I love Simit bread; it’s deliciously different yet so familiar. Think of soft homemade bread, baked with a crispy sesame exterior with a strong caramel flavour and nutty aftertaste which just piques your taste buds; and gears them on a delirium drive of ecstasy. Ahh, okay the ecstasy part was unnecessary but you get my point.
Simit bread is crispy and sweet with strong caramel and nutty flavour due to the molasses and sesame coating. What more can I say? mmm yes; if you are not a fan of sesame, gear away, these are not for you! Because you will need lots and lots of them. However, a similar alternative to sesame would be poppy seeds or flax seeds which I have not tried yet but should work fine.
What is Simit Bread?
Simit bread is popular in Turkey. It is baked in ring shapes with a thorough coating of sesame seeds which gives it a flavourful nutty taste. Both the combination of molasses, yeast bread and sesame seeds is what makes this bread unique. Primarily, simit bread is baked inexpensively; as the dough uses easy, ready-to-find ingredients; water, yeast, sugar and flour with just a bit of oil. However, I’ve added a bit of milk and replaced the oil with butter in this recipe for a more flavourful taste.
Similar to most kinds of bread all the ingredients are mixed into a soft dough which is then proofed. Afterwards, the proofed dough is cut and rolled around into rings, dipped in molasses liquid, coated in sesame and then baked until completely browned.
How to make Simit Bread (step by step)
Step one; Make the dough.
Mix warm water, melted butter, sugar, flour and instant yeast in a mixing bowl or stand mixer. Knead until a soft dough forms( 3 minutes stand mixer, up to five minutes if kneading by hand)
Step two; Prepare the molasses mixture and toast the sesame seeds.
In a small bowl, mix liquid molasses with a few tablespoons of warm water and a tablespoon of flour. The flour improves the consistency of the mixture such that when the pre-baked simit rings are dipped in, the mixture sticks more. This adequately enhances the caramel flavour while also ensuring the sesame seeds adequately stick on the simit rings once baked.
If the sesame seeds are not toasted; toast them until ready and set them in a large plate or tray which you will later use to dip the simit rings to ensure a thorough coating.
Step three; After the dough has proofed enough transfer it to a generously floured flat surface.
Cut it into smaller equal-sized portions setting each aside. Take each piece and roll with your hand to make a long log, repeat with another piece. Make a twist, twirling one piece with another and folding at the end; to make a ring. ( make sure to tuck loose ends of each twist)
Step four; Immediately after shaping the dough, dip each into the molasses mixture then dip into the tray with sesame seeds.
You can spoon extra sesame seeds and sprinkle them on top of each ring to ensure it is adequately coated in sesame. Place each on a baking tray.
Step four; bake until golden brown in a preheated oven at 200C.
They should be ready when they turn golden brown or you could preferably let them bake a bit longer until thoroughly browned( deep browned) the more they bake the crispier the sesame exterior gets.
HOW TO SERVE SIMIT
Serve simit as a snack or for breakfast. As a snack, you can pair simit with different dips such as hummus, or baba ganoush, or maybe with tea or coffee. Slather it with your favourite spread like homemade jam, peanut butter, Nutella or even chocolate ganache. Include it in your breakfast servings with eggs, spread and berries on the side or make hummus toast. Have you ever tried a Simit Bread sandwich?
SIMIT BREAD
Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy7
servings30
minutes1
minute30
minutesIngredients
550 gm all-purpose flour
150 ml milk
100 ml water
1 large egg
120 gm granulated sugar
70 gm unsalted butter
10 gm instant yeast
100 ml molasses
200 gm sesame seeds
1-2 tbs flour ( for molasses mixture)
50 ml water
Directions
- Make the dough. Mix all-purpose flour, instant yeast, sugar, egg, milk and warm water, melted butter in a medium-sized bowl to make a soft dough. Knead for up to 5 minutes until a smooth dough forms. Set it in a bowl and cover it with a cling film to proof.
- While the dough is proofing toast the sesame seeds. Add sesame seeds in a medium frying pan set over medium heat. Lighty move the pan after every 30 seconds; toast for up to 3 minutes until the sesame seeds turn light brown.
Alternatively, spread sesame seeds on a parchment-lined baking tray and toast slowly in a preheated oven at 170C; remove from the oven after every minute or two to stir then pop them again into the oven( toast for up to 8-10 minutes until golden brown. ) - In a medium-sized bowl, mix molasses, water, and flour in a medium-sized bowl; set aside.
- Take the proofed bread dough and cut it into small sections. Take each section and roll it into a log. Twist two logs of dough to make a braid then bind and tuck the ends to make a ringed-shaped dough( see above pictures)
- Immediately dip each into the molasses mixture then dip again on the sesame seeds making sure each part is thoroughly coated with sesame seeds.
Afterwards, set on the baking tray; adequately space each ring as these will puff again during baking. - Bake at 200C for up to 30 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
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