdosed. Mastic is a resin harvested specifically from mastic trees grown on the Greek island of Chios, giving a unique, slightly piney, chewy quality that is genuinely found nowhere else in cooking.

Both are sold at Greek delis, usually as whole mastic tears that need crushing with a little sugar to stop them clumping, and mahlepi either whole or pre-ground. Use both if you can find them, since together they are what give tsoureki its signature aroma and, alongside the kneading technique, its stretchy texture.

Why the kneading and rising matter more than usual

Tsoureki's dough is enriched with a large quantity of egg, butter and sugar, and it needs a longer, more thorough knead than most bread doughs, ten to fifteen minutes by hand or in a stand mixer, to properly develop the gluten that gives the finished loaf its pull-apart, stringy texture.

The first rise should be genuinely long, at least two hours or until properly doubled, and should not be rushed by a warm spot that is too hot, which can kill the yeast or give an uneven crumb. An overnight rise in the fridge is a common and reliable approach that also improves the flavour.

Braiding and the red egg

Divide the risen dough into three equal ropes and braid them the way you would braid hair, tucking the ends underneath at both ends to stop the braid unravelling as it proves and bakes. A single hard-boiled egg, dyed red using the traditional Greek Easter method, is often nestled into one of the folds of the braid before the final rise, symbolising the blood of Christ and the renewal of Easter.

Brush generously with beaten egg before baking, and a scatter of flaked almonds or sesame seeds over the top is a common finishing touch. Bake until deeply golden, tenting with foil partway through if the top is browning faster than the inside is cooking.

Tips from my kitchen