Simit - Turkish Bread

This month the Baking Partner's challenge was this Turkish sesame ring bread. The bread was slightly hard on the outside and soft inside with the lovely crunch from the sesame seeds. 

Recipe adapted from here

Makes - 6 pieces

What you'll need

1. Bread Flour/All Purpose Flour – 3.5 cup
2. Instant Yeast – 2 tsp
3. Sugar – a pinch
4. Salt – 1 ¼ tsp
5. Lukewarm Water – 1 cup + 2 tbsp
6. Molasses/Jaggery/Brown Sugar – 2 tbsp dissolved in ½ cup water
7. White Sesame Seeds – about 2 cup

Method

1. In a wide bowl, take the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Mix well with hands.
2. Now add the water and bring the dough together.
3. Now knead the dough for about 10 minutes to form smooth non sticky dough.
4. Cover with a cling film or a kitchen towel and rest for about an hour or until the dough has risen to double its size.
5. Punch the dough and knead again for few minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 12 equal sized balls.
7. Now, roll out one of the balls into a long cylindrical shape.
8. Similarly roll another ball the same way into a long cylindrical shape.
9. Now, hold the two cylindrical shape logs and twist them, and make them into a circle. 
10. Dip the prepared circles in the molasses water and coat with sesame seeds.
11. Place on prepared baking tray. Repeat the same with other balls.
12. Pre – Heat the oven to 230C and bake the bread for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top gets brown.