Turkish Sesame Bagel (Simit)
If you ask me which food I miss the most from Turkey, simit would most likely be my answer. Even after years of living in NYC and being spoiled by the best bagels, nothing replaces simit’s place in my heart (or should I say stomach). If I close my eyes and think of simit, I can literally remember the smell of the smoky molasses and toasted sesame seeds.
The best way I can explain how common simit is to liken it to the carts selling pretzels in New York City. Simit carts are spread amongst the busiest streets of Turkish cities, offering a cheap, on-the-go breakfast option. Way back when Turkish Lira was not suffering from crazy economic turmoils, I could get an amazingly fresh simit for 50 cents. Add some cream cheese on the side for 1TL more. But unlike the stale and overly salted pretzels on the street, simit is always fresh, tasty and has the most amazing crunchy texture.
Another way to buy simit is to call a simit guy passing through your street chanting “siiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiit” by opening the window and shouting them how many you want. These guys can balance hundreds of simit on their head and walk the streets like it is no big deal. This was pretty common on the weekends when my parents were wondering whether to wait for the simit guy or make a visit to the neighborhood bakery.
After years of missing simit, I finally taught myself how to make it. It is quite easy as long as you have the right ingredients. Do not skimp on the sesame seeds and do not skip the molasses. Also I highly recommend using a bread or pizza stone to make sure your simit is evenly baked. When making bread I use weight measurements rather than volume measurements. It is just so much more accurate that way. If you don’t have one yet, a kitchen scale is a cheap and handy purchase that I highly recommend.
Yields: 6 simits Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
For the dough:
500 grams unbleached white flour (approx. 4 cups)
300 grams lukewarm water
5 grams salt (approx. 1 teaspoon)
5 grams instant yeast (approx. 1 teaspoon)
For the topping:
1/4 cup molasses (preferably grape molasses)
2 tablespoons water
1 cup sesame seeds
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 480 degrees F with the bread stone placed in the middle rack and a baking tray or oven safe dish in the bottom rack. We will use the baking tray in the bottom rack to hold water and generate steam during the bake.
2. Add the yeast to lukewarm water. Stir until the yeast particles dissolve. Let it sit for a couple of minutes for the yeast to activate.
3. Sift the flour on your kitchen counter and make a well in the middle of it. Slowly add small amounts of the water yeast mixture and stir it into the flour using a fork, in circular stirring motions (see pictures below). You can also mix everything in a bowl or a mixer if you prefer.
4. Incorporate the remainder of the flour by pushing the flour around the edges into the gooey center. At this point, start using your hands to mix the dough until all the wet and the dry ingredients are mixed. The dough is going to be sticky at first but as you continue kneading, it will come together.
5. Knead your dough by stretching and pushing the dough away from yourself with the bottom of your palm, then folding it over the middle. Give the dough a little turn and repeat. Continue kneading for about 6-8 minutes, until the dough is smooth. If you mixed your ingredients in a bowl, lightly flour your surface before kneading.
6. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a large bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. The dough will rise and almost double in size.
7. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and stretch it with your hands to give it a log-like shape. Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Then, cut each of the 2 pieces into 3 equal pieces. You should have 6 pieces at this point. Now, cut each of the 6 pieces into two equal halves. At the end, you should have 12 equally sized pieces of dough (see pictures).
8. For a single simit we are going to use two pieces of dough. Use your hands to roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope. Wrap the two ropes of dough around each other to get a twist pattern. Join the ends of the twisted rope and press firmly to seal. Repeat this for each pair of dough until you have 6 simits.
9. Pour the molasses onto a plate, add in the water and stir until incorporated.
10. Pour the sesame seeds onto a second plate and spread them evenly across the plate.
11. Dip each simit into the molasses first and then to the sesame seeds. Make sure all sides of the simit is fully covered with both.
12. My bread stone is not large enough for 6 simits so I bake them in two batches. If you are going to bake in multiple batches, hold off from dipping all simits into molasses and sesame seeds. Instead dip them right before placing them in the oven. You can cover the dough and let them sit on a lightly floured surface until the other batch is done baking.
13. Remove the hot bread stone from the oven and place the simits on it. Place the bread stone back into the middle rack of the oven.
14. Pour some water into the baking tray in the bottom rack. This is going to ensure we have a crispy simit which is crucial. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
15. Enjoy with some black tea, olives and feta cheese. Store them in room temperature. Reheat them with a toaster or toaster oven before eating because they are so much better when warm.
