Does the idea of making your own Easter tsourekia scare you? Do you have a small child, and you want them to know what kind of tsoureki you’re giving them, and mainly, how much they’ll have? Are you looking for a recipe for light but delicious and fluffy tsourekia? Are you looking for a recipe with no refined sugar? Are you looking for a tsoureki recipe online but every single one has way too much butter? Do you want to do something unique and original with your Easter tsoureki this year? Wouldn’t it be amazing if homemade tsoureki could stay fluffy and soft the next day? If you’ve replied “yes” to at least one of the questions above, then you’ve found what you were looking for.
The tastiness and aroma of the tsoureki, completely interwoven with the Greek Easter, has nothing quite like it. Of course, my own recipe adheres to the needs of the little hands, so honey and butter are added to the exact specifications of our Easter tsoureki. Also, for that exact reason, I made my tsourekia in an original donut shape, so they’re perfect for the little hands. But enough with the prologue, read my recipe and tips carefully, and good luck!
What we are going to need
- Flour. Use hard flour and only that, because no other flour can have that result for our mini donut tsourekia. The only substitution you might do is using specialized flour for brioche or tsoureki.
- Yeast. I used dry yeast. You can use fresh yeast, as well, but of course, the quantity will be different. For example, 8 grams of dry yeast can be substituted with 30 grams of fresh yeast.
- Milk. I used sheep milk, but I also made it with plant milk and the result was good. The important thing is the temperature of the milk when you add it. I write that it has to be lukewarm, and I mean heating it up in a pot and immersing your finger in it, removing it from the heat when it’s warm but not burning you. If the milk is too hot, it won’t activate the yeast but will destroy it instead and your tsoureki won’t rise.
- Butter. I use unsalted 100% cow milk butter, and the quantity is so little that it’s about 3.3 grams per tsoureki-donut, so truly a little.
- Eggs. Necessary and I don’t suggest any substitution for the recipe.
- Spices. What does an Easter tsoureki need to be called tsoureki? Besides a successful dough, it also needs the smells of mastic, cardamom, and ground mahleb.
- Honey. This is the sweetener I used. It’s not the one with the lowest glycaemic index, but it’s nutritious and is found in almost every home. The quantity is exactly as much as is needed.
Tips for the success of the mini tsourekia-donuts
- The brioche dough is elastic and soft. It sticks to the hands, but with oiled hands, you can knead it very easily.
- If you don’t have a mixer, the kneading will take quite some time.
- All steps are important but don’t skip folding the dough ropes again and again at Step 14.
- Temperature differs from oven to oven, so check and adjust.
- If you want your tsourekia-donuts to have an even more unique shape, then fold the rope in the middle and weave them like Easter cookies. Hold down the loop, the point where the dough folds, with your finger, and when you place them in the mould, put the other side of the fold in to seal correctly.
- The recipe is less sweet than the tsourekia you’ll find sold in grocery stores, but they’re tasty and aromatic. The honey quantity is good for a young child. For the larger hands, follow the serving suggestion below, or spread some extra honey on them.
- Of course, instead of the suggested shape, you can make the dough in one or two large tsourekia.
Serving suggestion
Cut them in half and spread homemade praline, nut butter, tahini with cocoa, or a sugar-free jam. Close them again and enjoy responsibly.
See also
- Τα πασχαλινά κουλουράκια της γιαγιάς μας
- Κρητικά καλιτσούνια με αλεύρι από δίκοκκο σιτάρι
- Σοκολατένια πασχαλινά αυγά με γέμιση
Add the lukewarm water and the dry yeast in the mixer bowl and mix with the whisk attachment.
Add the 150 gr of flour and mix with the whisk attachment until homogenous.
Let the mixture aside for half an hour to rise.
After the first rise, melt the butter in a pot with the honey while mixing, then set aside. You want them to barely melt and mix, you don’t want them getting too hot.
Mix the mastic, cardamom, and ground mahleb in a mortar or a food processor.
Add the eggs, the spices, and the flour in the mixer’s bowl and start mixing with the hook attachment, at low speed.
