Simit can be served with yogurt for breakfast.
A simit is a circular bread encrusted with sesame seeds. While most popular in Turkey, similar versions of the bread are common in areas like the Middle East, Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia. It’s a popular street food, but it’s also served for breakfast with side dishes like yogurt, jam, and cheese.
The specific texture, shape, and flavor of simit vary by region. Some forms of bread are crunchy, while others are chewy. The shapes of the loaf can also be different, from the traditional circle to the braid. In general, the simit is usually circular and chewy, characteristics that have led to the bread being called “Turkish bagel” in the United States of America.
As a street food, simits are served by vendors who carry the bread on a tray on their head or on a special cart. Merchants shout as they walk down the street, advertising their wares. Since simit is often baked all day, they often shout that the bread is fresh.
Simit-like loaves of bread are available throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East. There is the Greek koulouri, a Serbian version called devrek, the Bulgarian gevrek, and the Macedonian gjevrek. There is also a Polish version called obwarzanek, which is blanched in boiling water rather than dipped in molasses and water as simit usually is. Bread is generally quite similar in these regions, although there tends to be at least some variation in recipes and preparation.
Traditional simit bread ingredients include flour, salt, sugar, butter, yeast, and egg. Most recipes also include sesame seeds and molasses for the crust. It’s made by sifting the dry ingredients, adding the wet parts, and then folding everything together to form a dough. The pieces of dough are rolled into long shapes that look like cigars. They are usually twisted before being joined end to end to form a circle. Sometimes the dough is formed into a braid.
Once the simit dough takes on its final shape, the pieces are soaked in molasses water and dredged in sesame seeds. The pieces are placed on a baking sheet and cooked until golden brown. Some simit recipes exclude yeast and sugar or include olive oil. Other versions use milk instead of molasses water to wet the dough.