Tsoureki

Tsoureki, what is that?  It's the name for traditional Greek Easter Egg bread.  I've never made this before and thought it would be fun to try for Easter. 

Start by hard boiling some eggs.  Take as many eggs as you would like to dye and place them in a pan of water.  You will need 3 eggs for each large loaf of bread and 1 egg for each small loaf of bread that you decide to make.

Bring the water to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, remove the pan from the hot surface, cover, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 14 minutes.  After 14 minutes, drain the hot water and add cool water to the pan to help the eggs cool.

Once the eggs are cooled, it is time to dye them!  You can use an Easter egg dye kit from the store or you can use food coloring and vinegar. 

Place about 1 tsp. of vinegar and 1 cup of water in each cup.  Add desired amount of food coloring depending on how bright you want your eggs to turn.  Let the eggs dry once you have dyed them.

Now it's time to make the bread.  I'll have to admit, I didn't follow a homemade bread recipe for Tsoureki.  I just used a frozen load of Rhodes bread dough.  I think you can probably use any homemade bread recipe (or frozen dough) to make Easter Egg bread. 

To make a large loaf of Easter Egg bread, divide your dough into 3 sections.

Once you have divided the dough, roll each section into a long rope.

Take the 3 rolled dough ropes and braid them together.

Once braided, form the dough into a circle and pinch the ends together.

Now take three Easter Eggs and insert them into the braided bread dough.  I used red dyed Easter eggs for my Tsoureki.  It is a Greek Orthodox tradition to dye Easter eggs crimson red.  The redder they are, the better.  My great grandma used to dye her eggs with Rit Dye.  That's probably not food safe, so I wouldn't recommend it.  :)  On Easter there is a tradition of cracking the red eggs.  This involves two people, each taking a red egg and smashing them together.  Whoevers egg does not crack will have good luck for the year to come. 

To make small loaves of Easter Egg bread take two small section of dough and roll each section into a rope.  Take the two ropes and twist them together.

Once the ropes are twisted together, form a circle and pinch the ends together.  Place one Easter egg in the center of the dough. 

For the finishing touches, beat one egg with appx. 1 Tbsp. of water and brush the mixture over the bread dough.  This will give the bread a shiny coating.

Lastly, add any spices, toppings, or decorations to the dough.  For the small egg bread I added blue sprinkles.  On the large egg bread I added parmesean cheese and garlic salt.  Bake the bread according to the instructions...

and enjoy your tasty treat!