The Greek Easter table is absolutely connected to Easter brioches. The beautiful scent of butter, the exquisite spices, the fluffy and soft dough, all excite young and old.
Step 1: Prepare the yeast. Add the yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar in a bowl with tepid water. Mix well until the yeast and the sugar melt and then add some of the flour so as to cover all the surface of the liquid (approximately 3 tbsp). Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm environment until the yeast starts to make bubbles (coming out of the flour like lava).
Step 2: Prepare the spices. Put the mahlab, mastiha, vanillins, orange zest and the crushed aniseed in a bowl. Mix very well and set the mixture aside.
Step 3: Prepare the dough. Add half of the butter with the sugar in the mixer and beat at high speed, until the mixture becomes a fluffy custard. Then add gradually the salt, the eggs, the tsipouro, the milk, the spices mix and the yeast in the end.
Step 4: Change the mixer beater to a hook and at a low speed this time, start beating the mixture, while adding the flour at the same time. Check if the dough needs more flour so as it is soft but not sticky. Finally, while the mixer is in use, add the rest of the butter, melted but cold, and keep beating until you have added all of it.
Step 5:Remove the dough from the mixer and place it in a greased bowl. Cover it and allow it to double its volume for at least 3-4 hours in a warm environment. Then deflate it, knead it again for a few minutes and wait for another 1-2 hours for the dough to rise again.
Step 6: Divide the dough in 6 balls (depending on the size that you want the brioches to have) and mold it into balls in whatever shape you want your brioches to have.
Step 7: Arrange the brioches on one or two baking pans lined with baking paper and leave the raw bioches to rise for approximately 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 120g water
- 120g yeast
- 7g ground mahlab
- 2 tsp aniseed (crushed)
- 2g Chios mastiha powder - cooking use
- 2 vanillins
- 2 oranges (the zest)
- 200g fresh butter
- 250g sugar
- some salt
- 4 eggs
- 50g tsipouro (grape distillate)
- 150g milk
- 1kg triticum dicocum flour bio
- 1 egg yolk
- 100g hazelnuts (coarsely chopped)
Directions
Spread the egg yolk over the brioches and then sprinkle them with the coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for approximately 40-45 minutes, until the brioches rise and turn light brown.
Wait until the brioches cool off well and then wrap them with cling film so that they can stay soft for several days.
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