Choreki is a simple sweet egg bread with a touch of anise served in the Greek holiday tradition.
| 1/4 | C | warm water |
| 2-1/4 | tsp. | dried yeast |
| 1/2 | C | unsalated butter |
| 1 | tsp. | aniseed, crushed in a mortar and pestle |
| 1 | C | milk |
| 1/3 | C | sugar |
| 1 | tsp. | salt |
| 3 | eggs | |
| 5-1/2 to 6 | C | all-purpose flour |
| 1 | egg | |
| 1 | tbsp. | whipping cream |
| 2 | tbsp. | chopped slivered almonds |
| 1 | tbsp. | coarse sugar |
In a large bowl, combine warm water and yeast. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or until yeast has dissolved and mixture appears creamy.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add aniseed and cook for 30 seconds or until aniseed is fragrant. Remove from heat. Add milk, sugar and salt and stir to dissove.
In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture and milk mixture. Beat in eggs with an electric mixer and add flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Knead on a very lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Place dough down in a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
Punch dough down and knead gently to bring together. Divide dough into two equal balls, cover and let rest 15 minutes.
Using one ball of dough at a time, divide ball into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 16 inches long, and place them parallel to each other on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Beginning at the middle of the ropes, braid the 3 ropes of dough together from the middle to one end, pinch the ends together and tuck under the loaf. Turn loaf around and finish braiding in the other direction, finishing ends as before. Braiding from the middle creates a more evenly braided loaf than does starting at one end. Repeat with remaining ball of dough.
Cover loaves with a clean tea towl, and let them rise for 40 minutes or until they have puffed but not doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Whisk together egg and cream. Brush loaves evenly with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, almonds and sugar. For a truly professional-looking bread, brush the loaves with egg wash again in the creases of the braid where the bread has risen after about 10 minutes of baking.
Place baking sheets in top and bottom thirds of oven, and switch loaves halfway through baking. Bake for 30 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on racks before slicing.
Make 2 braided loaves.