Turkish Simit with Sesame
Crisp, deeply sesame-crusted bread rings with a chewy, tender crumb and a faint caramel sweetness from a grape molasses dip. They're the classic Turkish street-side breakfast bread, best eaten warm with cheese, tomatoes and tea.
- Prep
- 55 min
- Cook
- 22 min
- Wait
- 1 hr 45 min
- Total
- 3 hr 2 min
- Makes
- 8 rings (about 5 inches / 13 cm wide)
Steps
Before you start
- Plan on about 3 hours from start to finish, including a 1-hour rise and a 15-minute cool.
- Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper before you begin shaping.
- Have a clean, lightly damp kitchen towel ready for covering the dough, and a shallow dish and a wide bowl for dipping.
- Grape molasses (pekmez) is sold at Middle Eastern markets and online; see substitutions if you can't find it.
Mix the dough
- In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, whisk the bread flour, instant yeast, salt and sugar.
- Add the 290 ml (1¼ cups) warm water and the olive oil.
- Stir with a wooden spoon or the dough hook on low speed for about 2 minutes, until no dry flour remains and a shaggy, fairly stiff dough forms.
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Ready when: No dry flour remains and the dough clumps into a shaggy mass.
Tip: Simit dough is intentionally stiffer than most bread doughs; don't add extra water, as it makes the ropes hard to shape.
Knead until smooth
- Knead on low-medium speed with the dough hook for 8 minutes, or by hand on an unfloured counter for 10 minutes.
- The dough should become smooth, elastic and just slightly tacky without sticking to your hands.
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Ready when: Dough is smooth and springs back slowly when poked, and a small piece stretches into a thin, translucent sheet without tearing right away.
Tip: If the dough sticks badly after 3 minutes, add flour 1 teaspoon at a time; resist adding more than 2 tablespoons in total.
First rise
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl (a drop of oil on a paper towel is enough).
- Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour.
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Ready when: Dough has doubled in volume and a fingertip pressed in leaves a dent that springs back slowly.
Tip: In a cool kitchen, set the bowl in the oven with only the light on.
Divide and rest
- Turn the dough out onto an unfloured counter and press out the large bubbles.
- Weigh it (about 820 g) and cut it into 8 equal pieces of roughly 103 g each.
- Shape each piece into a tight ball, cover with the damp towel and rest for 10 minutes so the gluten relaxes.
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Ready when: Balls feel soft and slack, and are smooth on top.
Tip: Keep unshaped balls covered, or they form a dry skin that cracks when rolled.
Prepare dip and coating
- While the dough rests, whisk the grape molasses and 120 ml (½ cup) room-temperature water together in a wide, shallow bowl until completely smooth and runny, like thin syrup.
- Spread the sesame seeds in an even layer in a separate shallow dish or pie plate.
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Ready when: The dip is uniformly dark brown with no streaks of thick molasses at the bottom of the bowl.
Tip: If the dip is too thick it will clump the sesame seeds; thin it with another tablespoon of water.
Roll and shape rings
- Working with one ball at a time on an unfloured counter, roll it with your palms from the center outward into a rope about 24 inches (60 cm) long and ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick.
- Fold the rope in half and twist the two strands around each other 5–6 times.
- Bring the ends together to form a ring about 5 inches (13 cm) wide and pinch the ends firmly to seal, pressing them together on the counter.
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Ready when: Each ring has an even twist with no gaps, and the seam is fully sealed.
Tip: If the dough springs back while rolling, cover it and rest 5 minutes; a very lightly damp counter gives you better grip than flour.
Dip and coatOven 450°F / 230°C
- Dip each ring into the molasses mixture, turning it to coat both sides, then lift and let the excess drip back for 2–3 seconds.
- Lay the ring in the sesame seeds, flip it, and press gently so both sides are thickly coated.
- Set the rings on the parchment-lined sheets, 4 per sheet, spaced about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
- Preheat the oven now, with racks in the upper and lower thirds, to 450°F (230°C).
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Ready when: Rings are fully covered in sesame seeds with no bare patches.
Tip: Bare dough shows through as pale spots after baking, so cover the inside of the hole as well.
Short final restOven 450°F / 230°C
- Let the coated rings rest uncovered on the baking sheets for 20 minutes while the oven finishes heating to 450°F (230°C).
- They will puff slightly.
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Ready when: Rings look slightly puffy, but not doubled.
Tip: Don't let them over-proof; they spring in the oven, and over-proofed rings lose their definition.
Bake the simitOven 450°F / 230°C
- Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 20–24 minutes, swapping the sheets between racks and rotating them front to back after 12 minutes, until the rings are deep golden brown and the sesame seeds are toasty.
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Ready when: Deep golden-brown crust, the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, and the kitchen smells of toasted sesame.
Tip: If the sesame is browning too fast before the base colors, move the sheet to the lower rack for the last few minutes.
Cool and serve
- Transfer the rings to a wire rack and cool for at least 15 minutes.
- The crust crisps as they cool, and the crumb finishes setting.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Ready when: The crust is crisp and no longer steaming heavily.
Tip: Don't stack warm simit or cover them; trapped steam softens the crust.
Good to know
Tips
- Weigh the flour and water for the best consistency; the dough should be stiff enough to roll into a rope without flour.
- The thin molasses dip is what gives the shiny, deep-brown crust, so don't skip draining the excess, or the bottoms can burn.
- Roll ropes to an even thickness so the rings bake evenly and keep their shape.
- Serve with white cheese, tomatoes, olives and hot tea for a classic Turkish breakfast.
Make ahead
Shape the rings through the shaping step, place them on parchment-lined trays, cover tightly and refrigerate up to 12 hours. Let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then dip, coat in sesame and bake as directed, adding 2–3 minutes if needed.
Storage & reheating
Room temperature: up to 1 day in a paper bag (a sealed container softens the crust). Freezer: wrap individually and freeze up to 2 months. Reheat from fresh or frozen in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 6–10 minutes until the crust re-crisps. Refrigeration is not recommended, as it dries out the crumb.
Substitutions
- grape molasses (pekmez) → Pomegranate molasses mixed 1:1 with honey, or date syrup. Gives a similar color and sweetness; pomegranate molasses adds some tang, and date syrup is milder.
- bread flour → All-purpose flour. Use the same weight (500 g); the rings will be slightly less chewy. Reduce the water by 1–2 tablespoons.
- instant yeast → Active dry yeast. Use 2 teaspoons (6 g). Dissolve it in the warm water with the sugar and wait 5–10 minutes until foamy before adding to the flour.
- white sesame seeds → Lightly toasted sesame seeds. Toast them in a dry skillet on medium for 2–3 minutes and cool them first for a nuttier flavor, but watch the oven color, as they brown faster.
