Greek Sesame Bagels – Koulouria & Greek Semolina Halvah | Baking With Akis | Episode 18

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🍰Baking With Akis: When baking becomes art and enjoyment!

Akis Petretzikis welcomes you to “Baking With Akis”, an original cooking show full of flavor! In each episode, the renowned Greek chef creates two delicious recipes that blend Greek and Mediterranean tradition with modern culinary artistry. From fluffy cakes and sweet treats to syrupy desserts and traditional breads, Akis guides you step by step, sharing secrets and tips that will transform your cooking into an experience. Discover the art of baking through authentic flavors in a journey that will fill your kitchen with aromas and tastes.

In Episode 18 , Akis Petretzikis prepares a taste of tradition with two beloved Greek recipes!
Greek Sesame Bagels – Koulouria Thessalonikis
Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, these sesame-coated bagels are the ultimate Greek street food. Perfect for breakfast, a quick snack, or paired with cheese and spreads!
Greek Semolina Halvah
A comforting, egg-free dessert made with semolina, sugar, and aromatic spices like cinnamon and clove. Sweet, soft, and fragrant, this traditional treat is a staple in every Greek kitchen.
Join Akis Petretzikis as he walks you through these two comforting and flavorful recipes, sharing all his tips for perfect results every time.

“Bake, Taste, Enjoy!”

📌 Get the full recipes here:
Greek Sesame Bagels – Koulouria: https://akispetretzikis.com/en/recipe/773/koyloyria-thessalonikhs
Greek Semolina Halvah: https://akispetretzikis.com/en/recipe/2030/chalvas-simigdalenios

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Credits:
Presented by Chef: Akis Petretzikis
Directed by: Pavlos Kerasidis
Director of Photography: Pavlos Kerasidis
Production Organization: Diamantis Arakas
Program Manager: Mary-Rose Andrianopoulou
Sous Chefs: Lambros Karapatsias, Markos Papakostantinou, Anna Maria Mitropoulou
Featured Partners: Marianthi Manoli, Eleni Kallianioti, Giannis Borobokas, Tatiana Serefa, Natalia Kallinteri
Production Assistant: Christos Aloupis
Camera Operators: Lina Stamati, Petros Katsorchis, Pavlos Kerasidis
Sound Engineer: Thanasis Choutos
Editing: Anastasios Amarantidis, Pavlos Kerasidis
Electrician: Christos Aloupis
Technical Support: Pavlos Kerasidis
Graphic Designer: Anastasios Amarantidis
Music Supervisor(s): Pavlos Kerasidis, Anastasios Amarantidis
Audio Post-Production (Sound Engineering & Mixing): Petros Katsorchis
Color Grading: Petros Katsorchis
Production Execution: Akis Petretzikis Ltd.
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#BakingWithAkis #Koulouria #Halvah #AkisPetretzikis #GreekDesserts #GreekRecipes #MediterraneanBaking

