Simit (Turkish Sesame Bread Rings)
سمیت (ترکی تل والے روٹی کے چھلے)
Simit is the bread of Istanbul's streets: a twisted ring of dough dipped in diluted grape molasses, pressed into sesame seeds and baked until crisp outside and chewy inside. Sellers carry stacks of them on trays balanced on their heads, and millions of people eat one every morning with a glass of tea and a slice of white cheese. It looks like a bagel, but it isn't boiled, and the molasses gives it a deep colour and a faint sweetness.
- ⏱ Total: 50 min
- Prep: 30 min
- Cook: 20 min
- Medium
- Serves 8
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the oil and warm water and knead for 10 minutes into a smooth, fairly firm dough. Cover and leave for 45–60 minutes until doubled.
Heat the oven to 220°C. Whisk the molasses, water and 1 tablespoon flour in a wide dish. Spread the sesame seeds on a plate.
Divide the dough into 8. Roll each piece into a rope about 60 cm long, fold it in half and twist the two strands together. Join the ends to make a ring and pinch to seal.
Dip each ring in the molasses mixture, then press both sides into the sesame. Gently stretch it a little wider and place on a lined tray.
Bake for 15–20 minutes until deep golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes and serve warm with tea, white cheese and olives.
Serve with a glass of Turkish tea.
Kitchen notes
Pekmez is sold in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Date syrup, carob molasses or liquid jaggery give a similar colour and taste; honey browns too fast.
Toast the sesame lightly in a dry pan first for a deeper flavour.
Simit is best on the day it's baked. Revive day-old simit in a hot oven for 3–4 minutes.
The bread of Istanbul
Simit has been sold in Istanbul since Ottoman times, and records of bakers making it go back centuries. Today you’ll see the red simit carts on almost every corner, and street sellers walking with trays piled high. It’s the cheapest, quickest breakfast in the city, and many people’s first taste of Turkey.
What makes it simit
Three things give simit its character: a fairly firm dough, a dip in molasses water, and a thick coat of sesame. The molasses caramelises in the hot oven, turning the ring a deep reddish brown and helping the sesame stick. The twist gives it its look and a chewy texture.
Molasses around the world
Turkish bakeries use pekmez, grape molasses. It’s sold in Turkish and Middle Eastern groceries in Europe, North America and the Gulf. If you can’t find it, date syrup or carob molasses are the closest; in South Asia, liquid jaggery (gur) thinned with water works well.
Serving
Eat it warm with Turkish tea, white cheese, olives, tomatoes and cucumber, as part of a Turkish breakfast, or alongside menemen.
Questions people ask
Is simit the same as a bagel?
No. Bagels are boiled before baking; simit is dipped in molasses water and baked directly, which makes it crisper and thinner.
Can I freeze simit?
Yes. Freeze baked simit in a bag and reheat from frozen at 200°C for 6–8 minutes.
How do Turks eat it?
Plain with tea, or split and filled with white cheese, tomato and cucumber, or with a triangle of soft cheese. Some dip it in tea.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 330
- Protein
- 9 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 49 g
