Lampropsomo or Lambrokouloura

RECIPES/DESSERTS

Lampropsomo or Lambrokouloura

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Recipe-Ingrediants

Lampropsomo is the festive bread that we place on the table to accompany our Easter meal. It is essentially bread in the shape of a cross, but it is flavored with spices and adorned with red-dyed eggs. According to tradition, we make it on Holy Saturday with yeast that has been prepared since Holy Thursday or with wild orchid, or blessed water. It is soft and fluffy, resembling a cross between bread and tsoureki (Greek Easter sweet bread). Some people add mahleb and kakoulouri (a traditional sweet bread), while others use mastic and sweet anise to achieve a milder and lighter flavor that distinguishes it from tsoureki, making it suitable for accompanying the meal. In Thrace, you will see it decorated with four red eggs on the edges and one white egg in the center.

Ingredients:

150g strong flour

350g soft flour (cake flour)

½ tsp salt

70g honey

2 tbsp olive oil

300g lukewarm water

2 packets dry yeast

2 tsp sweet anise

½ tsp crushed mastic

4 star-shaped sweet anise seeds

1 cinnamon stick

For decoration:

Black sesame seeds

Sesame seeds

Sliced almonds

1 red-dyed egg

Directions

Start with the water. Pour approximately 350g of water into a small saucepan. Add the star-shaped sweet anise seeds and cinnamon stick and let them boil for 2-3 minutes. Then strain the water, reserving 300g of it, and keep the remaining small amount for later. Within the 300g of water, add the honey and stir until it dissolves. Allow it to cool to lukewarm.
While waiting, sift the flours into a large bowl. Add the salt, sweet anise, and crushed mastic. Once the water has reached lukewarm temperature, create a well in the flour and pour in the water. Mix to form a pliable dough.
Place the dough on a floured surface (to prevent sticking) and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rest in a warm place until it doubles in size. You can proof it at around 40-45 degrees Celsius (104-113 degrees Fahrenheit).
Once the dough has doubled in size, take it and shape it into the desired pattern, creating a cross. Place the red-dyed egg in the center. Take the small amount of reserved water and add a little honey, stirring to dissolve. Brush the entire surface of the dough with the mixture and decorate with sliced almonds, sesame seeds, and black sesame seeds.
Place the dough in a warm place again to allow it to rise further. Once it has risen sufficiently, bake it for about 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) in a conventional oven.

Note: Lampropsomo is a traditional Greek Easter bread, typically enjoyed during the Easter holiday.