# Simit

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{{Short description|Circular bread from Turkey and the Balkans}}{{Hatnote|For the restaurant, see [Simit Sarayı](/source/Simit_Saray%C4%B1)}}{{Redirect|Koulouri}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name               = Simit
| image              = Simit-2x.JPG
| image_size         = 250px
| caption            = 
| alternate_name     = rosquilla (France, Spain), bokegh (Armenia), Đevrek (Bosnia, Serbia), koulouri (Greece), covrig (Romania), gevrek (Bulgaria and North Macedonia), and Turkish bagel (United States)
| country            = [Roman Empire](/source/Roman_Empire)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230406-arculata-the-bread-that-survived-pompeii|title=Arculata: The bread that survived Pompeii|website=www.bbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tavolamediterranea.com/2023/04/07/arculata-le-ciambelle-sopravvissute-pompei/|title=Arculata le ciambelle sopravvissute a Pompeii|website=tavolamediterranea.com|date=7 April 2023 }}</ref><br>[Byzantine Empire](/source/Byzantine_Empire)<ref name=":4" /><br>[Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire)<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article-abstract/12/4/31/44207/Simit-Turkey-s-National-Bread|doi=10.1525/GFC.2012.12.4.31 |title=Simit: Turkey's National Bread |year=2012 |last1=Roth |first1=Alisa |journal=Gastronomica |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=31–36|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
| creator            = 
| course             = 
| type               = [Bread](/source/Bread)
| served             = 
| main_ingredient    = Dough (flour, water, yeast, salt),{{cn|date=December 2020}} [sesame seeds](/source/sesame_seed)
| variations         = Also called Shureik, Ka'ak, and Sameet{{cn|date=December 2020}}
| calories           = 
| other              = 
}}

'''Simit''' is a circular [bread](/source/bread), typically encrusted with [sesame seed](/source/sesame_seed)s or, less commonly, poppy, [flax](/source/flax) or sunflower seeds, found across the [cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_cuisine) and the [Middle East](/source/Middle_East), especially in Armenia, Turkey and the Balkans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnnturk.com/yasam/diger/turkiye-ve-yunanistanin-simit-savasi-kizisiyor-1702|title = Türkiye ve Yunanistan'ın simit savaşı kızışıyor}}</ref> Simit's size, crunch, chewiness, and other characteristics vary slightly by region.

In [İzmir](/source/%C4%B0zmir), simit is known as ''gevrek'' ("crisp"), although it is very similar to the [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul) variety. Simit in [Ankara](/source/Ankara) are smaller and crisper than those of other cities.{{cn|date=December 2020}}

==Name==
[[File:SimitSellerStatueÇorlu.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Statue of simit seller in [Çorlu, Tekirdağ](/source/%C3%87orlu), Turkey]]
[[File:Çay ve simit.jpg|thumb|Turkish tea (çay) and simit in [Turkey](/source/Turkey)]]
The word ''simit'' comes from [Arabic](/source/Arabic_language) ''samīd'' ({{lang|ar|سميد}}) "white bread" or "fine flour".<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |editor=Kees Versteegh |publisher=Brill |year=2008 |isbn=978-90-04-14476-7 |volume=IV (Q–Z) |page=262 (entry {{italics correction|''samīd''}})}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etimolojiturkce.com/kelime/simit|title=Simit - Kelime Etimolojisi, Kelimesinin Kökeni|website=www.etimolojiturkce.com}}</ref>

