Simit

Posted by - Ayse

If you are a bread-monster like me, I have a surprise for you: Simit!

yeah... it is me - the new member of HTC :)

Simit is a good companion to afternoon teas, sine qua non for Turkish breakfasts, a quick lunch, snack for any time in the day, ...

Variation?

In Turkey, some varieties of simit changes from city to city. For instance, Gevrek (literally it means crisp) - also known as Izmir simit - is boiled in grape pekmez-water mixture for a while before baking; Manisa simit and Kumru are prepared with ground chickpeas; Laz simit - also known as Kerkeli - is prepared without sesame; ... And of course, two of the most popular ones: Istanbul simit and Ankara simit.  There are also "patisserie style" simits.

Also, Koulouri in Greece; đevrek in Serbia; Gjevrek in Macedonia; Gevrek in Bulgaria; Covrig in Romania; Ka'ak in Arab countries; Bubrik in Russia and Bagel in America are other varieties. 

Baking time!

I got the following recipe from this website. And the website owner had got it from the bakery Simit Center in Cankaya, Ankara. 

Ingredients

1 kg "flour for simit purpose" (But you can also use bread flour whose protein content is 12% - 13%)

5 gr dry yeast

15 gr salt

Warm water, as necessary

Grape pekmez

Roasted sesame seeds

Method

Combine the yeast and warm water in a glass, and wait for some minutes. Place the flour and the salt in a container. Open a hole in the middle of the flour and place the yeast-water mixture there. Mix it with your hands, while adding necessary warm water. Knead the dough for about 15-20 minutes.

Rest the dough for about 30 minutes if it is summer, 60 minutes if it is winter.

Then work as follows:

Add equal amount of water and grape pekmez in a container. Rest the simits in this mixture for about 2 minutes.

Then toss the simits in sesame seeds, gently. 

 Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the simits on baking sheets and bake until they become rich brown. But be careful in the baking process. If you over bake them, then they would become dry. So you should balance the cooking time well and shouldn't leave the kitchen during the baking.