Gluten Free Greek Easter Bread (Tsoureki)

One of my favorite things about Greek Easter is the Greek Easter Bread, Tsoureki. It is a sweet bread with a citrusy flavor that is absolutely wonderful toasted! The interesting flavor of the bread comes from Mahlepi, an unusual Greek spice with a  distinctive, fruity taste. The finely ground powder is made from the inner kernels of fruit pits of a native Persian cherry tree.The sweet smell fills the house as the bread is baking! 

There are gluten free substitutes for many foods, but not for this bread. So since I have been gluten free, all I could do was enjoy the amazing smell of the bread at Easter dinner. This year I decided to try to make a gluten free version. I knew the texture wouldn't be the same, but if the taste and smell were the same, I would be happy.

Since I don't have much experience converting baking recipes to gluten free, especially not breads, I searched for a recipe that was already converted. Not many to be found. But I came across this one from poorandglutenfree.blogspot.com. It looked like the bread I craved and the recipe seemed easy enough.  However, the magic spice was missing, easy enough to add it! I found the Mahlepi easily on Amazon. You can probably find it in a Greek specialty store by the baking ingredients. It makes all the difference in this bread!

The preparation was easy enough.

The dough is very sticky to work with. It wasn't easy rolling it into ropes to make the braid. I was afraid to add too much flour while I was shaping it because I didn't want it to be heavy. So my braid isn't very neat! I thought it would rise more, maybe I needed to let it rise a little longer before I baked it.

The familiar sweet smell filled the house as it was baking and I hoped it would be edible!!! I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it and it did taste like the bread I remember! Of course the texture was more cakey but it was very light.  Can't wait to try it toasted!

Gluten Free Greek Easter Bread    

Makes 1 large loaf

1 cup warm milk (about 110-115F)

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1 cup white rice flour

1 1/4 cup tapioca starch

Add'l tapioca starch for kneading

2 tsp xanthum gum

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp to 1 tsp Mahlepi powder

2 eggs at room temp

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup melted butter

  

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (See below for alternate method)

In a bowl or 2 cup glass measuring cup, warm the milk, check temp. Mix in the yeast and sugar. Set aside to proof for 5-7 minutes.

Whisk together flours, starch, xanthum gum, salt, zest and Mahlepi in a large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together eggs, vinegar, vanilla and butter. Remove 2 tbsp, add 2 tbsp. water, this will be the egg wash for the top.

Add egg mix and yeast mix to the flour mix. Beat 2-3 minutes until smooth. Dough will be sticky. Divide the dough into 3 parts. Dust a flat surface with tapioca starch and knead each piece 3-4 times to make it less sticky. Don't over knead or add more flour, this will make the dough heavy. Roll each piece into a rope the length of your baking sheet. Place the pieces next to each other on the baking sheet, pinch the ends and braid.

Cover with a clean dish cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes until doubled in size. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the top with the egg wash. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

2017 update!

I found these silicon Challah pans on Amazon. No need to braid the dough. Just fill and bake. The recipe makes 2 loaves. Beautiful braids!