From Lizz: The first time I remember having a Greek Bread Ring or Koulouri, I was traveling as a young girl in Athens. I discovered it in a bakery where there were lots of sweets and pastries, but my choice was, and always will be, savory. I love carbs! I know they are not always great for you, but everything in moderation, right?
The koulouri is a circular bread with sesame seeds and is known for its pure simplicity of taste. Many Greeks will enjoy a warm Koulouri as a snack any time of day, like I did the first time I tried one. This comfort food is best when it is soft and warm out of the oven, but if you have any left over, you can warm them up in the oven to soften them up. Try with our Red Pepper and Feta Schmear for a real treat!
Kali Orexi!
HOW TO MAKE GREEK BREAD RINGS
- Combine yeast with sugar and water. Whisk together well. Set aside for 10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy.
- Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- This is what your yeast mixture should look like after 10 minutes.
- Add yeast mixture to the flour and salt mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until all ingredients are incorporated well, for 5-7 minutes. The dough should easily fall from the dough hook and result in a soft and elastic texture.
- Grease a larger mixing bowl with olive oil and place the bread dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for for at least one hour.
- After an hour, the dough should have doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the dough and punch it down. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. (Easy tip: We like to weight the entire dough ball and divide the weight by 10 to get the approximate ending weight of each portion of dough.)
- Roll out each portion of dough until it is 15-16 inches long.
- Form a circle and pinch the ends together.
- Gently dip each dough circle into a shallow bowl of water, and allow the excess to drip off.
- Next, dip the dough circle into a shallow bowl filled with sesame seeds. Turn and cover the other other side with sesame seeds. Shake off any excess sesame seeds and place on baking sheet.
- Before placing the Bread Rings on the baking sheet, lightly sprinkling some corn meal on the bottom to prevent the Bread Rings from sticking to the baking pan. Enjoy these warm out of the oven!
My dough didn’t rise. Now what?
Chances are that your dry active yeast was old or dead. We’ve had that happen in our kitchen and it’s frustrating! In fact, when prepping for this recipe our first batch did not in fact rise. Ugh! While most of the time, the packets you purchase in the store are just fine, every once in a while you end up with a dud. Another reason your dough may not have risen is that the room is too cold. The dough needs to be in a warm space to properly rise. Also, be sure to wrap the plastic wrap tightly around the bowl with the dough so that it stays warm and is able to rise properly.
What if I prefer to have fewer sesame seeds?
The traditional way to prepare these Greek Bread Rings is to cover both sides with sesame seeds. If you would prefer just cover one side.
What if I have leftover Koulouria and they get a little hard?
If you have any leftover Koulouria, and that is a big IF, just put them in a warm oven for 5 minutes to soften and warm them up again.
Greek Bread Rings – Koulouri Thessalonikis Recipe
Greek Bread Rings – Koulouri Thessalonikis
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz active dry yeast
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 1/4 cups tepid water
- 1 1/2 tsps salt
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- sesame seeds
- extra water for dipping dough rings into
- cornmeal for bottom of baking pan
Instructions
- Combine yeast with sugar and water. Whisk together well. Set aside for 10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy.
- Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add yeast mixture to the flour and salt mixture in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until all ingredients are incorporated well, for 5-7 minutes. The dough should easily fall from the dough hook and result in a soft and elastic texture.
- Grease a larger mixing bowl with olive oil and place the bread dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for for at least one hour.
- After an hour, the dough should have doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the dough and punch it down. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. (Easy tip: We like to weight the entire dough ball and divide the weight by 10 to get the approximate ending weight of each portion of dough.)
- Roll out each portion of dough until it is 15-16 inches long. Form a circle and pinch the ends together.
- Gently dip each dough circle into a shallow bowl of water, and allow the excess to drip off. Next, dip the dough circle into a shallow bowl filled with sesame seeds. Turn and cover the other other side with sesame seeds. Shake off any excess sesame seeds and place on baking sheet.
- Before placing the Bread Rings on the baking sheet, lightly sprinkling some corn meal on the bottom to prevent the Bread Rings from sticking to the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy these warm out of the oven!
[…] Koulouri are delicious on their own, no doubt! However, add a little of our Greek Style Red Pepper and Feta […]