Bakery Window · Braided Sweet Bread
Tsoureki
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Its distinctive aroma comes from mahlab and mastic, two spices ground from cherry-tree pits and pine resin — ingredients most bakeries outside Greece and Turkey never stock.
A soft, braided, egg-enriched bread flavored with mahlab and mastic, glazed and topped with sesame or almonds. Thessaloniki's bakeries, some famous well beyond the city, sell it fresh year-round, with demand spiking around Easter.
Why it's made this way: Tsoureki's spicing reflects Thessaloniki's long history as a Byzantine and Ottoman trading hub where Middle Eastern spices like mahlab and mastic were readily available, and the city's bakeries turned it into a signature product rather than just a holiday bread.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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