[Music] Hello guys, welcome to Baking with Hackis. I am so excited for today’s episode as we are diving into two beloved Greek classics that are simple yet absolutely delicious. First up, we will make Greek sesame bagels or kulurya. The ultimate on the ghost snack or breakfast with their crispy sesame coating and soft interior. Then we will prepare a Greek simolina halva, a fragrant dessert that’s as easy to make as it is satisfying to enjoy. Let’s get baking. [Music] So we are starting with a classic Greek street food recipe. Kulurya with a golden crust covered in sesame seeds and a fluffy inside. These bagels are a true taste of tradition. Plus they are perfect for any time of the day. Just pair them with your favorite spreads and enjoy them just as they are. Let’s see the ingredients. Greek sesame bagels. Kurya ingredients 150 g hard flour 350 g allpurpose flour 7 and 1/2 g salt 35 g granulated sugar 275 g water at room temperature 16 g dry yeast for the coating 200 g sesame seeds 2 tablesp tablespoons granulated sugar, 500 g water. So, we need a mixer to make a nice elastic dough and the ingredients are quite simple. Uh, we have water, yeast, the flour, some salt, and some sugar. H first of all, we need to wake up the yeast with what? With water and sugar. Sugar and water is in the mixer. And this is dry yeast. We need to wake up the yeast just by mixing into the water with the sugar. This is exactly what we want. Now the yeast becoming quite active and it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients. We have allpurpose flour and we have strong flour as well. Strong flour has more gluten inside and we want the gluten because we want an elastic dough. Now the salt is in and we need some time about 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is ready. Mix it with the hook attachment. Kulurya tasalonikis, as we call them in Greece, are a street food staple with a long history dating back to the Byzantine era. They were originally made by Greek bakers in Constantinople and later became a beloved street food in the Saloniki. Today, they are a must-h have breakfast snack, often enjoyed with coffee or filled with various ingredients. After a few minutes, the dough is ready. as you can see is elastic nice. But we cannot use the dough straight away because we need some time. We need a nice fluffy dough. That’s why we need to let the dough rise and doubles in size. So I need a bowl and I need a plastic wrap. I will cover it and I will set it aside for about one to two hours. depends from the heat of the temperature. And we want to become like this one. As you can see, this dough is ready. It’s quite fluffy, quite nice. And we want straight away start to preparing our kura. Now deflate the dough. And with this dough, we can have up to 10 kura. That’s why I will divide my dough into 10 nice pieces. These crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside sesame rings are synonymous with the Saloniki. The city’s bakers have perfected their recipe over generations, making Kulurya one of the most popular and affordable snacks across Greece. Street vendors and bakeries sell them fresh every morning, offering a simple yet delicious treat. Now I need a knife. And these are five kura. And this one is other five kurya. One, two, three, four, five. I think it’s okay. So cut it into nice pieces like this one. And probably you will need some extra virgin Greek olive oil to help you roll out the dough. Now I have two bowls here. One with sesame seeds and the other one will be a water bath with water and what else? Sugar. Now this water bath with water and sugar will give this extra crunchiness at my kura. That’s why I need to mix up a little bit here. The water and the sugar. And what I’m about to do is quite easy. I need my tray here. And this is exactly the line that I’m going to follow. Now I will take my first piece here. I will roll out. And if the dough is quite sticky, you can use some olive oil here to help you roll out more easily. Now take the edges, put them together, and then straight into the water bath. Take out the dough and straight into the sesame seeds. And the first kuluri is ready for the oven. I will carry on the same process with the rest of the dough until I have my first tray ready for the oven. [Music] Glorya are not just tasty but also nutritious. They are made with basic ingredients, flour, yeast, water, and sesame seeds, providing a good source of fiber and protein. While traditionally plain, modern variations include kulurya with seeds, cheese, olives, or even sweet fillings like honey and tahini. And the last one is here. It’s quite easy process. If you try to make one skully in your life, then it will be piece of cake just easy. Drop them into the water bath, then to the sesame seeds. And this is it. And it’s time to bake my first batch. My oven is preheated to 200° C, set to fun, and I will bake them for about 15 to 20 minutes. I will prepare the second batch as well. And when everything is ready, I will serve them to you. The secret to their signature crunch lies in the quick dip in a water sugar solution before being coated with sesame seeds. This step helps the seeds stick to the dough while also giving the kura their characteristic golden crust when baked. So, the Greek bagels or kura are ready. I let them uh cool completely. As you can see, they are amazing. They look amazing. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. You can serve them as you want. Let your imagination run wild and uh put inside some cream cheese, some salmon, uh some cure turkey, whatever you want. But you can consume them h plain as they are. Now, I will break one in half. And as you can see, they are lovely. Crunchy and soft. This is the ultimate snack for every Greek. And we love them. Can you hear that? You can hear the tastiness. Of course, you can. A lovely recipe. Please try it at home. [Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Next up, we have a semolina halva. One of the easiest Greek desserts to whip up, yet it’s packed with flavor. With the comforting aromomas of cinnamon and cloves, this pudding-like tweet is enriched with almonds for a dessert that brings warmth and sweetness to your table. Let’s see the ingredients. Greek simulina halva. Ingredients. 