Other names are based on the [Byzantine Greek](/source/Medieval_Greek) ''kollikion'' (κολλίκιον), or [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) ''kollyra'' (κολλύρα), or [modern Greek](/source/modern_Greek) ''koulouri'' (κουλούρι). In [Latin](/source/Latin) it is known as ''arculata''. [Aramaic](/source/Aramaic_language): ܩܶܠܽܘܪܳܐ/ܩܸܠܘܿܪܵܐ (''qeluro/qelora)''; Turkish: ''gevrek'';<ref>In parts of Turkey, referring to all crisp breads; see ''Modern Turkish Dictionary'', TDK</ref><ref>[Evliya Çelebi](/source/Evliya_%C3%87elebi)'s travels, Seyahatname, 1680.</ref> [South Slavic](/source/South_Slavic_languages) ''đevrek'', ђеврек, ''gjevrek'', ѓеврек, геврек. The [Armenian](/source/Armenian_language) name is բոկեղ (''bokegh''). In [Judaeo-Spanish](/source/Judaeo-Spanish) it is known as ''roskas turkas''.<ref>Matilda Koén-Sarano ''Diksionario Ladino-Ebreo,Ebreo-Ladino'',S.Zack,Jerusalem 2010</ref> In [English](/source/English_language) it is known as ''Turkish bagels'', ''rosca'' or ''coulouri''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rumianacocina.blogspot.com/2019/09/simit-gevrek-kuluri.html|title=Simit / gevrek / kuluri |website=rumianacocina.blogspot.com|date=29 September 2019 }}</ref>

==Origins==
Simit has its origins in the [Byzantine Empire](/source/Byzantine_Empire), where it was known as ''boukellon'' (βούκελλον) or ''kollikion'' (κολλίκιον).<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |last=Koukoules|first=Phaidon I.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VhoAAAAMAAJ|title=Βυζαντινών βίος και πολιτισμός|date=1952|publisher=Papazisis Publishers|isbn=9789600201413|volume=5|pages=28|language=el}}</ref> It was described by Byzantine authors as a ring-shaped bread, made from barley or wheat flour, which was popular among the army.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Koukoules|first=Phaidon I.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VhoAAAAMAAJ|title=Βυζαντινών βίος και πολιτισμός|date=1952|publisher=Papazisis Publishers|isbn=9789600201413|volume=5|pages=114-115|language=el}}</ref> The ''kollikion'' was first mentioned in the 9th century by [Constantine VII Porphyrogennitos](/source/Constantine_VII_Porphyrogenitus), who describes it as a small ring-shaped bread, sold in [Constantinople](/source/Constantinople).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simopoulos |first=Artemis P. |url=https://www.google.gr/books/edition/Street_Foods/QQgwVl22fXkC |title=Street Foods |last2=Bhat |first2=Ramesh Venkataramana |date=2000 |publisher=Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers |isbn=978-3-8055-6927-9 |pages=3 |language=en}}</ref> Today, in Greece, it is called ''koulouri'' (κουλούρι), where it is still regularly eaten.<ref name=":4" />

In the Ottoman Empire, archival sources show that ''simit'' has been produced in [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul) since 1525.<ref>Sahillioğlu, Halil. "Osmanlılarda Narh Müessesesi ve 1525 Yılı Sonunda İstanbul’da Fiyatlar" ''Belgelerle Türk Tarihi'' '''2''' (The Narh Institution in the Ottoman Empire and the Prices in Istanbul in Late 1525. Documents in Turkish History 2) (Kasım 1967): 56</ref> Based on [Üsküdar](/source/%C3%9Csk%C3%BCdar) court records (Şer’iyye Sicili) dated 1593,<ref>Ünsal, Artun. Susamlı Halkanın Tılsımı.[The Secret of the Ring with Sesames] İstanbul: YKY, 2010: 45</ref> the weight and price of simit was standardized for the first time. The 17th-century traveler [Evliya Çelebi](/source/Evliya_%C3%87elebi) wrote that there were 70 simit bakeries in Istanbul during the 1630s.<ref>'''Evliya Çelebi''' Seyahatnâmesi Kitap I. [The Seyahatname Book I] ([Robert Dankoff](/source/Robert_Dankoff), Seyit Ali Kahraman, Yücel Dağlı). İstanbul: YKY, 2006: 231</ref> Jean Brindesi's early 19th-century oil paintings about Istanbul daily life show simit sellers on the streets.<ref>Jean Brindesi, Illustrations de Elbicei atika. Musée des anciens costumes turcs d'Istanbul , Paris: Lemercier, [1855]</ref> [Warwick Goble](/source/Warwick_Goble), too, made an illustration of these simit sellers of Istanbul in 1906.<ref>{{cite book|title=Constantinople, painted by Warwick Goble, described by Alexander Van Millingen (London: Black, 1906) |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39620/39620-h/39620-h.htm|via=gutenberg.org}}</ref> Simit and its variants became popular across the Ottoman Empire.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

