#BreadBakers ~ Choereg (Armenian Easter Bread)

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the Bread Bakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla has selected Easter breads from around the world as our theme.

She wrote: "We're posting after the actual holiday. I know. However, as everyone is home, sheltered-in-place to help flatten the coronavirus curve, maybe people are delaying Easter celebrations with friends and family. I know I am!"

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

This is my first month joining the Bread Bakers - and I suppose it was good timing since we're all spending a bit more time in the kitchen lately (or at least we sure are at my house)! Having time for these baking adventures, and appreciating and enjoying the outcomes.

This is a lovely, tender, lightly sweet bread with the most amazing smell thanks to the special spice mixture used. I ordered mine on Amazon (linked below). It smells of cinnamon to me - and a blend of other spices that I can't really explain because it is actually made from the pit of a cherry!

This makes a perfect breakfast bread - toasted with a little butter and jam if you like. Enjoy alongside your favorite cup of tea or coffee - and then we ended us using one of the loaves in a French Toast Casserole and it worked just beautifully!

See all the gorgeous Easter loaves we're sharing with you today:

• Choereg (Armenian Easter Bread) by Making Miracles
• Easy Glazed Baked Donuts by Shockingly Delicious
• Folar da Páscoa, a Less-Than-Traditional Version by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• German Osterbrot Easter Bread by Ambrosia
• Hot Cross Buns by Sneha's Recipe
• Polish Babka by A Messy Kitchen
• Kalach (Hungarian Easter Bread) by Passion Kneaded
• Kozunak (Bulgarian Easter Bread) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Russian Kulich - Easter Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Hot Cross Buns by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Ukrainian Paska by Zesty South Indian Kitchen

Choereg (Armenian Easter Bread) adapted from Ani on AllRecipes

Ingredients
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup white sugar
2-1/2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2-1/4 teaspoons ground mahlab
3/4 teaspoon salt

Topping
1/2 egg, beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir 1 tsp of sugar into the 1/4 cup of warm water and sprinkle yeast over the top. Set aside and allow to activate for about 10 minutes. It is ready when it is frothy and bubbly.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan add the milk, butter, margarine, and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves, but do not bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the 3 eggs together. Remove about 2 TBS worth to save for the egg wash, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Next, slowly stream in the warm butter / sugar mixture to the remaining 2 1/2 eggs while whisking constantly to slowly incorporate the warm liquid into the eggs and prevent the eggs from scrambling. Add in the yeast mixture and stir just until combined.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, mahlab, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add in the liquid, and using the dough hook mix on medium speed until dough ball begins to form - mix on medium about 5 more minutes. 
5. Remove dough from the bowl, and add a bit of oil to the bottom. Return dough to bowl and cover with a tea towel and set in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours. When doubled in size, punch down and cover again. Allow to rise a second time. Check in about 1 hour (should take about half as long as the first time).
6. When it has doubled in size again, split dough into 2 equal pieces. Split each of those pieces into 3 12-inch ropes. Pinch the ends of the ropes together and braid. Repeat for the second set of dough. Place both on a baking sheet, cover and allow to rise again. Dough is ready for baking when you can press gently and the indentation stays and doesn't bounce right back (about 30-45 minutes). 
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush loaves with eggwash and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the tops evenly.
8. Place in the preheated oven and bake about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
9. Allow to cool on the baking sheet about 15 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to complete cooling.