🥯 Koulouri Thessalonikis
Koulouri Thessalonikis is a thin ring of bread thickly coated in sesame seeds, sold from street carts and bakeries across Greece. The dough is dipped in malt-sweetened water before baking, which helps the sesame stick and gives a glossy, deep golden crust. It is crunchy outside, soft and chewy inside, and is the classic breakfast on the go.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g wheat flour
- 300 ml lukewarm water
- 7 g dried yeast
- 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar
- 200 g sesame seeds
- Dipping water: 500 ml water with 2 tbsp malt syrup
Method
- Mix the flour, water, yeast, salt and sugar and knead into a smooth dough; leave to rise for 1 hour.
- Divide into 8 pieces, roll each into a 50 cm rope and join the ends into a ring.
- Dip each ring in the malt water, then press it into the sesame seeds on both sides.
- Place on a lined tray and leave for 20 minutes.
- Bake at 220 °C for 15–18 minutes until deep golden.
How to make it lighter
- One ring is a filling breakfast; pair it with fruit rather than spreads.
- Make smaller rings from the same dough.
- It is free of oil-rich fillings, which makes it a simple choice for eating on the go.
History
Sesame bread rings have long been sold on the streets of the eastern Mediterranean, and Thessaloniki is the Greek city most closely associated with them, as the name shows. Today koulouri vendors are a fixture of morning streets throughout Greece.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →