Tsoureki

Method

1. Warm 60 ml of milk in a small pan until just lukewarm — blood temperature, no hotter, or it will kill the yeast. Pour into a bowl, whisk in 3 g of fast-action dried yeast and leave somewhere warm for 10 minutes, until the surface is frothy and smells of bread.
2. Pound 2 tears of mastic to a fine powder in a mortar — it is resinous and needs a firm grind. Tip into a large bowl with 150 g of strong white bread flour, 30 g of caster sugar, 0.5 tsp of ground mahlepi, 2 g of fine salt and 0.5 tsp of finely grated orange zest, and whisk together so the spices are evenly dispersed.
3. Beat 1 egg in a cup and set aside a teaspoon of it in the fridge for the glaze. Pour the remaining egg and the frothy milk into the flour and bring together with a wooden spoon, then turn onto an unfloured surface and knead 12 minutes until the dough is smooth, springy and no longer tacky.
4. Smear 15 g of very soft unsalted butter over the dough and keep kneading. It will slither and break apart at first; persevere for 5 minutes until the butter is fully absorbed and the dough is glossy and stretches to a thin translucent windowpane without tearing. Round it up, put it in a lightly greased bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 2 hours, until doubled.