Welcome to A standing reservation! Thanks for reserving your table. If you’ve found your way here via pure luck and haven’t already reserved your standing reservation, pencil yourself in the book and we’ll be sure to serve you up something good:
A short voice note to enhance this week’s newsletter which is conveniently brought to you by writers block. Hope you enjoy making simit at much as I did.
Check out the instagram page I mention in the voice note. Meliz cooks up some wonderful recipes of which inspired me to make my own simit.
A trip down the Bosphorus
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Istanbul, Turkey - over 10 years ago. My memory of the place is diffused and crumbling like the a shaggy dough right before kneading. But as I mix the flour further and bring the pieces together, some of the memories come flooding back. Being on the Bosphorus at sundown, the call to prayer, pomegranate juice stands rolling down cobble streets, chewy sticky ice cream, and simit.
Simit is the street food and breakfast of choice in Istanbul. Being a true Jersey girl, it feels safe to say that simit would be my equivalent bagel. I imagine myself walking down the streets of Istanbul, heading to work in the morning and picking up a simit - maybe even one smeared with feta or dipped in yogurt. It’s crunchy, nutty and when they’re fresh out of the oven, there’s really nothing like them.
For me, making bread has always been a outlet for stresses. During the pandemic, it was my way to feel connected to something outside of the pandemic mess. I taught myself how to be connected with the process, how to understand what the dough needed, when to shape it, when to bake, and when to slice it. The amount of patience that bread forces you to take is unlike any other food. It’s a huge disappointment when it comes out wrong or not how you previously imagined - this sentiment being especially true when making sourdough bread. But there’s something about a fool proof, anyone can do it, recipe that comforts me in times of uncertainty.
A lack of knowing what’s next really makes me long for just one good and simple thing to go my way. I’ve been doing this a lot as of late - pairing together unrelated events and bunching them together to form an unrealistic picture of the overall story. I’m playing the victim card hard and I know it. I catch myself waiting for a delayed bus and thinking “why is this happening to me? Why is this bus late? Can’t I just catch a break?” This is the simplest of examples, but it shows how determined I am to crush any and all small nuances of life. So when I decided to make simit, I thought, oh great, another bread to wear my patience down. To my surprise, simit actually saved the day. A quick, simple, and satisfying bread to make me believe that all is alright.
Simit with tahini & pomegranate molasses
You don’t need much thought to get this right. Follow the basic instructions and you’ll do just fine! My suggestion is to eat the simit right when they come out of the oven. The warm and soft inside doesn’t last very long, so, my suggestion is, after you’ve eaten your fair share of warm simit, store in a freezer bag and freeze. When you’re ready for a simit, pop one in the oven to reheat and enjoy as if they were just baked.
Makes 12 simit
Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour
300ml lukewarm water
2 Tbsp caster sugar
7g fast action yeast
1 tsp sea salt
150 ml pomegranate molasses (or grape/date molasses) + 150 ml cold water
200g - 300g toasted sesame seeds
Method
In a large bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast until frothy. Allow the yeast mixture to settle and activate for about 5 minutes - you’ll notice small bubbles begin to form which will tell you that your yeast is activated. Dump in the bread flour and sea salt and combine until you have a shaggy dough. Tip your bowl onto a clean work surface and begin to knead for about 8-10 minutes until you have a smooth dough ball. Cut the dough into 12 even pieces and allow the pieces of dough to prove for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, if your sesame seeds are not already toasted, toast your sesame seeds - this will only take a few minutes so keep a watchful eye on them. Transfer your toasted seeds to a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the molasses and cold water together. Once the dough has proved for 30 minutes, shape the dough into about foot long ropes. Twist together two pieces of dough, attached the ends to form a ring and with the palm of your hand, roll the attached ends on your work surface to secure.
Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F.
Dip each ring into the molasses mixture and then into the toasted sesame seeds. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and prove for another 20 minutes. Bake the simit rings for around 20 minutes until golden. Serve with a dip of equal parts tahini and pomegranate molasses.
Until next time at a standing reservation…
With love & snacks,
Paige
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Let’s chat!
Have you tried the recipe? Let me know in the comments below or share with me on Instagram. Would love to chat.
Need a happy moment?
I decided I needed a happy moment break this week. With all these visa/passport thoughts circling my brain, it was time to disconnect and give myself some self care. It was well worth it and necessary. I’ve noticed a significant change in myself over the past 3 months and so, it was time for a getaway. Yup. A good massage, soak, wine, food, bikes, countryside. And better yet, I got to go with a really wonderful girlfriend of mine here in London. We laughed, chatted, drank tea in our robes, went for a swim and soak, sauna-ed, steamed, snacked, biked…needless to say it was well deserved and such a special time with a really special friend. There’s nothing a little R&R can’t fix!
I may even be able to make this recipe🤷♀️