Ingredients

• 500 g strong bread flour
• 7 g instant dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 10 g fine salt
• 300 ml lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 100 ml petimezi (grape molasses)
• 300 ml water, for the dipping liquid
• 200 g hulled white sesame seeds

Method

1. 01
   Mix the dough In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then pour in the lukewarm water and olive oil and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
2. 02
   Knead until smooth Turn the dough onto the counter and knead it for about ten minutes, until it is smooth, firm and springs back when you press it.
3. 03
   Let it rise Put the dough back in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a clean cloth, and leave it somewhere warm for about one hour, until roughly doubled in size.
4. 04
   Divide and rest Press the air out of the dough, divide it into ten equal pieces of about eighty grams each, roll each one into a ball, cover them, and let them rest for ten minutes.
5. 05
   Prepare the dip Stir the petimezi into the three hundred millilitres of water in a wide shallow dish, and spread the sesame seeds on a large tray next to it.
6. 06
   Shape the rings Roll each ball into a thin rope about fifty centimetres long, then bring the ends together into a ring about fifteen centimetres across and pinch them firmly to seal.
7. 07
   Dip and coat Dip each ring into the petimezi water, let the excess drip off, then lay it in the sesame and press gently so both sides are thickly covered.
8. 08
   Proof the rings Place the rings on two baking trays lined with baking paper, leaving space between them, and let them rise uncovered for about twenty minutes while the oven heats to two hundred and twenty degrees Celsius.
9. 09
   Bake the first tray Bake the first tray on the middle shelf for about eighteen minutes, until the sesame is deep golden brown and the rings sound hollow when tapped.
10. 10
    Bake the second tray Bake the second tray the same way, for about eighteen minutes, until deep golden brown.
11. 11
    Cool on a rack Move the koulouria to a wire rack and let them cool for at least ten minutes so the crust turns crisp.