Koulouria Thessalonikis: Niki Louca shares her much-loved recipe

Niki Louca from My Greek Kitchen shares her favourite recipe for Koulouria Thessalonikis with The Greek Herald. You can follow her on Instagram @mygreekkitchen for more!

Ingredients:

• 400 g strong bread flour
• 100 g all-purpose plain flour
• 14 g instant yeast (2 sachets)
• 1 tsp salt
• 280-300 ml of tepid/warm tap water
• 2 tbsp white granulated sugar

For basting:

• 500 ml warm water
• 3 tbsp white granulated sugar
• 150 gm white sesame seeds
• 50 gm black sesame seeds (optional – other wise use 200 gm white sesame seeds)

Method:

1.  In a standalone mixer with the hook attachment, add your flours, yeast and sugar – stir thru with a fork. 
2. Add 280 ml of water and mix on low speed of your mixer.  Add remainder of water if needed.  Add your salt and let it mix for 7-8 minutes.  You should have a soft dough once done.
3. Cover bowl with glad wrap and set aside till dough doubles in size.  This could take anything between 45-60 minutes depending how warm your kitchen is.
4. Preheat your oven to 200C.
5. Once ready, divide dough into 10 equal portions – set them aside for 5 minutes covered with a clean tea towel while you prepare the basting.
6. In a bowl add the warm water and sugar – stir to dissolve sugar and set aside.
7. In another bowl add your sesame seeds.
8. Roll each of you dough portions into a long cigar thickness – approx. 25cm in length.  Bring the ends together to form a ring and press to seal the edges together.  Repeat till all portions are done.  The thicker your koulouri is the softer it will be.  It’s your choice of how thick you make it.
9. Dip each koulouri fully into the water/sugar solution, then into the sesame seeds making sure it is generously covered.  The sesame seeds are what will give you the aroma and nutty flavour to your koulouri.
10. Place them on a baking paper lined tray making sure you don’t overcrowd it.  Bake for approximately 10 minutes till golden brown.

These koulouria freeze really well, so consider making a double dosage and freeze some of them for when you feel like having one on another day.  They can be eaten as is, they are a favourite snack for a lot of Greeks or have it with a cup of Greek coffee, olives, feta or grilled haloumi, tomato and cucumber for breakfast or even lunch.

Niki Louca runs cooking classes in Melbourne. For more or to book classes visit My Greek Kitchen at www.mygreekkitchen.com.au or Instagram @mygreekkitchen. You can email Niki at: niki@mygreekkitchen.com.au.