Soft, Fragrant and Fluffy Tsourekia

Instructions

1. Combine yeast with lukewarm water in a bowl together with a tbsp of sugar. Whisk by hand and set aside until the mixture becomes frothy
2. Beat the mahlab and mastic in a food processor until finely ground
3. Heat the milk
4. In a big bowl add the sugar, orange zest, melted butter and milk at the end
5. Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Add them in the mixture and whisk
6. Add the mahlap and mastic
7. Add the yeast and mix all together then add the flour and mix by hand until the ingredients start to combine. At the end of the mixing process, the dough comes off the sides of the bowl
8. Let the dough for at least one hour to rest, covered with a towel until almost triple in size. The dough should be silky,smooth and slightly sticky. When the dough is ready knead with your hands
9. Preheat the oven to 180*C
10. Cut the dough into 3 equals pieces
11. Roll up each strip dough, flatten them with a rolling pin, add a strip of nutella and fold them back into shape and seal the edges with your fingers. (Do not flour the working surface)!
12. Roll each dough into a long strip with your hands and place them one next to the other on your working surface, leaving a little space between them. Pinch together the upper end of the 3 stripes and shape it into a beautiful braid. The dough should be make around 8 braid breads
13. Transfer to a parchment paper layered baking sheet
14. Brush each braid with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Set aside for around 20 minutes, so the braids rest and rice again (double in size)
15. When ready, bake for 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 150*C, until golden

Enjoy the most flavorful tsoureki! Enjoy this divine tsoureki recipe with your friends and family. Is perfect for dessert over a hot cup of tea or coffee, breakfast or use it for toast Believe me, my mum is the master of tsoureki!

Thank you mum for the recipe!