KitchenEaster
Choreg
Soft, braided Easter bread scented with mahleb, brushed with egg and covered in sesame seeds.
Choreg is baked in the days before Easter and eaten with red eggs, cheese and coffee for the rest of the week. The smell is mahleb, the ground cherry kernel that every Western Armenian kitchen keeps for this bread.
Shapes vary by family and town: three-strand braids, knots, coils. This dough is soft and a little sticky, which is what makes the crumb tender.
Ingredients
Amounts in the steps are for 24 servings.
Tools
- Large mixing bowl
- 2 baking sheets and parchment
- Pastry brush
- Cooling rack
Steps
Stir the yeast and a pinch of the sugar into the warm milk and leave it until foamy.
Whisk in the rest of the sugar, the cooled melted butter and the 3 eggs.
In a large bowl, mix 5 cups of the flour with the mahleb, mastic (if using) and salt. Pour in the wet mixture and stir into a shaggy dough.
Knead, adding flour a spoonful at a time, until the dough is smooth and soft and only slightly tacky. Don't add so much that it turns stiff.
Put it in a buttered bowl, cover and leave it somewhere warm until doubled.
Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces. Roll each into a rope about 14 inches (35 cm) long and braid them in threes. Tuck the ends under and set the braids on lined baking sheets.
Cover loosely and let them rise again until puffy. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the yolk with a tablespoon of milk, brush it over the braids and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake until deep golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack before slicing.
Good to know
- Finding mahleb
- Armenian, Greek and Middle Eastern grocers carry it. Without it, it's still good bread, but it isn't choreg.
- Making ahead
- Choreg freezes well. Wrap cooled braids tightly; warm them in a low oven.
- Toppings
- Sesame is the most common. Some families use nigella seeds, or both.
Ask your grandparents
- What shape did your family make: braids, knots or coils?
- Who did the egg cracking at Easter, and who usually won?
- Did your choreg have mastic in it?