Greek Christmas Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Pour 1/3 cup water that is hot to the touch (about 110 degrees F) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Gently whisk in the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the flour and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Cover with a towel and set aside until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes (depending on the temperature of the room).
• Meanwhile, heat the milk in small saucepan over medium heat until bubbles start to form around the edges, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, remaining sugar and salt. Set aside to cool, about 5 minutes.
• Using the paddle attachment, stir the milk mixture into the yeast mixture. Stir in the 2 beaten eggs. Gradually mix in the remaining flour, fennel seed and almond extract, and beat until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a ball, about 5 minutes (the dough will be sticky).
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is as smooth as a baby's bottom, about 5 minutes.
• Put in a lightly buttered bowl, cover and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down the dough.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Place the dough on the surface and cut into three equal parts. Gently roll out each piece into a 16-inch-long rope. Line a wide-lipped cookie sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the ropes to the prepared sheet. Press the ropes together at one end and braid loosely. Arrange the braid in a circle. Press the ends of the dough together. Gently stretch the circle to make it 10 inches across and the hole in the middle 3 1/2 inches across. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Rub the eggs with a little vegetable oil, and then buff with a paper towel. Gently press the eggs into the dough, evenly spaced. Cover and set aside until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the bread with the remaining beaten egg. Bake until the loaf is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped, about 45 minutes. Cool about 30 minutes before slicing.

Steps:

• Make Quick Yeast Dough.
• Remove stems and cut figs into quarters. Place anise seeds in food processor fitted with steel blade; process 1 minute. Add figs, walnuts, sugar, orange zest, and an ise extract; process with on/off pulses until evenly chopped. Add raisins and process just until combined.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into 18x4-inch rectangle. Turn dough so that one long edge faces you. Spread filling over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border on each edge. Brush edges with water. Starting at one long edge, roll up at a slight angle so that one end is tapered and the opposite end is wide. (Loaf will be slightly horn-shaped.) Place loaf seam side down on unreased baking sheet. Twist dough, then starting at wide end as the base, roll dough upward into snail-shaped coil. Tuck tapered end into coil.
• Cover loaf with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled, 25 minutes.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Brush loaf lightly with water. Bake 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake loaf 20 minutes longer. Transfer bread to wire rack and let cool slightly.
• Brush honey over warm bread. Cut into 10 equal slices.

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast, 1 cup flour, and 1/4 cup sugar over milk in a medium bowl. Cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
• Combine remaining 7 cups flour and 1 1/2 cups sugar, the anise seeds, salt, orange zest, and mastic gum if desired. Make a well in center of mixture, and add milk mixture, melted butter, and eggs. Mix together ingredients using your hands. Once combined, turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth and supple, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Butter two 9-inch springform pans. Punch down dough, divide in half, and roll each half into a 24-inch-long log. Coil each log into a mounded circle (similar to a snail shell). Transfer each to a prepared pan. Cover with plastic, and let rise until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush egg wash over tops of loaves, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack, and let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pans, and remove bread. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Steps:

• PREPARATION NOTES: Melt the butter, chop the dried figs, chop the apricots and chop the almonds.
• Place yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp flour, salt and warm water into a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast and sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 15 - 20 minutes or until frothy.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together 4 eggs, the remaining sugar and the milk. Stir in the frothy yeast mixture, 6 1/2 cuts of the remaining flour and the vanilla extract. Stir in the melted butter then the remaining ingredients.
• Mix to form a stiff dough, then turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes (add remaining flour if needed). The dough should smooth and soft.
• Return the dough to the cleaned mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in size. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough back to its original size. Return to the bowl again, cover and leave in a warm place for another 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into about a 12 inch rope and braid three of them together, molding the ends together to seal. Repeat with the other three ropes and make another braid. Place each braid o a lightly oiled cookie sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for a final 40 minutes until the braid has risen.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and glaze the tops of both braids. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, or until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.