P
Turkish
Simit
Istanbul's iconic circular bread covered in sesame seeds is produced by rolling yeasted dough into a loop, dipping in pekmez (grape molasses) diluted with water to create a sticky coating, then rolling in raw sesame seeds before baking until deep amber and crunchy. The pekmez dip is the defining technique: the molasses sugars caramelise rapidly during baking, creating a crackly, lacquered, slightly sweet exterior crust that adheres the sesame seeds permanently and distinguishes simit from plain sesame breads. The interior crumb is chewy and open. Simits are sold by street vendors (simitçi) from large red trolleys across Istanbul; they are eaten for breakfast with tea, white cheese, and olives. The Istanbul version is crunchy; Ankara simit is softer and bread-like — a contested regional distinction.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the dough
500 g
strong white bread flour
Origin · CanadaNot yet stocked in British Columbia
7 g
instant dried yeast
Your own market
300 ml
water
lukewarm
Your own market
10 g
fine salt
Your own market
For the pekmez dip
60 ml
pekmez (grape molasses)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
180 ml
water
Your own market
For coating
300 g
raw sesame seeds
spread on a wide tray
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Combine the flour, yeast, salt, and lukewarm water. Mix to a shaggy mass, then knead on an unfloured surface for 10 minutes. No fat is added; the dough must be lean to produce the required chewy, structured crumb. The dough is ready when the surface is smooth and pulls back when pressed with a finger.
2
Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and leave to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume. The surface will be domed and the dough will spring back slowly, not instantly, when pressed.
3
Place a baking stone or heavy steel on the oven's lowest shelf and heat the oven to 230 °C. The stone must be fully saturated with heat before the simit are loaded; allow at least 45 minutes of preheating.
4
Divide the dough into equal pieces of approximately 90–100 g each. Roll each piece into a rope roughly 60 cm long. Loop the rope, twist twice, and join the ends firmly, pressing to seal, forming a ring of 2–2.5 cm cross-section. Thicker rings over-colour on the exterior before the centre sets. Rest the shaped rings on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes uncovered; the slight skin that forms holds the pekmez coating better.
5
Mix the pekmez with water at a ratio of 1 part molasses to 3 parts water; whisk until fully combined. Submerge each rested ring in the diluted pekmez for 30 seconds, turning once to coat all surfaces. This is where the dish lives or dies: the coating must be thin and even — undiluted molasses is too thick and burns black during baking, while an insufficient dip produces a pale exterior with no caramelisation and poorly adhered sesame.
6
Lift each ring from the dip, allow excess to drip for a moment, then press firmly into the tray of raw sesame seeds on both sides and around the outer edge. A properly made simit is almost entirely covered in sesame; patches of bare dough are a quality defect. Press the seeds in — loose seeds will fall during baking.
7
Transfer the seeded rings directly onto the preheated baking stone. Bake at 230 °C until deep amber on the surface and underside and the sesame is toasted and fragrant. The crust will be crackly and lacquered. The base, when tapped, will sound hollow.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Eaten within one hour of baking from a working simitçi oven; sesame crust at peak crunch, crumb still warm and chewy, pekmez glaze fully set and lacquered.
02
Estate — Home-baked on a properly preheated baking stone at 230 °C with authentic pekmez and raw sesame; ring shaped with the double twist for varied surface texture.
03
Market — Home-baked with correct pekmez dilution and seeding technique but on a standard baking tray; base will be softer and paler than the stone-baked version.
04
House — Reheated or day-old simit; crust softens and sesame loses its crunch — traditionally dunked in tea to compensate.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Surface is deep amber and lacquered; sesame seeds cover the ring almost entirely with no visible bare patches of dough.
◇Sound. The base produces a hollow knock when tapped, indicating the crumb has fully set.
◇Touch. The crust is rigid and crackly to the press; there is no give at the surface.
◇Smell. Toasted sesame and caramelised molasses are both present; any acrid or bitter note indicates the pekmez was too concentrated and has scorched.
◇Where it lives or dies. The pekmez dip must be diluted to exactly 1 part grape molasses to 3 parts water and the ring held submerged for 30 seconds — too thick and it burns black, too thin and neither the amber glaze nor the sesame adhesion is achieved.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley Riesling
Ancient Lakes Vineyard — Cave B · Ancient Lakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year