World

Greek bakers make 1.35-ton ring bread, plan to encircle ancient grave soon

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Bakers put the final touches on a giant "koulouri" (bread ring similar to a bagel or pretzel) that encircled the medieval White Tower, in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Sunday, October 19, 2014. The 165-m (540-ft) diameter product weighed 1.35 tons before baking. The bakers next plan to build a ring bread around the burial ground in Amphipolis, northeast of Thessaloniki. (AP Photo/Grigoris Siamidis) (The Associated Press)

Bakers put the final touches on a giant "koulouri" (bread ring similar to a bagel or pretzel) that encircled the medieval White Tower, in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Sunday, October 19, 2014. The 165-m (540-ft) diameter product weighed 1.35 tons before baking. The bakers next plan to build a ring bread around the burial ground in Amphipolis, northeast of Thessaloniki. (AP Photo/Grigoris Siamidis) (The Associated Press)

People wait to get "koulouri" (bread ring similar to a bagel or pretzel) that encircled the medieval White Tower, in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Sunday, October 19, 2014. The 165-m (540-ft) diameter product weighed 1.35 tons before baking. The bakers next plan to build a ring bread around the burial ground in Amphipolis, northeast of Thessaloniki. (AP Photo/Grigoris Siamidis) (The Associated Press)

Greek bakers in the northern city of Thessaloniki have made a giant "koulouri," a ring bread similar to a bagel, around the city's most visible monument, the medieval White Tower.

The bread, 165 meters (540 feet) in diameter, weighed 1.35 tons before baking.

A "koulouri" is a staple snack, sold mostly by street vendors. Of Turkish provenance, it can be found throughout the Balkans under different names.

Elsa Koukoumeria, president of the Thessaloniki Bakers Association, said they would try to list Sunday's feat with the Guinness Book of Records, adding that they would soon bake a much bigger one to encircle the burial mound of Amphipolis, northeast of Thessaloniki.

The bread itself is already gone, distributed to bystanders.