Ingredients
- 500 g hard flour
- 10 g dried yeast
- 180 g granulated sugar
- 4 medium eggs
- 100 g Lurpak cow milk butter
- 75 ml milk or water
- zest of 1 orange
- 5 g mastic
- 5 g mahlab powder
- 2 g cardamom
Ingredients for brushing
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
Method
In a small pot, heat the milk (or water), until it becomes lukewarm.
Right after, in a mixer’s bowl combine the lukewarm milk (or water) with dried yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 50 g of flour. Mix the ingredients with the whisk attachment, until it gets a mushy consistency, and let it rise at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
In a food processor beat mahlab, mastic, cardamom, and 1 tablespoon of sugar, until it gets a powdery consistency.
Then, heat over a bain-marie the butter, eggs, rest of the sugar, and the powdery mixture of spices. Whisk until it becomes a lukewarm mixture.
You must be careful as the mixture should be lukewarm, not hot.
After 15 minutes and as soon as the yeast mixture has risen, add it to a mixer’s bowl along with the lukewarm mixture, flour, and orange zest. Stir with the hook attachment at medium speed for about 10 minutes.
When the dough is ready, place it in a well-buttered bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 2-2.5 hours.
Once the dough has risen well, knead slightly in the bowl to flatten. Let it rest in a warm place covered by a towel for another 2-2.5 hours.
When ready, remove from the bowl and divide it into two equal parts- if you want to make large sweet breads- or in 5 equal parts – if you want small sweet breads. Divide each piece of dough into 3 parts, create a long roll of the same length and thickness with each piece of dough and create a braid.
Transfer to a lined baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside and let them rise again in a warm place for at least one hour, without covering them.
In a bowl dilute the egg with water, and add sugar and salt while stirring properly.
When the sweet breads have risen, gently and slightly brush the egg wash over their surface.
Preheat the oven to 170 C fan or preferably on heating elements. Place at the bottom of the oven a baking pan full of water while baking the sweet breads. This would help to bake the sweet breads perfectly.
Bake for about 20 minutes for the small sweet breads and about 30 minutes for the large ones.
