Koulouri Thessalonikis (Κουλούρι Θεσσαλονίκης)

Thessaloniki's koulouri is the morning ring of the city: lean bread rolled thin, joined by hand, and buried in sesame before it meets the oven. It should be crisp on the first bite, chewy in the middle, and plain enough to eat walking to work with coffee in the other hand. The region is the dish's surname here. A soft bakery roll with a few seeds on top is not Koulouri Thessalonikis.

The method that decides it is the bath. You roll a long rope, close it into a ring, dip it in petimezi water, then press it into sesame on both sides so the seeds crust the whole surface. The sweetened water gives grip and color; without it the sesame falls away and the ring bakes bald in patches.

This is nistisimo by nature, flour, water, yeast, sesame, a little oil, no dairy and no egg. I like that honesty. It belongs to street carts and school bags, but a home oven can do it well if you give the dough one proper rise and bake it hot. Good olive oil, and patience, even for a bread you eat in five minutes.