Komugi Craft Simit - Turkish Sesame Rings

Turkish simit is a very popular bread in Turkey. Most people eat it for breakfast or as a snack at various times throughout the day.

The process in which this delicious bread is made is very similar to that of the common bagel. It is made with a simple dough of flour, salt, yeast, and water. The dough is made purposely firm to make it easy to handle. This bread (like the bagel) is handled quite a lot during the production process and therefore needs to be firm.

The process I will outline:- 
The dough is mixed and then left to bulk proof for a time. Then it is sliced into thin strips with a large knife and rolled out to approximately one meter in length. This long piece of dough is then folded in half, twisted, and then made in to a ring. The ring is then dipped in PEKMEK. (Pekmek is grape juice that has been boiled and reduced to a caramel like solution and then mixed with water to make a dipping solution). Once dipped in this PEKMEK solution the rings are then coated with sesame seeds and baked in a 220 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  
They are absolutely delicious to eat and extremely addictive. I first ate SIMIT in Coburg, Victoria, Australia and fell in love with it almost instantly. Now that I live in Japan, I am forced to make it myself. Thus it has become one of the many  breads that I teach my Japanese students to make at the Komugi Craft bread baking lessons. Why not come along and learn to make this wonderful treat?

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