greek easter tsoureki buns

• warm 1/2 cup of milk and place in a large bowl, add the yeast, 1/2 cup of flour, and 2 tbsp of sugar and cover and proof for one hour in a warm place
• warm the other 1/2 cup milk (or 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup orange juice), add 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp  butter, orange zest, ground mahlepi, ground masticha, orange blossom water and let simmer for a few minutes, when cool, add the 2 beaten eggs and 1 yolk
• in a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 1/4 cup ground almond powder and salt
• make a well in the center, add the yeast mixture, milk, butter, spices and eggs mixture and mix in an electric mixer with a dough hook for 7-10 minutes until the dough forms a non-sticky ball (if mixing by hand, work from the center outwards, bringing flour into the well, stirring the mixture until a dough begins to form)
• place in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and set aside in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in size for 2 hours
• when fully-risen, punch down dough
• flour your work surface and roll out dough into a rectangle
• brush the surface with 2 tbsp soft or melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup almond powder
• carefully roll it into a log and cut into 12 equal segments
• place in muffin tins brushed with melted butter, the cut side down
• add one red-dyed quail egg on the top in the middle and push down half-way
• cover and let rise in a warm place for another 2 hours
• preheat your oven to 165°C (330°F) and brush the dough with egg yolk and milk glaze
• bake for 30 minutes, rotating once at 15 minutes until golden
• when cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar

option 2 (without flattening the dough and rolling into a log)

• simply punch down and then separate your ball of dough into 12 balls
• place in 2 buttered muffin tins and cover and let rise for two hours
• brush with the glaze and sprinkle with slivered almonds (instead of almond powder) and powdered sugar and bake for 30 minutes until golden