Tsoureki facts for kids
Christopsomo Christmas bread
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| Alternative names | Paskalya Çöreği |
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| Type | Sweet bread |
| Place of origin | Greece, Turkey, Armenia |
| Region or state | Balkans, Anatolia, Middle east |
| Variations | Savoury versions |
Tsoureki is a delicious sweet bread often enjoyed during holidays. It's popular in countries like Greece, Turkey, and Armenia. This special bread is made with flour, milk, butter, eggs, and sugar. It often gets its unique flavor from ingredients like orange zest, a special tree resin called mastic, or a spice called mahlab.
One common type of tsoureki is called Lampropsomo. Many Greek communities make this bread for Easter. It's also sometimes known as Armenian Easter bread.
What's in a Name?
The word tsoureki comes from the Turkish word çörek. Some people think this word comes from an old Turkish word meaning "to turn." Others believe it might come from Persian or Armenian languages. This sweet bread has many different names depending on the country. For example, it's called kozunak in Bulgaria and cozonac in Romania.
Greek Holiday Breads
In Greece, there are several kinds of tsoureki made for different holidays.
- Christopsomo: This is a round Christmas bread. It often has a cross shape decorated on top.
- Lampropsomo: This is a braided Easter bread. It usually has whole, dyed eggs pressed right into the dough.
- Vasilopita: This bread is baked for St. Basil's Day, which is New Year's Day. It has a coin hidden inside. Finding the coin is thought to bring good luck for the year!
Easter Tsoureki
Tsoureki is a very important bread for Greeks during Easter. It's made from a sweet dough with yeast, flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and milk. Often, dyed red Easter eggs are pressed into the dough before baking. The dough is usually brushed with egg wash to make it shiny. It can be flavored with mahlep, mastic resin, or orange zest. Sometimes, people add almond extract, cinnamon, sultanas, or fennel seeds.
This bread is also known as "Armenian Easter bread" (Zadigi choreg). An old Armenian name for it was "bsatir," which means "crown." This name reminds people of Christ’s crown of thorns. The braided shape of the bread looks like a woven crown. The sesame seeds on top can represent the thorns. Before baking, the bread is painted with egg yolk. When it bakes, it turns a reddish-brown color, which can symbolize Christ's blood. Traditional Armenian choreg usually doesn't have dyed Easter eggs inside.
In Turkey, this bread is called paskalya çöreği. Paskalya is the Turkish word for Easter. The Turkish version usually has egg mixed into the dough, instead of whole eggs pressed on top. Some recipes use oil and margarine instead of milk and butter. Turkish paskalya çöreği might be flavored with orange zest, vanilla, mahlep, and slivered almonds.
Sometimes, tsoureki is given as a special gift. For example, children might give it to their godparents for Easter.
Christmas Tsoureki
Christopsomo (Χριστόψωμο) means "Christ's bread." This is a traditional Greek bread made for Christmas. It is often decorated with whole walnuts, sesame seeds, and slivered almonds. This Christmas bread is a type of tsoureki that can include a mix of raisins, dried apricots, dried figs, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom, Mastic (plant resin), and mahleb. Some recipes even suggest soaking the dried fruits in wines like retsina or mavrodaphne overnight.
A small part of the dough is often saved to make a cross shape on top of the loaf. After baking, the bread can be brushed with a sweet syrup. This syrup is usually made from honey, orange juice, and slivered almonds, making it even more delicious.
