Koulouri Thessalonikis

Ingredients

• 500g strong bread flour
• 7g instant dried yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 300ml lukewarm water
• 80ml petimezi (grape molasses), or runny honey
• 60ml warm water, for the dipping bath
• 250g raw sesame seeds

Before you cook

• Weigh out the flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
• Warm 300ml of water until it feels barely warm on your wrist.
• Line two baking trays with paper.

Steps

1. Whisk the flour, yeast, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Pour in the olive oil and most of the lukewarm water.
3. Mix to a shaggy dough, adding the last of the water only if dry flour remains in the bowl.
4. Knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticks to your hands.
5. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for 90 minutes, until doubled in size.
6. Tip the dough out and press it down gently to release the gas.
7. Divide it into 10 equal pieces of about 85g each.
8. Roll each piece under your palms into a rope about 45cm long and roughly as thick as your finger.
9. Fold a rope in half, twist the two strands loosely around each other, then join the ends into a ring and pinch them firmly shut.
10. Shape the remaining ropes the same way.
11. Stir the petimezi into the 60ml of warm water in a shallow bowl.
12. Pour the sesame seeds into a second shallow bowl.
13. Dip a ring into the petimezi bath and turn it so every surface is wet.
14. Press the wet ring into the sesame seeds on both sides until it is thickly and evenly coated.
15. Set the ring on a lined tray and coat the rest the same way.
16. Heat the oven to 200C.
17. Rest the shaped rings for 20 minutes.
18. Bake for 18 minutes, until the sesame is toasted and a ring sounds hollow when you tap its base.
19. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes and eat them the same day, ideally still warm.