Τσουρέκια.
In the past, tsoureki (a type of braided brioche) was offered to guests when visiting women who recently gave birth or when inviting guests to weddings or christenings. Today, the preparation and consumption of tsoureki is customary mainly during the festive days of Easter.
Name - Recipe
Τσουρέκι. A type of braided brioche.
The name comes from the Turkish word corek (Yangoullis 2009, 495).
10 cups of plain flour
3 sachets of yeast
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 glass of fresh milk
1 unsalted butter (250g)
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp salt
6 whole eggs
1 tbsp ground mahleb
1 tbsp ground mastic
Melt the yeast with a bit of lukewarm milk, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and 4 tablespoons of flour (it can of course be added directly to flour). Leave the yeast in a warm place to proof. Beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the salt and zest. In a bowl, place the flour, yeast, eggs, sugar and milk with the remaining sugar, beaten well. Melt the butter and knead well, add the mahleb, mastic, orange zest and allow the dough to double in size. Shape the tsoureki brioche into a braid. Let them proof, brush them with beaten eggs and sesame seeds and bake in the oven in a moderate temperature oven for about 1/2 hour. (MANRE 2006, 66)
Baking in the oven.
Functional and symbolic role
The preparation and consumption of tsoureki is customary mainly during the festive days of Easter.
In some villages of Paphos, women who went to visit a woman who recenlty had given birth were given square-cut tsourekia. These brioches were coated in sesame seeds and consisted of two pieces of dough with a chained ornament at the point where the two pieces joined. In the same villages they also give tsoureki when they would invite guests to a wedding. In some villages, when they went to the church to baptise a baby, the midwife who preceded them would give tsoureki to those she met on the way, thus inviting them to the Christening (Protopapa 2009, 303, 471).
Additional information and bibliography
Yangoullis, K. (2009). Thesaurus of Cypriot dialect, 3rd edition, Theopress Publications, Nicosia.
Protopapa, K. (2009). Birth customs in the traditional society of Cyprus (Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research XLIX), Centre for Scientific Research, Nicosia.
Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment (2006). Farmer, April-May-June 2006.
Varvara Yangou, Demetra Zannetou, Stalo Lazarou
Τσουρέκι. Πηγή: Στάλω Λαζάρου.
Τσουρέκια για ψήσιμο σε παραδοσιακό φούρνο. Πηγή: Ηλίας Μανιταράς.
Φρεσκοψημένα τσουρέκια. Πηγή: Ηλίας Μανιταράς.
Τσουρέκια, φλαούνες και δαχτυλιές. Πασχαλινά ζυμώματα. Πηγή: Ιστοσελίδα Facebook.
Τσουρέκι κομμένο. Πηγή: Alpha, https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/4860061836
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