Can’t resist this bread! The origins are from Turkey. In 1955, the Greeks who lived in Istanbul where kicked out and moved back to their motherland. They brought to Greece amazing recipes like this street bread. Nowadays you can find street vendors all over Greece. It’s the best breakfast, midday snack or after-midnight hang-over cure!
“Koulouria” from Thessaloniki
A crunchy and delicious bread sold in the streets of Greece. It is the perfect treat when hunger happens. This bread is dipped in "petimezi" (grape molasses) before baking. If you can't get your hands on "petimezi", replace with molasses.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the starter mix:
- 150 grams strong, bread flour
- 11 grams dry yeast
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 200 ml of water
For the dough:
- 250 grams all-purpose flour
- 250 grams strong, bread flour
- 1 tsp of salt
- 30 ml olive oil
- 200 ml water
For the topping:
- 2 cups (approx.) sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup "petimezi" (grape molasses)
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients for the starter mixture in a bowl. Mix, and let rise for 1 to 2 hours.
- Put the all-purpose flour, bread flour, salt, olive oil and water in the mixer bowl. Add the starter mixture and knead (at least 5 minutes in the mixer) until you have a soft dough. Place in an oiled bowl and set aside to rise and double in volume.
- To make the bread, put the sesame seeds in a soup plate. In another plate or bowl, mix the grape molasses with the water. Divide the dough into 10 equal parts. Shape each piece into a roll and join the edges to create an "O". Dip each bread first in the mixture with the molasses and then in the sesame seeds, to coat evenly.
- Place the bread on baking trays lined with non-stick paper. Let it stand for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
