Paterson, N.J. – March 18, 2014 – In Greek culture, celebrations with family and friends are the most important part of community life. When it comes to breaking bread together, Easter is no exception.
This year, Greek Orthodox Easter and the Western Christian Easter fall on the same day, April 20th, something that only happens every four years! If your readers want to try out something ethnic, new and different for the holiday, here’s a recipe for a delicious Easter bread called Tsoureki.
A braided yeast bread, Tsoureki is known for the decorative red eggs that are baked right into the loaf. The red eggs, a Greek tradition, represent the blood of Christ. (For a colorful variation on this tradition, you can also bake multicolored eggs into your braided bread.)
Every family has its own version of this recipe. This one can be attributed to the Kontos family, owners of Kontos Foods, a Paterson, NJ-based provider of traditional Mediterranean foods.
2 pkgs. yeast
¼ cup sugar
Flour (follow below instruction)
2 cups warm water
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup oil
2 eggs beaten
Couple/few colored hard-boiled eggs
- Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Add enough flour to mix to heavy batter. Add salt, oil and all but 2 teaspoons of beaten eggs. Add enough flour to make a firm dough. Knead for 5 minutes.
- Cut dough in half, and each half into thirds. Make 3 long ropes and braid. Bend braid into a tight straight, or circle, loaf.
- Let dough rise for 45 minutes. Use remaining 2 teaspoons of egg to brush on dough.
- To decorate your bread, gently press a red, or other color, egg into the center of your loaf.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.
To learn more about Kontos Foods, visit www.kontos.com or www.Flatbread.com.You can also find Kontos Foods on Twitter@KontosFoods or on Facebook at www.facebook/KontosFoods. A photo is below or available upon request.
About Kontos Foods
Founded in 1987, Kontos Foods, Inc. is a Paterson, NJ-based provider of traditional Mediterranean foods for restaurants, hotels, food service, retail specialty stores and supermarkets worldwide. The family-owned company specializes in hand-stretched flatbreads, including the Kontos Pocket-Less Pita®, Fillo dough, pastries, olives, gyro meats, and Greek yogurts, as well as nearly 50 varieties of multi-ethnic flatbreads. Kontos, which has over 225 employees and was founded by Evripides (Evris) Kontos together with his son Steven, together bring over 100 years’ experience in the premium food industry. To learn more, visit www.kontos.com, or call (973) 278-2800.
Media Contact
Patty Buchanan
Fastlane on Behalf of Kontos
(973) 670-1203
pbuchanan@fast-lane.net
Kontos Contact
Warren Stoll
Kontos Foods Inc.
(973) 278-2800, ext. 326
WarrenS@kontos.com