Ingredients:

For 3 pieces approximately 25×30 cm

100 g bread flour
50 g fresh yeast
1 tbsp sugar
150 g water
680 g bread flour
280 g sugar
150 g water
2 medium eggs
130 g melted butter
2 g mastic
1 tsp mahlab
1/2 cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
Zest from 1 orange
1 vanilla
1 egg
Sesame

Execution:

Make the leaven and in a bowl pour the water, fresh yeast, sugar and flour for a bun and mix very well so that there are no lumps in the mixture.
Preheat the oven (open it to 100 c on the resistances for 1 minute, then close it, make sure the grill doesn’t burn) and put the leaven in to rise (about 15-20 minutes).
While the yeast rises, continue with the herbs.
Put the mastic (4 tears), the kakoule, the mace, the vanillin, the salt and half the amount of sugar into the food processor and beat very well.
After they become powder, pour them into a bowl.
Add the eggs, water, the zest of 1 unbleached orange and the rest of the sugar and mix very well.
Add the leaven once it has been activated and continue to mix all the ingredients very well.
Take the flour for a bun and add it gradually, kneading very well.
As soon as we add the flour and we have a pliable dough, we start adding the melted butter (at room temperature) little by little, kneading so that the dough absorbs the butter each time.
After pouring it all in, shape the dough into a large ball and let it rest by making the oven stuffing as in the sourdough until it doubles in size.
Once doubled, measure and cut the dough into 9 balls of 185 g
Cover them with a film so they don’t dry out and let them rest for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, open the balls one by one in wicks and form into a braid with 3 wicks each time, each bun.
Place all 3 buns tightly in a 25×30 cm Pyrex dish with parchment paper separating one next to the other.
Cover them and let them rest until they double in size.
After they have puffed up very well, brush them with an egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake in a preheated oven on the resistance for 40-50 minutes at 170 c. (I should add that the baking time may change depending on your oven)
Once cooked, put them on a rack to cool.