Bakery Window · Braided Sweet Bread
Tsoureki
Photo: Z thomas / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Its distinctive aroma comes from mahlab and mastic — one ground from the kernels of a wild cherry's pits, the other a resin from the mastic tree grown on Chios.
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 — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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