Koullourka Kyprou (Κουλλούρκα Κύπρου), Cyprus Easter Rings

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •mortar and pestle for mastic
• •2 rimmed baking sheets, about 35x45cm
• •wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the prozymi

   The night before baking, mix the active sourdough starter with 200g flour and 110ml lukewarm water. Knead it into a stiff little dough, cover it, and leave it at cool room temperature for 8 to 12 hours, until doubled, domed, and cleanly sour.

   If your starter has not risen well after feeding, refresh it once more before you begin. Tired prozymi gives tired rings.
2. 2

   Prepare the sesame

   Rinse the sesame seeds, then cover them with plenty of water. Leave them to soak at least 2 hours, or overnight beside the prozymi. Drain them well before shaping, but keep them damp so they cling thickly to the dough.

3. 3

   Make the dough

   Pound the mastic with 1 teaspoon of the measured sugar until powdery. In a large bowl, mix the 800g flour, remaining sugar, salt, mahlepi, and mastic. Rub in the olive oil with your fingers until the flour feels lightly sandy, then tear in the risen prozymi and add the 330ml lukewarm water. Mix until no dry flour remains.

4. 4

   Knead and ferment

   Knead by hand for 10 to 12 minutes, or in a mixer on low for 7 to 8 minutes, until the dough is firm, smooth, and elastic. Cover and let it rise 3 to 5 hours, until puffed by about half. The slow sourdough rise is what gives Koullourka Kyprou their chew and their good keeping; quick leaven makes a ring, yes, but not this one.

   This dough should feel firmer than tsoureki dough and less soft than bread dough. If it sticks, oil your hands lightly instead of adding flour.
5. 5

   Shape the rings

   Line two large baking sheets. Divide the dough into 30 pieces, about 55 to 60g each. Roll each piece into a rope about 22cm long, join the ends with a small overlap, and press the join firmly. Keep the center hole wide, because it narrows as the dough proofs.

6. 6

   Coat with sesame

   Dip each ring quickly in clean water, then press it into the damp sesame on both sides. Do this generously. The sesame is not decoration here, it is the crust, and the rings should look well covered before they go to the tray.

7. 7

   Proof the trays

   Set the rings on the prepared trays with space between them. Cover with a clean towel and let them proof 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, until visibly swollen and a fingertip pressed into the dough comes back slowly.

8. 8

   Bake and dry

   Heat the oven to 190C. Bake the rings for 22 to 26 minutes, swapping the trays halfway, until deep honey-gold and toasted underneath. Lower the oven to 130C and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, so the crust dries and the rings keep properly without turning hard all the way through.

9. 9

   Cool and keep

   Move the koullourka to a rack and cool completely before storing. Once cold, keep them in a tin or cloth-lined box for 10 to 14 days. They are best after the first day, when the spice settles and the sesame crust relaxes just enough under the teeth.

Chef Tips

• •Use active prozymi, not sourdough discard. Discard has flavor but not strength, and these rings need both.
• •Mastic is powerful. Pound a tiny amount with sugar and stop there, because too much turns bitter and medicinal.
• •Keep the sesame damp when you coat the rings. Dry sesame falls off in patches, and a bare koullourko looks unfinished because it is.
• •These rings have no egg or dairy. If your Holy Week table keeps the stricter oil fast, bake them for Pascha rather than serving them before the Resurrection; the calendar matters.

Advance Preparation

• •Feed the sourdough starter the day before, and build the stiff prozymi the night before baking.
• •The sesame can soak overnight, then be drained just before shaping.
• •Bake the rings 1 to 2 days before Easter. They keep well, and the spice tastes rounder after a day in the tin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 50g)