Simit – Turkish Sesame-Crusted Bread Rings

Simit is crunchy, chewy, and sesame coated bread ring. Mostly it’s called as Turkish bagel, but I don’t think they are similar. The texture is totally different, simit should be dense not soft. Technique is different, simit doesn’t require a boiling process. They taste different, simits are dipped in grape molasses – water mixture. Slight sweetness from molasses and nuttiness from roasted sesame seeds specify the final flavor.

Simit is usually paired with cream cheese, feta cheese, and ayran, salty yogurt drink. But my personal favorite is pairing it with a high-fat sheep or goat cheese and tomatoes.

As one of the most popular food in Turkey, you can find it at almost every street corner. But in the US, there are just a couple of places you can find them. Instead of driving 1 hour, I prefer to spend that time to bake my own simits from scratch.

Here is the recipe that I use and really enjoy the results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-z17cffmBg&t=364s