Greek Easter bread – Tsoureki – soft, sweet, yeast egg-enriched bread flavored with citrus and aniseed. 
Tsoureki it’s the famous Greek Easter bread. It’s soft, sweet, yeast egg-enriched bread usually flavored with citrus, aniseed or mahlepi (sour cherry pits ground into powder). A couple of cooked red dyed eggs tucked between the braids, sprinkle some slivered almonds on top. The aroma of the bread while baking will take over your kitchen.
Unlike the Italian Easter Bread, the red eggs tucked into the bread just before baking are already cooked. Since they are way over cooked, I would not recommend eating them. You can use raw dyed eggs if you’d like to eat them as well.
Tsoureki it’s usually braided into a log but you’ll also find it braided into a ring/circle. The three-strand braid symbolizes the Holy Trinity, while the red-dyed hard-boiled eggs braided into the dough symbolizes the blood of Christ. Like many other countries bread has religious significance and in lots East European Countries you’ll find very similar traditions around the holidays. Only in the last couple of years the Easter Eggs have been dyed in different colors, but red it’s still the most used color.
I was actually planning on making several Easter breads and share the recipes with you, but I’ve been down with a flu since the weekend and don’t have much baking energy. I’ll try to share the Romanian Easter Bread later today or tomorrow with you.
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Linking this Greek Easter Bread to Bake Your Own Bread and Twelve Loaves
Sending love your way,
Roxana
This is so cool! I love that I’m learning all about different kinds of Easter bread.
I have never seen anything like this before….I would definitely try it though!
It is amazing how many wonderful bread recipes come out of the Mediterranean – the French, the italians, the Middle Easterns…of course, the Greeks too! it’s so fascinating how bread making is an age-old tradition that dates back to ancient times and is somehow often connected to religious practices. Truly amazing!
Hope you feel better Roxana! We’ll be eating these soon, my mom always makes a bunch and freezes them! My favorite bread-wonderful for breakfast! Nicely done!
Your braided loaves are all so beautiful!
Yours looks gorgeous! I have no dough hook but I might give this a try by hand
I always love the look of braided bread with the coloured eggs. Looks delicious!
So beautiful! I made a wreath bread with dyed eggs a few years back but it wasn’t nearly as tasty as your version appears!
Beautiful! You are truly the bread Queen. 😀
I’ve been fighting something here for days too. I hope you feel better soon. I couldn’t get my eggs to turn red!LOL. Your tsoureki is just gorgeous, Roxy. xx
This is one beautiful loaf of bread. So festive!
Beautiful Easter bread!