Raise the mixer’s speed slowly to medium and mix for 8–10 minutes.
After your dough is homogenous, add the butter and honey mixture. Continue mixing until the dough has absorbed the liquids, unsticking from the walls of the mixer bowl, which should take about 2–4 minutes. When you stop the mixer, the dough should be hanging off the hook attachment like a piece of gum.
Lightly oil or butter a large bowl, and with gentle motions, use your hands to unstick the dough and remove to the bowl.
Cover with saran wrap and a towel and let rise for one and a half to two hours.
After this time, the dough should be double in size. If you press a finger and the dough doesn’t bounce back, but instead a marking is left from your finger, then the dough has risen enough and it’s ready.
Deflate the dough and move to a lightly oiled surface. Shape it into a thick rope and cut in 9 equal pieces.
Get your silicone moulds (or parchment paper, if you’re making the classic tsoureki braids) next to you and start kneading.
Shape each of the 9 parts thus:
Create a long and thin rope and fold in two. Knead again, creating the long and thin rope once more. Fold for a second time and knead again. Do this process at least 3 times. The last time you make the rope, divide in two equal parts, and each part will create one tsoureki for your mould.
Move to the donut mould, shape it, and seal the two edges well to avoid it breaking apart during rising.
Do the same process until you have no dough left.
Preheat the oven at 200°C.
Meanwhile, let your tsourekia rise for 20 minutes.
After they’ve doubled in size, coat them with the egg yolk and sprinkle the shredded almonds over them.
Bake for 18–20 minutes. Bake each baking sheet or donut tray separately.
Remove from the oven and the baking sheet, mould, or tray and let them cool on a cold surface.
When they’re cold, cover them with saran wrap.
Ingredients
Directions
Add the lukewarm water and the dry yeast in the mixer bowl and mix with the whisk attachment.
Add the 150 gr of flour and mix with the whisk attachment until homogenous.
Let the mixture aside for half an hour to rise.
After the first rise, melt the butter in a pot with the honey while mixing, then set aside. You want them to barely melt and mix, you don’t want them getting too hot.
Mix the mastic, cardamom, and ground mahleb in a mortar or a food processor.
Add the eggs, the spices, and the flour in the mixer’s bowl and start mixing with the hook attachment, at low speed.
Raise the mixer’s speed slowly to medium and mix for 8–10 minutes.
After your dough is homogenous, add the butter and honey mixture. Continue mixing until the dough has absorbed the liquids, unsticking from the walls of the mixer bowl, which should take about 2–4 minutes. When you stop the mixer, the dough should be hanging off the hook attachment like a piece of gum.
Lightly oil or butter a large bowl, and with gentle motions, use your hands to unstick the dough and remove to the bowl.
Cover with saran wrap and a towel and let rise for one and a half to two hours.
After this time, the dough should be double in size. If you press a finger and the dough doesn’t bounce back, but instead a marking is left from your finger, then the dough has risen enough and it’s ready.
Deflate the dough and move to a lightly oiled surface. Shape it into a thick rope and cut in 9 equal pieces.
Get your silicone moulds (or parchment paper, if you’re making the classic tsoureki braids) next to you and start kneading.
Shape each of the 9 parts thus:
Create a long and thin rope and fold in two. Knead again, creating the long and thin rope once more. Fold for a second time and knead again. Do this process at least 3 times. The last time you make the rope, divide in two equal parts, and each part will create one tsoureki for your mould.
Move to the donut mould, shape it, and seal the two edges well to avoid it breaking apart during rising.
Do the same process until you have no dough left.
Preheat the oven at 200°C.
Meanwhile, let your tsourekia rise for 20 minutes.
After they’ve doubled in size, coat them with the egg yolk and sprinkle the shredded almonds over them.
Bake for 18–20 minutes. Bake each baking sheet or donut tray separately.
Remove from the oven and the baking sheet, mould, or tray and let them cool on a cold surface.
When they’re cold, cover them with saran wrap.
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