150 g almonds toasted and crushed. 3/4 of a cup sunflower oil. One cup coarse simolina. 1 cup fine seimolina, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 14 teaspoon ground cloves, 3 cups granulated sugar, four cups water, zest of three oranges. To serve, cinnamon, mint leaves. Actually, this recipe is one recipe that you will never forget because everything is measured in cups. I have one cup of oil, two cups of seimolina, three cups of sugar, and four cups of water. This is it. Then you can enrich with any flavors you like your halva. Uh so let’s start first with the oil. Here I have sunflower oil. Almost one cup. This is the only thing that is almost one cup. Just a little bit less if you don’t want to become more fatty and more oily your halva. And uh we need the seimolina in. I have fine seimolina and core seimolina. But if you don’t have different types then you can use just one seimolina. Uh now I want a wooden spatula and I need to be patient for about 3 to four minutes. I want actually to cook a little bit my semimolina. I want to give this lovely flavor and color and texture to my semolina because now if we cook properly h our seimolina, we can have this lovely nut flavor that we want from this ingredient. Now be patient for about 3 to 4 minutes until the seimolina is ready. [Music] Greek semolina halva or halvasimalenos has its origins in the Ottoman Empire and Middle Eastern cuisine. It became a staple in Greek households due to its simple ingredients and easy preparation. The famous 1 2 3 4 ratio, one part oil, two parts seimolina, three parts sugar, and four parts water is the key to its perfect texture and flavor. My simolina is ready after a few minutes. Be patient as I told you because we want this lovely aroma from seimolina. Now I can smell uh a little bit of almonds, a little bit of walnuts, a little bit of pistachios. All this nut flavor is coming through this lovely ingredient simolina. And we want this brown color. Before it was blunt. Now it’s brown, sexy, and nice. And it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients. Now, the first ingredient is sugar. Three cups of sugar going in. Of course, when you make this recipe at home, you will not use 10 cups as I do. You will use just one cup. And you can use any cup you have. Now mix the sugar with the semolina. And now it’s time for the water. Now be careful because when we adding the water into the mixer, it will start bubbling. It’s nothing scary, but you have to make sure that you will take off the pot of the heat. And as you can see when I’m mixing the water and the sugar and the seimolina and the oil, something lovely is happening here. Lovely. Now add the spices. I have some ground cloves, cinnamon, and orange zest. Lovely. and some almonds. You can use any nut you like. Now again, now again you have to be a little bit patient for about five minutes until everything is thicken up and actually the whole mixer starts to pull away from the bottom of the pot. In 3 to 4 minutes everything will transform to perfection. [Music] Traditionally, halva is a popular dessert during Greek Orthodox fasting periods since it contains no eggs, butter or dairy. The combination of seimolina, sugar, and nuts creates a rich aromatic treat that is both satisfying and completely plant-based. And my halva is ready. As you can see, the mixer, it’s actually shows you exactly when it’s ready. Now I can wait to taste it, but I have to wait for a few minutes until it’s set and be ready. Now transfer the mixture into a mold like this one. Lovely. And of course, if you want, you can serve it hot as it is, but in general in Greece, we serve it cold. The smell, it’s something else. I cannot describe it. You can smell the nuts, but at the same time, you can smell all the spices, the cinnamon, and the gloves. Everything, it’s perfect. And it’s quite easy dessert to prepare for a crowd. It’s quite cheap because we didn’t use expensive ingredients. And in few minutes, you can have dessert for up 10 to 15 people. Now stay there for about 10 to 15 minutes and then I will taste you my halva. Greek halva is flavored with cinnamon, cloves and citrus pills giving it a warm and fragrant taste. Some variations include raisins, almonds or walnuts while others drizzle it with honey or serve it with ice cream for a modern twist. Its soft pudding like consistency makes it a comforting dessert for all seasons. And when the halva is cooled, it’s time to cut some slices here. Lovely. Sexy. Nice. I think I’m going to serve two slices for myself. One, two. You can also have some ice cream on the side if you want. Just some cinnamon on top. And I need some mint just to make it more fresh. And this is it. The easiest dessert ever. Cut a slice, dry a little bit, and you will understand exactly what I’m talking about all this time. It’s so simple and so tasty that you cannot believe it. Just try it. So unique, so tasteful, mouthwatering, so juicy. This dessert is something else. [Music] You’re [Music] down. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] And that’s a wrap for today’s episode of Baking with Akis. We started with sesame bagels, an energy boosting snack or breakfast treat, and ended with a heartwarming semolina halva that will satisfy all tastes. I hope you will try these recipes at home and share them with your family and friends. See you next time and happy baking. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]