Greek Easter Bread

Disclaimer: This is not a minimalist recipe.


Every year, the day before Easter, I stay up late to finish baking this bread. This is an all-day bread, it takes about 10 hours from start to finish. But it is the most delicious, absolutely incredible bread. Ever.
This is a huge batch, but we give some as gifts for Easter and then eat it all week long. If you use a KitchenAid, it cannot handle this much dough, so it would be best to cut the recipe in half.



Greek Easter Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon crushed anise seed*
4 tablespoons yeast
1 cup warm water
6 eggs, beaten
16 cups white flour


Egg wash:
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
sesame seeds

Directions:
In a sauce pan, over medium heat, warm milk, then add sugar, butter, salt, and anise. Stir and heat until butter is melted.
Mix yeast and warm water in the mixer, and let sit.
Beat eggs until they are light and fluffy.
Turn the mixer on, add 2 cups of flour, and then pour in the beaten egg and the milk mixture slowly, alternating. (Allow it to mix while you are pouring and do not dump it in all at once.)
Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, allowing it to mix in between cups. Knead for 5 minutes. Put into a greased bowl, flipping so that all sides are coated in grease. Cover with a dish towel, and let rise until doubled, approximately 3 hours.
After the dough has doubled, punch down dough, put on a floured surface, and divide it into 6 equal sections.
Divide each section into 3 and make “snakes.”
With your fingers put a little cold water on the tips of the 3 “snakes”, squishing them together to seal. Braid and then seal the other end the same way, tucking slightly so the loaf has a nice finish look.
Place on a baking sheet, cover with a dish cloth, and let rise. Just before baking: mix egg and milk for egg wash, brush on loaves and then sprinkle on sesame seeds.


Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes for skinnier loaves (12-14 inches long) or 50-60 minutes for fat loaves (10-12 inches long). This bread rises more when it’s baking.


*Anise seed- I use anise seed and crush it with a mortar and pestle. This seems to have the best flavor.
Traditionally, the bread should have red eggs in the braid, it looks beautiful, but I typically leave them out.
Because I only have round stones for baking sheets, I  make my loaves curved, rather than straight.
 

 

About Rachel Jones

Hi there! I’m Rachel Jones, and I founded Nourishing Minimalism in 2012 at the beginning of my minimalist journey. If you're looking for encouragement in your journey, I created a FREE Facebook Group - feel free to join me there: Nourishing Minimalism Facebook Group and I share videos each week on YouTube

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