Simit Turkish Ring Bread | Egg Free Butter Free Sesame Seed Bread Recipe

For this month baking partner’s challenge Swathi has suggested this bread which is a famous Turkish street food Simit also called as Turkish Ring Bread. I made with bread flour, if you can use it otherwise use all purpose flour /maida or make bread flour of your own (For 1 Cup Maida/All purpose flour add 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten). Also original recipe asked for grape molasses (pekmez). I don’t have it in hand, so I used Jaggery Water, also molasses works here.
Last week I just waited 3 days after baking this bread as i totally depend on natural light due to cloudy weather i couldn’t click better pictures, will try to update pictures whenever possible!!!

This recipe is adapted from here

Ingredients

Bread Flour (or use unbleached all purpose flour) – 3.5 cups/325gms
Water –  1 Cup + 2 tablespoon
A pinch of Sugar
Yeast – 2 teaspoon/6g Instant  ( use active dry yeast if you don’t have instant yeast in hand)
Salt – 1 ¼ teaspoon/6gram or 1.25 tsp
White Sesame Seeds – 1 Cup
* 2 Tablespoon of Molasses or Concentrated Dark Brown Sugar Water
*You can use 6-7 Tbsp jaggery or dark brown sugar and boil for a while in 1/3 cup water and cool before dipping the rings

Method

• If using active dry yeast, then dissolve yeast in 100 ml warm water and let it stand for 3 min.
• In a bowl add flour, yeast, salt and pinch of sugar and mix well.
• Then gradually add water to form smooth dough, knead well about 10 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.
• Cover the dough and leave it in a warm place for 1.5 hours or until doubled in bulk (Pic 1).
• Turn out the dough into a lightly floured surface and punch down.
• Knead the dough for 2 minutes and divide it into 12 pieces (about 45g each) and shape them into long rolls (Pic 2).
• Take two rolls and form a twisted rope like shown in step wise pic 3.

• Then form this twisted rope into 15 cm ring by pressing and sealing the ends together (Pic 4).
• Dissolve the molasses in 1/2 cup water.
• Dip each ring in Jaggery or Molasses water first, then in the sesame seeds.
• Set aside for 20 minutes for second rise. simit needs to plumb up little (Pic 5).
• Bake them in 450° F pre-heated oven for 20-25 min or until brown.

You tube video showing how to make simit