Tsoureki

Tsoureki(Greek:τσουρέκι) also known asšurēk(Hijazi Arabic:شُريك),cöreg,čʿorek,katʿnahuncʿ(Armenian:չէօրէկ, չորեկ, կաթնահունց),çörək(Azerbaijani),çyrek(Albanian),kozunak(Bulgarian:козунак),cozonac(Romanian) orpaskalya çöreği(Turkish) is a sweet holiday bread made with flour, milk, butter, eggs, and sugar and commonly seasoned withorange zest,masticresin, ormahlab.Lampropsomo,a variation of tsoureki commonly called "Greek Easter bread," is made by Greek communities duringEaster, not only in Greece, but also in other countries with Greek communities. It is also called Armenian Easter bread and gets eaten during Easter inArmeniaand theArmenian diaspora.
The Greek wordtsourekiis derived from the Turkish wordçörek,meaning "round bread" in Old Turkic.Some dictionaries claim that this is derived from the Old Turkish rootçevir-'turn' or 'to make it round'.The ancient Armenian name was "bsatir - պսադիր" ("bsag պսակ" - "crown" and "tir դիր", is the root of "tnel դնել" verb: "to put"). This Armenian name is in allusion toChrist’scrown of thorns.
There are different variations of the Greektsourekiholiday breads including a round Christmas loaf with a cross decoration calledChristopsomo, a braidedEaster breadwith whole dyed eggs pressed into the dough calledlampropsomo, and a loaf with a coin hidden inside for good luck calledvasilopitathat is baked for St. Basil's Day (New Year's Day).
Tsoureki is made for Easter in Greece and among theGreek diaspora.It is made from a sweetyeastdough of flour, sugar, eggs, butter and milk, with dyed red Easter eggs pressed into the dough.The dough is brushed withegg washbefore baking, and sometimes flavored withmahlep,masticresin ororange zest. Other flavorings might includealmondextract,cinnamon,sultanasorfennel seed.
This bread is sometimes called "Armenian Easter bread".In Armenian, the common name ischoreg(չորեկ) orchoreg(չէօրէկ), from the Turkish, with the Armenian namegatnahunts(կաթնահունց) being less common. Before bakingchoreg, the surface is painted with egg yolk, and the heat of the oven browns it until it acquires a reddish-brown tone that represents the blood of Christ. Traditional Armenianchoregomits the dyed Easter eggs, as they are instead used in the Surb Zatik egg fight, another Armenian easter tradition.
ItsTurkishname ispaskalya çöreği'Easter çörek'. It does not include whole eggs pressed into the dough as decoration.Some recipes substitute a neutral-flavored oil, such assunflower oil, and margarine in place of milk and butter.The dough may be seasoned with orange zest,vanilla, mahlep and slivered almonds.
Sometimes tsoureki is used as a gift for special occasion; for instance, it can be given as anEastergift from children to theirgodparents.
Christopsomo (Χριστόψωμο), which translates as "Christ's bread", is a traditional Greek holiday bread that is sometimes decorated with wholewalnuts, sesame seeds and slivered almonds.Also called Christmasfruit bread, thetsourekidough may include a combination ofraisins, driedapricots, driedfigs, orange zest,cinnamon,allspice,cloves,cardamom,Mastic (plant resin)andmahleb.(Some recipes suggest marinating the raisins and dried figs overnight in wines likeretsinaormavrodaphne).Some of the dough is set aside for the loaf's cross-shaped decoration.
The bread may be glazed with a syrup made fromhoney, orange juice, and slivered almonds.