Even Greek food can be gluten-free — including this finger-licking-good koulouria recipe from Australia-based cookbook author, food connoisseur and TV personality Helen Tzouganatos.
Tzouganatos has become affectionately known as Australia’s “gluten-free queen,” the first person people turn to when seeking the trick on how to turn their favorite recipes into foods that all can eat.
Originating from Sydney, Tzouganatos discovered she was a coeliac 13 years ago during IVF treatment, after which her doctor told her to eliminate gluten from her diet to heal inflammation in her body.
“There were not many gluten free offerings in the market at the time. You couldn’t even find a single loaf of gluten free bread in the supermarket and what was available in health food stores was horrible,” Tzouganatos said. “So I started experimenting with gluten-free ingredients at home.”
After more than a decade of trial-and-error Tzouganatos said she has now “mastered” the art of gluten-free cooking.
Before her culinary adventures, Tzouganatos she spent most of her career working as a marketing manager for some of the largest food companies in the world — including Nestle and Kellogg’s. But she said that her real passion always lay in “making beautiful food from scratch” in her home kitchen.
In 2015 she left the corporate world and launched her food blog “Hungry and Fussy” as a creative outlet and way of staying mentally stimulated with three young kids at home.
Fast forward four years and Tzouganatos has published her first hardcover cookbook, become a TV presenter and hosted Australia’s first gluten-free TV series, “Loving Gluten Free” for SBS Food.
See the ingredients and instructions for her gluten-free koulouria below — and try bringing them into your own kitchen.
Ingredients
Cook time: 20 mins // Total time: 20 mins // Serves: 30 koulouria
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 220g or 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 2 tbs milk
- 2 tsp ouzo
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 455g or 3½ cups plain gluten free flour*
- 2½ tsp baking powder
To brush
- 1 egg, lightly whisked
- Optional – sesame seeds to sprinkle
**NOTE: Tzouganatos uses Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 plain gluten-free baking flour
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Preheat oven to 360 F.
- Beat butter and sugar in mixing bowl for 1 minute until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time and beat until fully incorporated.
- Add milk, ouzo, vanilla extract, both zests and beat to combine.
- Sift flour and baking powder together and add to dough, beat until combined. The dough is quite soft so chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to make it easier to roll.
- Roll dough into thin 15 cm logs. If your dough is too sticky add more flour. Fold, twist or plait each log into desired shape.
- Place koulouria on lined baking tray and brush with egg wash. Optional – sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Thermomix Method
- Preheat oven to 360 F.
- Mix butter and sugar in Thermomix 30 sec/speed 5 until pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time on speed 4 until fully incorporated.
- Add milk, ouzo, vanilla extract and both zests. Mix 10 sec/speed 4.
- Sift flour and baking powder together and add to Thermomix. Beat 10 sec/speed 4 until a soft dough forms. The dough is quite soft so chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to make it easier to roll.
- Roll dough into thin 15 cm logs. If your dough is too sticky add more flour. Fold, twist or plait each log into desired shape.
- Place koulouria on lined baking tray and brush with egg wash. Optional – sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
About Helen Tzouganatos
Tzouganatos is a gluten-free cookbook author, TV presenter, food photographer and recipe developer — and she’s obsessed with making delicious gluten-free food from scratch for family and friends. She loves sharing her passion for food with others, so she taught herself to use a camera and started her gluten-free food blog “Hungry and Fussy” in 2015 as a creative outlet. Her latest cookbook “Hungry and Fussy” is available online and she currently hosts her show “Loving Gluten Free” on Australia’s SBS FOOD channel.
Click here to purchase her cookbook
