A golden, fluffy Gluten-Free No-Knead Easter Tsoureki with a rich, soft crumb, topped with sliced almonds. A hand lifts a slice, revealing its airy texture, while deep red-dyed eggs rest beside the cake on a rustic wooden table.

Tsoureki is a traditional Greek Easter sweet bread, similar to brioche. Traditionally, tsoureki is plaited; however, a gluten-free tsoureki dough is wetter and softer than regular dough, so it is difficult to plait without adding an excessive amount of flour. The solution? Treat your yeasted dough like a thick, wet cake batter and in a fraction of the time it takes to cook a traditional tsoureki you will have a super light and fluffy no-knead bread infused with stunning aroma and flavour. Representing the blood of Christ, the red eggs are an optional but beautiful addition.

This recipe is extracted from Gluten-Free Mediterranean by Helen Tzouganatos, published by Plum, RRP $44.99, photography by Jeremy Simons.

Cover of Gluten-Free Mediterranean featuring a drawing of a lemon.

Thanks Helen for sharing this recipe with us.

A golden, fluffy Gluten-Free No-Knead Easter Tsoureki with a rich, soft crumb, topped with sliced almonds. A hand lifts a slice, revealing its airy texture, while deep red-dyed eggs rest beside the cake on a rustic wooden table.

No-knead Easter Tsoureki

Helen Tzouganatos
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Baking
Cuisine Greek
Servings 12

Ingredients
 

  • 250 ml 1 cup lukewarm milk
  • 2 x 7g sachets dried yeast
  • 230 g 1 cup caster sugar
  • 390 g 3 cups gluten-free plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon mahlepi see notes
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mastiha see notes
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
  • pinch of sea salt flakes
  • 50 g butter melted, plus 1 tablespoon extra, for drizzling
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs lightly whisked, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons flaked almonds
  • 3 red eggs optional (see notes)

Instructions
 

  • Grease a 23cm bundt tin (or a 23cm round cake tin).
  • Place the milk, yeast and half the caster sugar in a small bowl and stir to combine. Rest for 15 minutes until the yeast foams.
  • Combine the flour and the remaining sugar with the baking powder, mahlepi, mastiha, orange zest and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Pour in the yeasty milk mixture, melted butter, vanilla extract and eggs and stir to form a thick, wet batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Spread out and smooth the top with a spatula, then sprinkle on the flaked almonds. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in a warm spot for about an hour until the dough almost doubles in size.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan-forced).
  • Drizzle the extra melted butter over the dough and arrange the red eggs on top (if using). Bake for
  • 25 minutes or until golden. Rest for an hour in the tin before slicing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

How to make red eggs: place 500ml (2 cups) of water, 3 tablespoons white vinegar and 10g powdered red food dye in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium–low heat. Gently lower the eggs into the water and simmer for 8 minutes or until the desired colour is achieved. Remove the eggs and cool on a plate, then polish with an oiled cloth for a shiny finish. Note that after being baked into the tsoureki, the red eggs are generally considered purely decorative, though they can be eaten within 2 hours at room temperature.
Mahlepi, mastiha and red food dye can be found at European delis.
For a dairy-free version, replace the butter with light olive oil and the milk with your favourite dairy-free milk, such as almond or macadamia milk.
You can replace the flaked almonds with sesame seeds, or omit.
Cover of Gluten-Free Mediterranean featuring a drawing of a lemon.
Gluten-Free Mediterranean by Helen Tzouganatos, published by Plum, RRP $44.99, photography by Jeremy Simons.
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