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My tsoureki isn’t fluffy enough…what am I doing wrong?

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voula_slat

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Hey everyone, I've been getting more into cooking because of Covid and I've been trying to perfect my families tsoureki recipe. I've tried so many times, and it's never as fluffy as it supposed to be. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? And never taste like the one my mom used to make… Or even the one at the store :(
 
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When making sweetbreads like this you need to make sure you aren't overworking, or over kneading the dough. The more the dough is handled, the tougher it gets. For tsoureki it is better to leave the dough on the stickier side before rising, too, otherwise it tightens the dough up and makes it dense and hard. Only add a touch more flour when forming it into the shape just so it doesn't stick in your hands.
 
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Don’t forget that tsoureki is bread at the end of the day. So there might be something wrong with the door rising, one of the reasons it might be that you're not putting enough eggs. Eggs are what make the door fluffy and have that unique yellow color.
 
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Trust me, I feel your pain. I've been trying to re-create so many of my family's recipes and I keep on failing. One thing that I've noticed is that if I knead the dough too much, then it becomes far too dense and doesn't rise as well. Make sure you're mixing and kneading the dough only enough so that it comes together. Any more than that is going to make it very tough and too chewy.
 
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