132Thessaloniki koulouri

Method

Classic Thessaloniki street-style sesame rings. Makes 6 classic bakery rings.

You will need

• Large mixing bowl
• Two baking sheets
• Baking parchment
• Two shallow wide dishes for dipping
• Wire cooling rack

1. In a large bowl, whisk the bread flour, yeast, 25 g sugar, and fine sea salt together. 2 min Ready when: dry ingredients combined
2. Pour in the 280 ml lukewarm water and mix until a firm, manageable dough forms, adding an extra splash of water if dry flour remains. 3 min Ready when: firm cohesive ball
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead vigorously for 8 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and relatively firm. 8 min Ready when: supple and non-sticky dough
4. Cover the dough with a damp tea towel on the bench and let it rest for 20 minutes to relax the gluten. 20 min Ready when: dough relaxes and softens slightly
5. Preheat a conventional oven to 220C (425F) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 5 min · 220°C / 425°F Ready when: oven very hot
6. Prepare the dipping station: dissolve 40 g sugar in 200 ml lukewarm water in a wide shallow dish, and spread the sesame seeds across a second wide rimmed tray. 2 min Ready when: two wide bowls arranged side by side
7. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (about 130 g each); roll each piece into a thin rope roughly 60 cm long and join the ends firmly by rolling them together to form large thin rings. 8 min Ready when: uniform large circular rings with sealed seams
8. Dip each ring into the sugar water for 3 seconds to wet completely, then drop directly into the sesame seeds, turning to coat thickly and completely on all sides. 5 min Ready when: heavily encrusted with sesame seeds
9. Gently stretch the rings slightly wider as you transfer them onto the baking sheets, leaving space between them. 2 min Ready when: stretched into wide thin rings on sheets
10. Bake in the centre of the oven at 220C (425F) for 15 to 18 minutes, turning the trays halfway through, until deep golden, fragrant, and crunchy on the outside. 18 min · 220°C / 425°F Ready when: rich amber colour and brittle crust
11. Transfer immediately to a wire rack to maintain crust crispness, and eat warm or on the same day. 5 min Ready when: crisp to the touch

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Make ahead and storing

Best freshly baked; shaped rings can be cold-proofed in the fridge overnight before the sugar bath and sesame dipping.

Eat within 12 hours for peak crunch; can be revived in a hot oven for 3 minutes the next morning.

Substitutions

• Petimezi (grape molasses) for Granulated sugar. Molasses in the dipping water gives a deeper reddish-brown colour and subtle caramel note.

Common mistakes

• Letting the shaped rings rise too much before dipping and baking.. They become puffy and soft like bread rolls rather than slender, crisp-crusted street rings.
• Baking at too low an oven temperature.. The rings dry out into tough biscuits instead of getting crisp on the outside with a slight chew within.

Regional variants

• Politiko koulouri: Constantinople-style variation dipped in grape molasses (petimezi) bath before sesame.
• Koulouri me tahini: Filled modern bakery variant folded with sweet tahini paste before baking.

About the dish

Koulouri Thessalonikis is Greece's iconic morning street food: a slender, crisp-shelled yeast bread ring entirely coated in toasted sesame seeds. It was brought to Thessaloniki by Asia Minor Greek bakers in the early 20th century, developing from Ottoman bakery culture. Thessaloniki gained lasting fame for producing rings with an incomparably thin, crunchy crust and tender, airy interior, and street sellers ('koulourades') soon carried the habit across Athens and the rest of Greece.

Found in Macedonia. Cooked for everyday, lent.

Cousins elsewhere

• Simit (Turkish). A very closely related sesame ring, typically twisted and dipped in grape molasses (pekmez) rather than sugar water.
• Gevrek (Balkan). The South Slavic counterpart to the sesame ring, sharing identical market vendor street traditions.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

538 kcal · protein 17.8 g · fat 17.9 g (saturated 2.6 g) · carbohydrate 78.5 g (sugars 11.9 g) · fibre 6.5 g · sodium 527 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. The authentic street-bakery technique of Thessaloniki, using a sweet water bath for maximum sesame adhesion..