Tsoureki — Sweet braided bread

Tsoureki is a fragrant, sweet braided bread that marks the celebration of Greek Orthodox Easter. Traditionally baked on Holy Thursday and enjoyed on Easter Sunday, this loaf is rich with cultural significance and flavor. The dough is enriched with butter, milk and eggs, and it carries a tender crumb lightly spiced with ground cherry seeds (mahleb) and a pinch of mastiha, an aromatic resin from the Greek island of Chios. Often bright orange zest and a hint of cardamom are added, giving tsoureki a warm, complex scent as it bakes. Famously, a few red-dyed hard-boiled eggs may be nestled into the braid before baking – each egg symbolizing life and renewal. By Easter morning the kitchen fills with the aroma of gently sweetened dough, citrus and spice. Families break the golden loaf as part of the holiday feast, each slice a reminder of spring and the end of Lent.

While it resembles other enriched breads (for example, Bulgarian kozunak or Jewish challah), tsoureki is uniquely Greek in its use of mahleb and especially mastiha. The flavor of mastiha is subtle – a balsamic, slightly pine-like note – that comes through if a little resin is ground into the flour. Together with mahleb (which tastes of bitter almonds and cherries), these spices give tsoureki its characteristic fragrance. Many Greeks consider this bread a link to the past: recipes have been handed down through generations. In fact, tsoureki belongs to an ancient family of holiday breads and likely evolved from Byzantine makaria (funeral breads) which were later sweetened for celebration. Today it is a thread that ties together Greeks at home and abroad, a familiar taste that accompanies Greek Easter wherever families gather.

Making tsoureki is a gentle, almost meditative process. The enriched dough is mixed and kneaded until soft and slightly sticky, then left to rise slowly for several hours – sometimes in a warm oven or near a stove until it doubles in size. This long proofing time yields the pillowy texture of the finished loaf. Once risen, the dough is divided into ropes and braided loosely, allowing space for a final rise. Before baking, the braid is brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with sesame or sliced almonds, which turn golden brown and crisp in the oven. A 30-minute bake yields a loaf with a shiny mahogany crust and a moist, springy interior.

When pulled from the oven, tsoureki is best enjoyed on the day it is made. Serve warm or at room temperature. It is traditionally shared at the Easter table alongside roast lamb, Greek salad, and feta, but it also makes a wonderful fragrant French toast or custardy bread pudding if any remains. Just a sliver of tsoureki has a comforting warmth – a taste of Greek spring and the joyful reunion of family. The soft crumb, rich buttery flavor and subtle anise-almond notes ensure that every bite feels celebratory. Whether you are baking it for church, for family, or simply to keep a cherished tradition alive, this tsoureki recipe invites you to experience the timeless spirit of a Greek Easter morning.