==Consumption==
[[File:60 Parada de simitçi (rosquilles) vora el pont de Gàlata (Istanbul).jpg|thumb|A stand of a simit seller in [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul)]]
[[File:Trachten Marchand de Craquelins a Vienne en Autriche.jpg|thumb|A street vendor of simit (rosquilla) in [Vienna](/source/Vienna)]]
Simit is generally served plain, or for [breakfast](/source/breakfast) with tea, [fruit preserves](/source/fruit_preserves), or [cheese](/source/cheese) or [ayran](/source/ayran). Drinking [tea](/source/tea) with simit is traditional. Simit (''bokegh'' in Armenian) is a traditional Christmas bread in Armenia.{{cn|date=December 2020}}

Simit are generally sold by [street vendor](/source/street_vendor)s in Turkey,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lezzetlitatlitarifleri.com/citir-burgu-simit-tarifi/ | title=Çıtır Burgu Simit Tarifi - Lezzetli Tatlı Tarifleri }}</ref> who either have a simit trolley or carry the simit in a tray on their head. Street merchants generally advertise simit as fresh ("''Taze simit!''"/"''Taze gevrek!''")<ref name="ft2025">{{cite news |title=An ode to simit, Istanbul’s chewy, timeless superfood |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d41376e9-0dda-4f00-a188-6c9272abbb96 |access-date=6 October 2025 |work=FT |date=6 Oct 2025}}</ref> since they are baked throughout the day; otherwise hot ("''Sıcak, sıcak!''") and extremely hot ("''El yakıyor!''" means "It burns the hand!") when they are not long out of the oven.{{cn|date=December 2020}}

Simit is an important symbol for lower and middle-class people of Turkey. Sometimes it is called ''susam kebabı'' ("sesame [kebab](/source/kebab)").{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

In other parts of the Middle East, in Egypt it is consumed with boiled eggs and/or [duggah](/source/Duqqa), which is a mixture of herbs used as condiments. It is commonly used to break the fast, with yoghurt or buttermilk, in mosques in [Mecca](/source/Mecca) and [Medina](/source/Medina).{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

Today, many municipalities in Turkey produce simit through their own subsidiaries.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gazete|first=Banka|date=15 November 2021|title=Yesaş simit üretecek|work=Gazete Banka Haber|url=https://gazetebanka.com/yesas-simit-uretecek/10970/|access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref>

==Similar products==
Certain varieties of Romanian [covrigi](/source/covrigi) are similar to simit, the places that sell them even being known as ''simigerii''.

Another type of bread similar to simit is known as ''obwarzanek'' (in particular ''[obwarzanek krakowski](/source/obwarzanek_krakowski)'') in Poland and ''[bublik](/source/bublik)'' in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The main difference is that the rings of dough are poached briefly in boiling water prior to baking (similarly to [bagel](/source/bagel)s), instead of being dipped in water and molasses syrup, as is the case with simit.{{Cn|date=April 2023}}

[Girde](/source/Girde_(bread)) (Uygur: Гирде) is a type of bread baked on the walls of tandoori oven, that is very similar to simit, and that the [Uyghurs](/source/Uyghurs) in [China](/source/China) see as a characteristic item in their culture-specific kitchen.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

==See also==
{{portal|Food}}
* [Bagel](/source/Bagel)
* [Doughnut](/source/Doughnut)
* [Kandil simidi](/source/Kandil_simidi)
* [Ka'ak](/source/Ka'ak)
* [Obwarzanek](/source/Obwarzanek)
* [Rosca](/source/Rosca)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Navboxes|list1=
{{Cuisine of Bulgaria}}
{{Cuisine of Greece}}
{{Cuisine of Macedonia}}
{{Cuisine of Serbia}}
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Category:Turkish breads
Category:Sesame seed breads
Category:Street food in Turkey
Category:Turkish tea culture
Category:Turkish cuisine
Category:Middle Eastern cuisine
Category:Roman cuisine
Category:Byzantine cuisine
Category:Greek cuisine
Category:Ottoman cuisine
Category:Armenian cuisine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Simit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simit) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simit?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.