Koulouria - Greek sesame bagels
I remember coming home from school and finding freshly baked Koulouria made by my yiayia 🥹 I’m so happy I got to recreate them and was surprised at how easy they are to make!
Ingredients
1 cup of tepid water
1 tbsp sugar
2 heaped tsp yeast
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups of plain flour, plus approx another cup for flouring
1 tsp olive oil
Extra water
Sesame seeds for coating
2 hours to prepare and bake (including dough rising and shaping) | Yields 8 big circle Koulouria
Method
Activate the yeast by placing the tepid water in a bowl, stirring the sugar until dissolved and adding the yeast. Cover with cling film and leave for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, add the 2 1/2 cups of flour and pinch of salt, then make a well in the middle. Carefully pour the activated yeast and stir to mix.
Once incorporated, add the dough onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 8 minutes until soft and add to a bowl.
Smooth over a tsp of oil and cover the bowl with some cling film and/or tea towel and leave for an hour/an hour and 15 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
Knead the dough once again for about a minute to remove the air bubbles and cut into even pieces.
Roll the dough to form a thin log then pinch the two ends together to form a circle.
In a separate bowl, quickly dip the circle into some water and on another plate, cover the dough in sesame seeds. Place on a baking tray with parchment paper and leave to stand for 10 minutes before baking at 200 degrees Celsius fan for 15 minutes.
