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    Home » Breads » Turkish Paskalya Corek

    Published: Mar 16, 2014 · Modified: May 24, 2025 by Zerrin & Yusuf

    Turkish Paskalya Corek

    Jump to Recipe

    You might be puzzled with the title and wonder whether Turkish people celebrate Easter. Well, we don’t. You already know it’s not an official holiday celebrated in Turkey as a high percentage of its population consists of muslims. So how come we have a bread with that special name? It has a secret ingredient that makes it Turkish Easter Bread aka Paskalya Corek.

    Easter bread | giverecipe.com | €aster #bread #baking #turkish #mahlab

    We most probably learnt Easter bread thanks to the large Christian community that used to live on this land years ago. We’ve exchanged several recipes for years and this Turkish Easter bread, also known as paskalya corek or çörek is one of those recipes that could survive. We call it paskalya coregi and you can easily find it at almost all bakeries or pastry shops at any time. There is still a small Christian community in the country and they celebrate Easter for sure, but you don’t have to wait for Easter to enjoy this pillowy bread in Turkey.

    Easter bread | giverecipe.com | €aster #bread #baking #turkish #mahlab

    The secret ingredient in this bread is mahlab, which is an aromatic spice and made from the seeds of a particular sour cherry. It is also called mahaleb or mahlep. We use this special spice in small amounts in sweet or savory baked pastries to give them a nice nutty flavor, which I think is slightly similar to cinnamon as well. A typical savory pastry in which we use mahlab is these Sesame Ring Cookies, which are mostly baked to celebrate Kandil, which is the name used for five Islamic holy nights.

    I guess Italian Easter Bread is the most common one among all easter breads around the world since I saw it numerous times on the web. This bread is as fluffy as a typical Italian Easter Bread, with that special flavor addition.

    Easter bread | giverecipe.com | €aster #bread #baking #turkish #mahlab

    Besides mahlab, I added a little orange zest to give it a fresher flavor. We loved the combination of these flavors so much that 2 loaves were gone in no time! I made these overnight and it was really so hard to wait until next day for the shooting process.

    Turkish Paskalya corek is mostly topped with hazelnuts, so I topped three of them with raw hazelnuts. I roughly chopped raw hazelnuts for topping, you can chop them finer or just ground them if you like.

    I saw on the web that Italian Easter bread is topped with colorful sprinkles too, I do love to use these sweet beads in baking, so I topped the other three loaves with these. I brushed the loaves with a sweet water after they are baked and cooled and then toss sprinkles on each. On the other hand, you can use hazelnut pieces right before you put the loaves in oven.

    Easter bread | giverecipe.com | €aster #bread #baking #turkish #mahlab

    As for the shape, paskalya corek is made in small long braids, so I had 6 braided bread loaves in total. You can definitely make 2 big braids too if you want things to finish quicker.

    This slightly sweet pillow soft easter bread will definitely be a winner at your holiday table and I’m afraid your guests will fill their stomach just with it. I promise it’s as good as our classic homemade dinner roll recipe.

    If you are looking for a quick bread recipe without yeast, go check out our No Yeast Bread Rolls!

    Easter bread | giverecipe.com | €aster #bread #baking #turkish #mahlab

    As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

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    📖 Recipe

    Easter bread | giverecipe.com | €aster #bread #baking #turkish #mahlab
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    Turkish Paskalya Corek

    By Zerrin & Yusuf
    Cotton soft easter bread with mahlab and orange zest.
    Yields: 6
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    PREP 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins
    COOK 17 minutes mins
    TOTAL 2 hours hrs 2 minutes mins

    INGREDIENTS
      

    • 2 and ½ teaspoon instant yeast
    • ½ cup sugar
    • 1 tablespoon mahlab
    • 2 eggs beaten
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 3 tablespoon orange zest
    • 1 and ¼ cup lukewarm milk
    • ⅓ cup butter 100g
    • 4 and ¾ cups all purpose flour

    Egg wash:

    • 1 egg
    • 1 tablespoon milk

    Sweet glaze:

    • ¼ cup warm water
    • 1 teaspoon sugar

    Topping:

    • Chopped hazelnuts
    • Colorful sprinkles

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Heat milk and butter in a pot until butter melts. Wait it until it reaches room temperature.
    • Mix yeast, sugar, mahlab and beaten eggs in a large bowl.
    • Add in salt, orange zest and butter-milk mixture. Mix well.
    • Beat in flour, one cup each time until a soft dough forms.
    • Knead a few minutes until it doesn’t stick to your fingers. Dust the counter with little flour if needed.
    • Transfer the dough into a slightly buttered large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or wet kitchen towel. Let it rise for 1 hour.
    • Line two oven pans with parchment paper. You will place 3 loaves on each.
    • Divide the dough in half and then divide eash half into 3 equal balls.
    • Divide each ball into three and shape each ball into about 25-30cm long rope.
    • Pinch the ends of the ropes, transfer them on a baking sheet and braid them together.
    • Repeat the same until you finish all the balls.
    • Cover the dough loaves with parchment paper and a large table cloth over it to prevent air in it.
    • Let it rise for 30 minutes.
    • Meanwhile heat oven to 190C.
    • Whish one egg with 1 tablespoon milk and brush each loaf with it right before baking.
    • Top three of them with chopped nuts and leave them the rest plain for a later glaze.
    • Bake for 17 minutes or until golden.
    • Leave to cool completely.
    • Mix sugar and warm water and brush the other three with this sweet water.
    • Top with sprinkles without waiting.

    NUTRITION

    Calories: 197kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 3gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 502mgPotassium: 48mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 451IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 0.5mg

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

    ADDITIONAL INFO

    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine Turkish
    Tried this recipe? Leave a comment below!
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    1. Maria says

      April 29, 2023 at 12:33 pm

      1.Turkish people are not Christians, so they never celebrate Paskalya
      2. The only recipe exist is Greek traditional Tsoureki of Thessaloniki and you can find all over Greece and not Turkey , which is another country
      The only Christian community in Turkey are Greeks and Armenians , both deferent countries

      Reply
    2. what what! says

      April 06, 2020 at 2:50 am

      Turks don't celebrate Easter......

      Reply
    3. Stamatia says

      March 17, 2014 at 4:13 am

      Hi Zerrin, this is what we Greek call "tsoureki", the bread we eat for Easter (Paska). We sprinkle it with sesame seeds or almond slivers, and tuck red-dyed hard boiled eggs into it before we bake it. Peter Minaki has some good posts about tsoureki and the traditions around it. 🙂

      Reply

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    Zerrin & Yusuf

    Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

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    Zerrin & Yusuf

    Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

    More about us→

    POPULAR RECIPES

    • Chicken seasoning in a glass jar and a small spoon in it.
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    • Turkish bean stew in a dark colored bowl and a spoon inside it.
      Kuru Fasulye Recipe (Turkish Beans)
    • Roasted tomato soup topped with feta cheese and basil leaves in a white bowl, grilled cheese sandwich dipped into it and more grilled cheese sandwiches behind it.
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    • Turkish chicken dish with a tomato sauce served in a bowl and a fork inside it.
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    • Baked chicken wings on a rack.
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