Simit

Step 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 tsp sugar and 1 ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Add 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water and 1 tbsp olive oil and stir to a shaggy dough.

Step 2: Knead on a clean worktop for 10 minutes until smooth and fairly firm, and a fingertip dent springs slowly back. The dough should be stiffer than a sandwich loaf; that gives simit its chew.

Step 3: Put it back in the bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for 45–60 minutes, until doubled.

Step 4: Meanwhile toast 5 ½ oz sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium-low heat, stirring all the time, for 4–5 minutes until golden and smelling nutty. Spread on a plate to cool.

Step 5: Stir ½ cup grape molasses (pekmez) and ½ cup water together in a shallow dish. Don't skip the water: a common mistake is dipping in neat molasses, which burns black before the bread is baked.

Step 6: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan) and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Knock back the dough and divide it into 16 equal pieces (about 50 g each).

Step 7: Roll each piece into a rope about 40 cm long. Lay 2 ropes side by side, pinch them together at one end and twist them round each other. Bring the ends together to make a ring about 15 cm across and press the join firmly so it doesn't open in the oven.

Step 8: Dip each ring in the molasses water, let the excess drip off, then lay it in the sesame and press so both sides are thickly coated. Set on the trays, stretching each ring a little wider as you go.

Step 9: Leave to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes until slightly puffy.

Step 10: Bake for 18–20 minutes, swapping the trays halfway, until deep mahogany brown and they sound hollow when tapped underneath. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Simit is best the day it is made; revive day-old ones in a hot oven for 5 minutes.