What's Round and Coated in Sesame Seeds but Not a Sesame Bagel?: Simit (Sesame-Encrusted Turkish Bread Rings)
While many people have been complaining about the inability to find yeast during the pandemic, this hasn't been a problem for me. I purchase my yeast by the pound and I happened to replenish my supply of both SAF red instant yeast and SAF gold instant yeast earlier this year -- so I've got nearly two pounds of yeast available in my freezer. But recently I realized that I hadn't actually used any yeast since I started working from home. I saw a post about Özlem Warren's Simit (Sesame-Encrusted Turkish Bread Rings) on Facebook and since I have a crazy amount of sesame seeds on hand for some reason, I decided to give the recipe a try.
The simit dough is as simple as it gets. Even though I was using instant yeast, I followed the recipe directions, which call for activating the yeast first. I put my yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar, let it sit until foamy, and added more water. I added the liquid to all-purpose flour and salt and kneaded it with a dough hook in my Kitchenaid mixer until it was smooth. I put the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise until doubled.
After the dough had risen, I divided it up into ten equal pieces. The dough was soft and extremely sticky, and I had to use a lot of flour to prevent it from sticking to my hands. I formed each piece of dough into a long rope; folded it in half; twisted the strands together; and joined the ends together to form a ring. You're supposed to dip each ring of dough into a mixture of pekmez (a molasses-like syrup made from fruit) and water. I couldn't find pekmez in the international aisle at Rodman's and after doing some Googling, I decided to just try regular molasses. I dipped each ring into the molasses water and then coated it with sesame seeds before placing it on a parchment-lined baking sheet to bake.
I think I didn't make my ropes of dough long enough, because even though all of my dough rings had a large hole in the center before going into the oven, the holes mostly closed up during baking, as you can see in the photo above. These dough rings were delicious. Of course, I have no idea what they're supposed to taste like, but the crust was noticeably sweet, and super, super chewy. I've seen simit described as having a soft and fluffy interior, which was not the case with my bread rings. The interior texture of my simit was closer to a bagel -- but I'm honestly not complaining.
I enjoyed eating the simit plain (partly because I didn't want to bother slicing them open or toasting them, because they did tend to shed sesame seeds everywhere), but they would also be nice with butter or jam. They also froze very well -- I would just take out one of the freezer before going to bed and eat it for breakfast the following morning.
It was a dismal and rainy day when I baked these, and foul weather tends to put me in a foul mood. But being able to enjoy this delicious bread fresh from the oven made me feel warm and cozy instead of glum and disheartened. I suppose it's no wonder that so many people have turned to baking during the pandemic -- it's amazing to be able to bake yourself a batch of instant comfort.
Recipe: "Simit" by Özlem Warren, recipe available here.
The simit dough is as simple as it gets. Even though I was using instant yeast, I followed the recipe directions, which call for activating the yeast first. I put my yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar, let it sit until foamy, and added more water. I added the liquid to all-purpose flour and salt and kneaded it with a dough hook in my Kitchenaid mixer until it was smooth. I put the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise until doubled.
I think I didn't make my ropes of dough long enough, because even though all of my dough rings had a large hole in the center before going into the oven, the holes mostly closed up during baking, as you can see in the photo above. These dough rings were delicious. Of course, I have no idea what they're supposed to taste like, but the crust was noticeably sweet, and super, super chewy. I've seen simit described as having a soft and fluffy interior, which was not the case with my bread rings. The interior texture of my simit was closer to a bagel -- but I'm honestly not complaining.
I enjoyed eating the simit plain (partly because I didn't want to bother slicing them open or toasting them, because they did tend to shed sesame seeds everywhere), but they would also be nice with butter or jam. They also froze very well -- I would just take out one of the freezer before going to bed and eat it for breakfast the following morning.
It was a dismal and rainy day when I baked these, and foul weather tends to put me in a foul mood. But being able to enjoy this delicious bread fresh from the oven made me feel warm and cozy instead of glum and disheartened. I suppose it's no wonder that so many people have turned to baking during the pandemic -- it's amazing to be able to bake yourself a batch of instant comfort.
Recipe: "Simit" by Özlem Warren, recipe available here.
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