Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska on SKAI with Recipe for Tsoureki – Greek Easter Bread (Τσουρέκι)

Καλώς ορίσετε στο Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska!

Welcome to Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska!

SKAI, the Greek television and radio station, is currently running three articles by Lamprini Thoma about my efforts to cook Greek and Mediterranean food in Alaska and about Holy Transfiguration, Alaska’s only Greek Orthodox Church. The articles are in Greek, but you can get a rough idea of what they are about using Google Translator.

One article describes how I wrote the cookbook Tastes Like Home: Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska to help raise money for a new church building. This effort is very important because our church is now holding services in a converted house that is way too small for our parish. All proceeds from the sale of the cookbook go directly into Holy Transfiguration’s building fund. Many thanks to Lamprini Thoma for highlighting Holy Transfiguration's efforts to raise money.

Another article has my recipe for Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread), which is made using ingredients readily available in Alaska. This bread is traditionally baked on Holy Thursday (April 24, 2008). Tsoureki isn’t eaten until Easter (April 27, 2008) since it includes butter and eggs, which aren’t eaten during the pre-Easter fast.

Alaskan Tsoureki
Makes 2 loaves
Like classic Tsoureki, Alaskan Tsoureki is rich with butter and light with eggs. However, maxlepi and mastixa, the flavors of classic Tsoureki, aren’t available in Alaska. Instead, we create special spice mixes that give wonderful flavor to our Tsoureki. When Alaskan Tsoureki is in the oven, the entire house fills with the wonderful aroma of sweet spices.

Sponge:
125 ml. (1/2 cup) warm water
2 packets dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
100 grams (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour

Dough:
6 large eggs, room temperature
250 grams (1 cup) butter, softened
200 ml. (1 cup) milk, warmed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. freshly ground coriander seeds
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. finely grated orange or lemon peel
1 – 1.1 kilos (6 1/2 - 7 cups) all purpose flour

Garnish:
2 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
Red eggs (optional)

Make the Sponge: Mix the water, yeast, sugar, and flour. Let sit for 15 minutes, or until the sponge begins to bubble.

Mix the Dough: Mix the sponge with the eggs, butter, milk, salt, allspice, coriander, cinnamon, vanilla, and citrus peel just until the sponge is incorporated into the liquid. Don’t try to smoothly mix in all the butter; there should be floating butter chunks when you’re done mixing in the sponge. Stir in 900 grams (6 cups) of flour. Add the remaining flour as necessary to form soft, slightly sticky dough. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.

Place the kneaded dough in a lightly buttered bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and then cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Fold the dough over on itself several times, cover, and again let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Divide the dough into 2 equal halves. Divide each half into thirds. To make long loaves: roll each third out into 50 cm. (18 inch) ropes, braid the ropes, and tuck the ends under. To make ring-shaped loaves: roll each third out into 80 cm. (30 inch) ropes, braid the ropes together, shape into a ring, and join the two ends together. Repeat with the remaining three ropes. Let the loaves rise for 45 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.

Brush the loaves with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. If using red eggs to decorate the loaves, press the eggs firmly into the dough.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.