Simit: Istanbul’s Sesame Bread Ring and How to Eat It

Early in the morning, red carts appear on Istanbul’s street corners, stacked with rings of bread. A sesame-crusted simit (a sesame-crusted bread ring) and a glass of tea is the city’s quickest breakfast. Locals sometimes call it susam kebabı, “sesame kebab”.

Behind it lies more than a thousand years of history. It also comes in local styles, so the ring you eat in Ankara or İzmir is not quite the same.

What is a simit?

It is a ring of bread covered in sesame seeds, crisp outside and chewy inside. Bakers dip the dough rings in water and grape molasses before rolling them in sesame and baking them. Bagels, by contrast, are boiled in water before they go into the oven.

A Byzantine and Ottoman story

Ring breads were already sold in Constantinople in Byzantine times. Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennitos, for example, described a small ring-shaped loaf called kollikion. Later, Ottoman records show simit in Istanbul by the end of the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote about the city’s simit bakers and sellers. The ring soon spread across the empire, which is why Greece, the Balkans and Armenia know it too.

How to eat simit like a local

The classic way is simple: a simit and a glass of Turkish tea. At home, it also joins the Turkish breakfast table with white cheese, olives or jam. Some people prefer it with ayran, the salty yogurt drink.

Most sellers work from glass-sided carts, while a few still carry the rings on a tray on their heads. Listen for their calls. “Taze simit!” means fresh rings. “Sıcak, sıcak!” means hot, and “El yakıyor!”, “it burns the hand”, means it has just come out of the oven.

Ankara rings and İzmir gevrek

Every city has its own version. In İzmir, people call it gevrek, “the crisp one”, and the carts carry that name instead. In Ankara, the rings are smaller and crunchier than in Istanbul. Since 2017, the Ankara Chamber of Commerce has held the registered name Ankara simidi: a thin, dark ring dipped in warm grape molasses from Ankara grapes and baked over a wood fire in a stone oven. Many Turkish cities also bake simit in municipal bakeries, such as Istanbul’s own city bakery, İstanbul Halk Ekmek.

Where to try simit in Istanbul

You will find carts almost everywhere, but some spots make it part of the view. For example, carts stand near the Galata Bridge, a short walk from Galata, so you can eat by the water. Or take one onto the ferry to Kadıköy and watch the gulls follow the boat.

Finally, bakers work throughout the day, so always ask for a fresh, warm one. For the whole picture, see our guide to Turkish food and our guide to Istanbul street food. To eat your way through the city, join our Istanbul food tour.