Easter bread - Koulouri

Koulouri is a type of bread made during the Easter period. The Koulouri ranges from small to medium size and is crisp on the outside, soft on the inside.

It is a sweet type of bread and ingredients include flour, milk, butter, yeast, salt, , water , mahlep, mastic, sugar, cinnamon, sesame seeds and anise.

Firstly wash the sesame and the anise, drain them and spread them on a clean towel or on a tray (the sesame and the anise must be fresh in order to stick on the dough. Then set it aside and prepare the dough.

Mix the water, the yeast and the sugar in a bowl. Add the salt, the mahlep, the mastic and the flour. Mix everything together until the dough is elastic so that it does not stick on the sides of the basin. Divide the dough into about 7 pieces and make dough sticks of about 25 centimetres. Wrap them in the mixture of the sesame anise and cut each of them in slices sideways.Alternatively make a cut sideways on each piece of dough without cutting it completely.

Place the koulouria in a tray with greaseproof paper, and cover them with a clean towel or with cling wrap and leave them in a warm place, in order to rise for about one and a half hours. As soon as they are ready, the tray is placed into an oven at 180-200 degrees until they are golden for about 35-40 minutes.