Homemade Turkish Simit

Turkish simit is the best breakfast in this world when accompanied by cheese, tomatoes, cucumber and a cup of tea. Although its one of the best street foods in the country, its possible to make it at home too.

What Is Simit?

Simit is a type of Turkish bread mostly eaten as a breakfast food. Well, it is known as the meal of the busy people or poor people because it is the cheapest street food in Turkey. We pair it with a cup of Turkish tea for breakfast and with the yogurt drink named ayran for lunch.

As for the meaning; the Turkish word simit got an entry in Oxford dictionary in 2019 and is described as follows: A type of ring-shaped bread roll originating in Turkey, typically coated with molasses and encrusted with sesame seeds before baking.

Oh and if you dont have a single idea about this Turkish pastry, look for a store called Simit Saray around you. It is a chain store selling various types of simit all around the world. If you cant find it, then you have to give this recipe a try at home!

Simit Bread For Breakfast

This is the best breakfast for many working people and students in Turkey. They mostly buy simit and cheese together either on the way to work/school or at their workplace/school. Im a breakfast person (you know it already!), so I never leave home without having breakfast. However, I cant take my eyes from the counter of the school canteen. We sometimes go to school with my officemate and he buys his breakfast from the canteen everyday saying one simit and one cheese please! They are selling small packages of cream cheese and its one of the best companions of freshly baked sesame simit.

Turkish Simit Ingredients

You dont need many ingredients for a tasty simit. Here is the list of what you need:

For the Dough:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tbspdry instant yeast
• 1 cupwarm water

For The Coating:

• 1 cupgrape molasses
• cupwater
• 1 tbspflour
• 2 cups sesame seeds

Pro Tip: The amount of protein in flour is very important to have the right flavor in simit, it must be 13 or more. We searched for the right flour at the market, but it wasnt very easy, so we had to visit a few markets and finally found one with 14. Check out its label before buying!

How To Make Homemade Simit

It is sold everywhere here, people dont prefer making it at home, its always easier to buy it prepared. We do love difficult things though! Simit at bakeries is made with white flour, but we used whole wheat flour, so ours are darker in color than the ones sold outside. So here are the instructions:

First, make the dough. Mix dry yeast with warm water and pour it on the flour.

Add in salt and combine them until smooth and non-sticky. If its too tough, use your hands and keep kneading. Cover it with a piece of wet cloth and wait about 20 minutes.

After 20-minute sleeping, it becomes bigger and softer.

Second, shape the dough. Roll it and make a big log from it. Cut it into 14 pieces to make 7 simits and give them a ball shape.

Roll two balls one by one and give them a thin and long sausage shape.

Did you use to play with dough as a kid? Its fun, isnt it? You can involve your kids in this step.

Make them in equal length.

Hello little caterpillar! Twist them around each other firmly.

Seal their edges very well with your fingers so that it doesnt lose its circular shape.

Third, prepare the coating. Mix water, grape molasses and flour. Dip each into molasses mixture very well so that it is completely coated.

Coat them very well with sesame seeds. If sesame seeds are half roasted, its better.

Finally, place them on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated (420F/220C) oven about 20 minutes. They are tempting even unbaked, arent they?

Enjoy it at breakfast with typical Turkish breakfast foods and tea.

Ways To Eat Simit

You can eat it in several ways:

1. Eat it as it is, just pairing it with a drink.
2. You can prepare a sandwich. Cut it into two lengthwise. Place cheese, tomatoes and lettuce leaves in between. Or you can even make a chocolate sandwich with it. Just spread some nutella between two halves and enjoy!
3. You can use chopped simit as a topping on your soup. You can even make croutons. Just heat simit pieces in a pan over the stove or in a baking sheet in oven until crunchy. Sprinkle some on your soup, you will love it.
4. Just like crackers or tortilla chips, you can eat simit with your dips. Get a piece and dip it into hummus or cheese dips! YUM!

Other Bread Recipes

• Homemade Yeast Rolls
• Bread Without Yeast
• Whole Wheat Yeast Bread
• Tortilla Bread

Other Savory Turkish Pastries

• Cheese Borek
• Pogacha Recipe
• Turkish Bread
• Cheese Bread
• Easter Bread
• Sigara Borek Recipe
• Kusbasili Pide Recipe Homemade

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