Traditional Greek Christmas bread with beautiful braids filled with aromatic spices like star anise and mahleb and walnuts. They are so tasty and if you have never tried it before, I strongly suggest you try it out.
Put all ingredients for the dough in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough-hook attachment. Knead on low (speed 2) for 3-4 minutes until you get a rough dough
Then increase the speed to 4 and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes or until you reach a windowpane stage. When you stretch a small amount of the dough thin, the dough doesn't break and a light can pass through
Take about 180 grams of the dough. We will use this for the braids later. Add walnuts pieces to the other dough and knead on low just to incorporate the nuts into the dough
First proofing:
Let both of the doughs proof at a warm place until they double in size. This may take somewhere about 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature
Shape the dough:
Divide the smaller dough into 6 equal portions. We will do two braids. Each braid needs three strands. Cover and let them rest for 15 minutes so it's easier to roll them into long strands for braiding
Use three strands to make one braid. Please refer to the photos above on how to braid. Repeat with the other three strands to make the second braids
Grease and Line a 7-inch round pan with parchment paper on the bottom and the sides. Punch the air out from the large dough with walnuts to distribute the air. Pull the edge to tuck and round into a large round ball
Gently place one braid over the surface of the large dough and then another braid over it, to form a cross. Tuck the excess braids underneath the braid. Carefully transfer this into the prepared pan
Second proofing:
Cover the dough and let it proof again for the second time until it doubles in size again. This may take another hour or longer, depending on how warm it is where you are
15 minutes before the end of second proofing, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for a conventional oven. Lower by 20 degrees if you have a convection oven
When the bread has doubled in size, gently brush the surface with egg wash. Put one whole walnut with a shell on the center of the braid. I don't have whole unshelled walnut so I just use one whole piece of shelled walnut. Then I decorate the rest of the surface with walnuts and sesame seeds
Baking:
Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack for 50 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 200 F (93 C)
Remove from the oven and brush with some melted butter while still warm if you want to keep the crust soft. Let it cool down in a pan for about 5 minutes
Cooling:
Carefully transfer it out from the pan and let it cool down completely on a cooling rack. This may take one hour or longer. Don't slice the bread when it's still hot