Tsoureki Olympos Recipe (easter sweet bread)

1. For the sourdough starter, add in a bowl the Zois milk full fat, the fresh yeast, the sugar, and the special flour for tsoureki, and mix very well so that the mixture does not form lumps.
2. Turn on the oven at 30° Celsius for 1 minute, then turn it off and let the sourdough starter rest until it doubles in size.
3. In a food processor, add the mastic (4 tears), kakoule, mahleb, salt, 3 tbsp sugar from the 300 gr. sugar and beat very well.
4. Once they become a powder, pour them into a bowl.
5. Add the OLYMPOS Orange juice, the remaining sugar, the eggs, the sourdough starter, and the liquid vanilla, and mix very well.
6. Slowly add the special flour for tsoureki and mix until you have a pliable dough.
7. Melt the OLYMPOS Cow Cow butter and slowly incorporate it into the dough.
8. Cover and allow the dough to rest until it doubles in size.
9. Divide the dough into 9 balls of 180 gr. each
10. Cover them with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
11. Roll out the balls and shape them into strips one by one and form a braid with 3 strips at a time for each tsoureki.
12. After rolling the balls and shaping the third and the filled tsoureki into strips, press the strips and roll out them with the rolling pin and with a piping bag fill each strip with the praline chocolate and close it carefully.
13. Form into a braid and place them next to each other in a 25*30 cm baking pan.
14. Cover with a plastic wrap and let them rest until they double in size.
15. Brush them with egg wash (egg diluted with 1 tbsp of milk) and sprinkle with sesame seeds and almond slivers.

Good luck!!!