Turkish Simit

Turkish Simit are sesame bagels shaped into a beautiful twisted round and dipped in sesame seeds to make an amazing breakfast.

I made these first ten years back and I am updating the same post with better pictures and recipe. Sesame seeds go well with breads. That is the reason they are always used as toppings for rolls and breads. They add aesthetic beauty as well as flavour.

I was looking at various shaping videos yesterday and was really surprised at all the methods they use for the Simit. I chose an easier method, but it was wonderful to see the bakery persons working so fast to create magic.

Usually the shaped bagels are dipped in molasses and then in sesame seeds. In one video, I saw that they mixed molasses with sesame seeds and just rolled the shaped dough in the sesame mix. I didn’t try that method as I was not sure whether I could nail that.

Simit – Dipping Solution

The shaped simit are dipped in a mixture of molasses and water and then rolled in sesame seeds. If you are unsable to source molasses, then use two tbs of honey or jaggery syrup or dates syrup instead. I have used liquid jaggery I purchased recently from Amazon.

Sesame seeds used for rolling the simit are not toasted. As the seeds will get toasted while baking, it is not necessary to toast them. You might even end up burning the sesame seeds if you toast it before topping the simit.

These are beautiful, right? My shaping was not as I expected it to be, but still the finished simit turned out gorgeous.

Allow the shaped simit to rest for 20-30 minutes before baking. The second proving is as important as the first proving in any bread recipe. Only difference would be that the time taken for second proving is comparatively lesser than the first proving.

Baked simit hot out of oven. They are so crisp on the crust and soft inside. But the next day, they will soften up and they won’t be crusty. This happens with all crispy bakes. SO make sure that you eat them fresh to enjoy the crustiness.

My shaping was not perfect, but still the simit turned out beautiful. I have made a short video to post on Instagram. If you love to learn visually, then do check out the video. It is an interesting technique.

There is also a similar bread in Greek cuisine and it is called as Politiko Simiti. The shaping and baking are all very similar to the Turkish Simit. But I still went ahead and tried it. If you are interested in reading about it, please click on the image below to read.

Turkish Simit

Gayathri Kumar

Turkish Simit are sesame bagels shaped into a beautiful twisted round and dipped in sesame seeds to make an amazing breakfast.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Proving Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

  

• 300 g All purpose Flour/ Maida
• 1.5 tsp Instant Yeast
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 200 ml Warm Water
• 75 ml Water
• 2 tbs Molasses
• 100 g White Sesame Seeds

Instructions

 

• In a bowl mix flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast.
• Add warm water and prepare a soft dough.
• Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
• Or knead the dough in stand mixer for 7-8 minutes.
• Place in a bowl, apply oil on top of dough, cover with a cling wrap and allow it to prove to 2 times its original volume.
• Take the dough to counter and divide it into 6 equal portions.
• Divide each portion into two pieces. Roll each piece into a 7″ long rope.
• Twist the ropes and bring both ends together and pinch to seal.
• Prepare the remaining dough portions into rings.
• Mix together water and molasses.
• Line a baking tray and set aside.
• Dip the prepared ring in the molasses water and then transfer to the sesame seeds.
• Coat the surface with sesame seeds.
• Place the prepared ring on the tray.
• Finish off the remaining rings.
• Cover with cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200C.
• Bake the rings for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden.