Writer and reflective thinker Mehak Saluja shared, “Art communicates with subtle strength the collective emotions and feelings that sometimes words cannot.” Simit, it seems, does just that for Turkey—it’s a single word that conveys the baker’s art and instantly evokes a sense of community, country, and culture for anyone who is either from Turkey or has spent meaningful time there. The last time I was in Istanbul was many decades ago, well before we opened the Deli in 1982. And yet, I still remember the simit. The great writers of Turkey seem deeply connected to it as well. Saluja points to how the acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak, who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Deli many years ago, captures its essence: “The fragrances that waft from local foods like simit, kofte, ashure come to life in the writing as Shafak describes the hurried life in Istanbul.”
Hazim Tugun, longtime Bakehouse bread specialist, grew up in Turkish Cyprus, where simit is standard fare. This is how he recently described his experience with it:
This beloved snack bread takes me back to my childhood. That said, it also feels timeless, as I enjoyed it so much as an adult too. It conjures a bit of nostalgia, bringing back the excitement of our family visiting Istanbul, ferry rides on the Bosphorus, and of just the pleasure of eating amazing food in Istanbul. I still eat simit whenever I go back to Cyprus or Istanbul, especially for breakfast, although the actual simit itself may on occasion pale (based on my newly formed baker’s palate) compared to the overall anticipation/experience/idea of having it.
Here, in our attempt to recreate this humble, traditional food, we combine locally grown and stone-milled wheat flour with a touch of in-house milled durum flour in a stiff dough that we ferment, braid into a ring, dip in grape molasses, and cover with pre-toasted sesame seeds. After an extended overnight fermentation to further develop flavors, we bake these rings to a deep golden color. The aroma of freshly baked simit is enough to start bringing the memories back—but it’s that first bite that opens the magical portal for me. A bit of crunch gives way to a chewy interior, with the irresistible combination of savoriness from the toasted sesame seeds and a subtle, hard-to-put-your-finger-on sweetness from the grape molasses.
Enjoy it fresh on its own, bite by bite, or with a bit of cheese (like a great feta), summer tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives with some black tea (like the Turks do), or dip it in honey and cream cheese. If there is still some left over, slice the whole thing open, and make it into a great open-face grilled cheese in your oven the next day. Hopefully, you will step into that magic portal with that first bite, too.
Here at the Bakehouse, we’re beyond excited to bring simit into our repertoire. A wonderful taste of Turkey we can try out this coming weekend!
P.S. If you’re in the Boston area, you can get simit regularly at my friend Ana Sortun’s Sofra Bakery and Cafe in Cambridge. I’ll be doing a book event at Sofra on Wednesday, August 20. Hope to see you there!
In 1982, Ari Weinzweig, along with his partner Paul Saginaw, founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen with a $20,000 bank loan, a Russian History degree from the University of Michigan, 4 years of experience washing dishes, cooking and managing in restaurant kitchens and chutzpah from his hometown of Chicago. They opened the doors with 2 employees and a small selection of specialty foods and exceptional sandwiches.
Today, Zingerman’s Delicatessen is a nationally renowned food icon and the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has grown to 10 businesses with over 750 employees and over $55 million in annual revenue. Aside from the Delicatessen, these businesses include Zingerman’s Bakehouse, Coffee Company, Creamery, Roadhouse, Mail Order, ZingTrain, Candy Manufactory, Cornman Farms and a Korean restaurant that is scheduled to open in 2016. No two businesses in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses are alike but they all share the same Vision and Guiding Principles and deliver “The Zingerman’s Experience” with passion and commitment.
Besides being the Co-Founding Partner and being actively engaged in some aspect of the day-to-day operations and governance of nearly every business in the Zingerman’s Community, Ari Weinzweig is also a prolific writer. His most recent publications are the first 4 of his 6 book series Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading Series: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business (Part 1), Being a Better Leader (Part 2), Managing Ourselves (Part 3) and the newly-released Part 4, The Power of Beliefs in Business. Earlier books include the Zingerman’s Guides to Giving Great Service, Better Bacon, Good Eating, Good Olive Oil, Good Vinegar and Good Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Ari regularly travels across the country (and world) on behalf of ZingTrain, teaching organizations and businesses about Zingerman’s approach to business. He is a sought-after Keynote speaker, having delivered keynotes for Inc. 500, Microsoft Expo Spring Conference, Great Game of Business Gathering of Games, Positive Business Conference at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the American Cheese Society. Most recently, Ari and Paul Saginaw were invited to address an audience of 50,000 for the University of Michigan 2015 Spring Commencement.
One of Zingerman’s Guiding Principles is being an active part of the community and in 1988, Zingerman’s was instrumental in the founding of Food Gatherers, a food rescue program that delivers over 5 million pounds of food each year to the hungry residents of Washtenaw county. Every year Zingerman’s donates 10% of its previous years profits to local community organizations and non-profits. Ari has served on the board of The Ark, the longest continuously operating folk music venue in America.
Over the decades, the Zingerman’s founding partners have consistently been the recipients of public recognition from a variety of diverse organizations. In April 1995, Ari and Paul were awarded the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County’s first Humanitarian Award. In 2006, Ari was recognized as one of the “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America” by the James Beard Foundation. In 2007, Ari and Paul were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bon Appetit magazine for their work in the food industry. Ari was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Cheese Society in 2014. And Ari’s book, Building a Great Business was on Inc. magazine’s list of Best Books for Business Leaders.
Notwithstanding the awards, being engaged on a daily basis in the work of 10 businesses and 21 partners, writing books on business and in-depth articles on food for the Zingerman’s newsletter, Ari finds time to be a voracious reader. He acquires and reads more books than he can find room for. Ari might soon find himself the owner of the largest collection of Anarchist books in Ann Arbor outside the Labadie collection at the University of Michigan library!
