Simit Recipe

My daughter was home for a whole wonderful week over the holidays.  I fed her well.  She misses my cooking.  I love making big Turkish breakfasts.  Everything is so fresh and tasty.  I made these fried eggs seasoned with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  And I pan fried some sucuk to go along with them.  It is a flavorful, lean beef sausage seasoned with cumin and we all love it.

I have been wanting to make simit for quite some time and I finally did.  Simit are sort of like Turkish bagels though the dough is not boiled.  Pour 1-1/2 cups of water in your mixer bowl.  Add 3 tsp. of rapid rise yeast.  Mix in 1-1/2 tsp. of salt and 3-1/2 C. flour.  Mix and knead until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Turn the dough into a greased bowl and cover it.  Let it rise for about 1-1/2 hours.  I used the recipe from Ozlem's Turkish Table.  She has wonderful recipes and you can find her blog here:  http://ozlemsturkishtable.com/

When it has risen, plop it out on your counter.

Cut it into 10 equal pieces.

Roll each piece until it is 22 inches long.

Fold it in half.

Using your fancy gold nails, twist it and then form a circle.  Pinch the ends together.

The recipe calls for pekmez which is a molasses made from fruit.  I used a bit of regular molasses mixed with some Turkish pomegranate molasses and water.  Dip each ring in the molasses and then into a plate of sesame seeds.


Place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet.

Bake them at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

I made an olive salad using some of the Turkish vinegar my friend Joy sent to me!  Thanks so much Joy!

I used green olives, celery, onions, feta and some of my roasted red peppers.  I sprinkled it with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and the Turkish vinegar.

Then I sprinkled it with ground sumac.

Some meats and cheeses, salad and smoked salmon with onions and capers.

It all was perfect served with the freshly baked simit.


Yum!

Comments

brokenteepee said…
I'm sure it was gobbled up!
Dee said…
Wow that looks good.
Anonymous said…
that looks and sounds delicious, I love the gold nails, !!!
My goodness Joyce, look at your glorious Turkish breakfast spread, all look so good!! I am chuffed to bits that you had a go with my simit recipe and it looks amazing!! :) so glad you enjoyed it, many thanks for the mention of my website :) wishing you a delicious, happy new year! xx Ozlem
Anonymous said…
I wouldn't have it as breakfast, I would miss my porridge :-) But it would make a great lunch :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.
luckybunny said…
Oh man all this looks absolutely delicious!
Barb said…
I'm so glad you had your daughter home for awhile! Daughters are special!(Sons too for that matter)
Guillaume said…
Reminds me of the bagels I had in Montreal.
Ellen in Oregon said…
You are amazing & are truely an artist in when it comes to preparing heavenly food. You just whip this wonderful breakfast up as if it took no more effort than breathing air. I know what you do takes planning, effort, skill & talent. Sometime could you tell us how you first became interested in cooking and how your skills progressed to where you are today? If your skill & confidence developed over time I will be inspired to try more dishes. If you were a "natural" from the start I will just read your blog & dream that someone invents smell-a-vision. By the way, I got more compliments on the regulach recipie than any other baked good. Thank you.
Your recipes always sound so simple..so easily done..but one must have the right ingredients.
It is always sooo tempting to try them though. I have a few that I am anxious to try. I did an apple pie you posted some time back and LOVED it.
What a great breakfast!! Aren't daughters great??
Wow! You introduce us to new (to us) and delicious looking food, all the time. :-)

And I really like those glorious golden nails! Doesn't every cook, have them? -giggggles-
Unknown said…
You are just SO clever, Joyce! You really did it: a real Turkish breakfast with all the bits and trimmings!! Well done! Afiyet olsun!
Kelly said…
I bet you daughter does love your cooking. It looks wonderful. I'm a Pensey lover from way back. I used to bring my spices back from Florida when I visited my mom. That store closed so now I order online. The stores smell sooooo good.
Anonymous said…
Hi, l just found your blog and made my hungry :)) r u living in Türkiye? You are a good chef!! Cooking simit :)) Love from İstanbul