Round, Easter, traditional, fluffy cake light and aromatic. The only difficulty in that exercise is patience needed between different yeast rising phases. If we like doing braids straight or rounded to coil shape. With balls, as you suggest, it is easier and more relaxed and are ideal to fill them with chocolate or jam. Make your tests and you'll see, it is like to play, like children, plasticine. This is the grace of our Easter kneading.
Yours!
Yours!
| work: 30′ | time: 3h:30′ | medium: |
 Ingredients (1 round Tsoureki)
|  In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Withdraw from the heat or turn off the stove. |  Pour the milk, sugar and salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves well. Break the eggs and add to mixture. Mix well. |
 Add the dry yeast, stir and let it sit for 1′. |  Add the flour, gum, cardamom and orange zest. |  Mix well with a wooden spoon for about 1′. The dough will be very sticky. |
 Cover the kettle with the lid and allow the dough to rise for 1h until doubled in size. |  Deflate and knead the dough with your hand for 1'-2'. At this stage if it is too sticky, add some flour, to knead. |  Cover again with the lid and leave to rise again for 30′. |
 Grease with melted butter the workbench and your hands and transfer the dough ball. Deflate and knead the dough, folding it for 1'-2' until a smooth dough ball. You divide it into 6 pieces of equal size. Make balls and if you want put a piece of chocolate couverture in the center. |  Repeat with the remaining dough pieces, hands always buttered, you form each ball and touching up in greaseproof paper in a round pan with Ø26cm (Ø10.2in). You let the dough to rise (for the 3rd time) for 1h. |  Beat the egg with a little water (I put the yolk half) and baste the cake. Sprinkle each little ball alternately with sesame and slivered almonds. Bake in a preheated forced air oven at 160℃ (320℉, Gas Mark:2.8) for 35'-40'. Just before the end, and as the cake is hot in the oven, carefully add the red egg. |
★A quick way to find out the temperature of a liquid is 35℃-37℃ (95℉-99℉), without thermometer, is to immerse your little finger, to count to 10 and to endure the temperature.
