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Whole Grain Turkish Simit
Simit is an iconic Turkish bread often enjoyed for breakfast with tea or as a street food. You can serve it with feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives for a classic Mediterranean breakfast. Simit is also eaten with the yogurt drink ayran or dipped in labneh, a strained salted yogurt; and it is turned into a sweet treat with honey or jam. The twisted shape and sesame seed coating give simit maximum crust texture and surface area. Simit is similar to a bagel in its shape, but it’s easier to make because the dough isn’t boiled before baking. Instead, simit dough is dipped in diluted grape molasses (üzüm pekmezi) before being coated in sesame seeds. This makes the crust just a bit sweet and so delicious.
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Ingredient Options
Grape molasses can be found online or at Greek and Middle Eastern grocery stores. You can aso use date or fig molasses, unsulphered molasses, barley malt syrup, or honey instead — all diluted the same way that is described in the recipe below.
Khorasan on the left; hard white spring wheat on the right
Simit is usually made with bread flour or all purpose flour, but this recipe uses a 50:50 mix of fresh-milled whole grain khorasan flour and whole grain hard white spring wheat flour. As a result, the simits are a little less crispy and light, but they have more flavor and nutrients. Khorasan has a deep golden color and buttery flavor, and hard white wheat adds more stretchy-strength and a delicate wheat flavor. You can use any flour you prefer, keeping in mind that wheat flours with some gluten strength will make it easier to roll, twist, dip, and coat the simit. When you make a flour substitution, add the water slowly and aim for a slightly more hydrated feel than pizza dough.
Some recipes use milk instead of water, and you’re welcome to make this substitution. The crumb will be a bit more tender and the fermentation will take a little longer.
Yeast versus Sourdough
You can make this recipe with instant yeast or sourdough starter (or both) as a same-day process. In a warm summer kitchen, the first rise was under an hour for the instant yeast dough and about 4.5 hours for the sourdough starter dough. If you prefer a longer process, you can use less of each leavening or you can chill the dough. The final proof was also quite short for both types of simit, just until the simits puffed up a little — essentially the duration of the shaping and dipping process and the oven preheat.
Sourdough on left; instant yeast on right
Shaping
This short video shows the dough expansion during the first rise as well as how to shape, dip, and coat the simit. Try to use one hand for dipping and your other hand for spooning on the sesame seeds and transferring the simit to the baking sheet. This will keep the seeds in the bowl from getting too wet after a few simits have been coated.
Whole Grain Turkish Simit (Sourdough and Yeast Options)
This whole grain recipe for Turkish simit incorporates golden khorasan and hard white wheats for extra flavor and nutrition. The twisted sesame-coated crust is full of texture and has a slight sweetness from grape molasses. Enjoy simit with tea and a savory Mediterranean breakfast or drizzle the simit with honey for a sweet afternoon treat.
Ingredients
Sourdough
Yeast
Coating
Instructions
Shopping List
Sourdough Starter (Dry)
Mockmill 100 Grain Mill
Hard White Spring Wheat Berries
Khorasan Wheat Berries
$12.70 – $87.00Khorasan Whole Grain Flour
Hard White Spring Whole Grain Flour
Bench Knife by Lamson — Walnut Handle
USA Pan Half Sheet Pan
$23.00Parchment Paper Sheets — 200 Sheets
$19.00Flour Duster
Dough and Storage Bucket w/Lid – 2 qt. Square
Whole Grain Turkish Simit