BAKING BREAD WEEK 1: Aromatic Tsoureki breads with double chocolate filling and almonds crust

Most of us (Greeks) when we talk about Tsoureki bread our mind turns to thoughts about Easter time and Christmas because this lightly sweet bread is so much connected to those two celebrations. And it was like this for God knows how long until this delicacy from a traditional sweet made at home started becoming a standard commercialised item at the bakeries and later on at the supermarkets. So, nowadays, you can find Tsoureki all year round and in so many different shapes and flavours that you wouldn't imagine! This recipe today combines the traditional flavour and method with a small modern, but delicious, twist making it a really great treat for all seasons!

From a recipe leaflet of the Greek oil and margarine products company "ELAIS"

Ingredients (for 3 medium breads)

For the dough:

380 ml of milk (not less than 3.5%  fat)

5 eggs

340 gr. of granulated sugar
250 gr. of butter (or margarine)
1Kg of strong white flour, sifted

75 gr. of fresh yeast (baker's yeast)

1 tsp of mahleb spice, ground

1 shot-glass of mastic liqueur (or 1/2 tsp of mastic drops, ground)

3 mandarins, the zest (or orange)

For the filling:
250 gr. of dark chocolate, roughly grated

250 gr. of white chocolate, roughly grated

For the glaze:

1 egg yolk, beaten with 3 tbsp. of water

100 gr. of blanched almonds, slivered

Method:

Put the yeast in a bowl, add lukewarm water in and stir thoroughly to dissolve completely.

In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the eggs with the sugar in low speed until they become pale in colour and creamy.

Put the butter (or the margarine) in a small pan to melt in medium heat.
 

Put the sifted flour in a deep bowl and add the mastic, the mahleb and the fruit zest. Add the melted butter, the egg mixture, the milk and the dissolved yeast. Start kneading with your hands very well until you end up with a soft dough.

Wrap the dough with cling film and leave in a warm place for 1 hour 45 minutes, until it doubles in size. When ready, divide the dough in 3 equal pieces.

In the meantime preheat the oven to 160-170°C. Brush with butter 3 loaf tins and lay each with a piece of non-stick baking paper.
 

Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and open each dough piece into a sheet of 2 cm thickness.

Divide the chocolates into 3 parts and sprinkle the surface of each dough sheet with it.

Roll and twist at the same time each sheet into a loaf and transfer into the loaf tins. Leave the breads to rest for another 30 minutes at room temperature.

Brush the breads with the egg wash and scatter on top the slivered almonds.

Put in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.