Gevrek

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gstrong white flour
• 7 ginstant yeast
• 10 gsalt
• 1 tbspsugar
• 2 tbspsunflower oil
• 300 mlwarm water

Boiling water

• 2 litreswater
• 2 tbspsugar

Coating

• 200 gsesame seeds

Directions

1. Put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl, keeping salt and yeast apart at first. Add the oil and most of the warm water and bring it together. Add the rest of the water only if the dough will not come together. Knead it for ten minutes until it is smooth and springs back when pressed. The dough should be firm rather than soft, since it must hold a ring shape.
2. Put it in an oiled bowl, cover it, and leave it to rise for an hour. It should roughly double in size in a warm kitchen. Roll each piece into a rope about fifty centimetres long. Fold the rope in half and twist the two strands around each other.
3. Bring the two ends together to form a ring and pinch them firmly closed. Roll the join under your palm so it disappears into the twist. Set the rings on a floured tray and cover them loosely.
4. Let them prove for twenty minutes while you heat the oven and the water. Heat the oven to 220C with a baking tray already inside it. Bring the two litres of water to a rolling boil with the sugar in it.
5. Spread the sesame seeds in a wide shallow tray. Boil them for thirty seconds only, turning them once. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and let them drain for a second. Now the sesame, which must go on while they are wet. Drop each wet ring straight into the sesame tray.
6. Turn it and press it so both faces and the sides are heavily coated. The seeds only stick while the surface is still wet from the water. Use far more sesame than looks reasonable, since a bare gevrek is a poor one. Now baking, which is fast and hot. Set the coated rings on the hot baking tray, well spaced.
7. Bake them for about eighteen minutes, until deep golden. The sesame should be toasted and fragrant rather than pale. Turn the tray once halfway if your oven bakes unevenly. Cool them on a rack for a few minutes, though they are best warm. Serve them hot with drinking yoghurt or white brined cheese. They are at their best within an hour of baking and stale quickly.

Technique

• Boil for thirty seconds only, since longer makes the crust leathery.
• Coat with sesame while the rings are still wet, or the seeds fall off.
• Seal the twisted join firmly, since it will open in the boiling water otherwise.

Substitutions

• A little honey in the boiling water in place of sugar.
• White sesame is standard, though a mix with black looks striking.

Variations

• Dipped in grape molasses before sesame, in the Turkish simit manner.
• Split and filled with white cheese.
• Made small as a snack ring for children.

History

The Bulgarian simit, still hawked outside schools and railway stations at breakfast time.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gevrek?

Gevrek is a street food from Bulgaria: sesame-crusted bread ring sold hot from morning stands with yoghurt. The Bulgarian simit, still hawked outside schools and railway stations at breakfast time.

How long does Gevrek take to make?

Gevrek takes 30 min plus 90 min rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 rings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Gevrek?

Yes, within limits. A little honey in the boiling water in place of sugar. White sesame is standard, though a mix with black looks striking.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gevrek?

Put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl, keeping salt and yeast apart at first. Add the oil and most of the warm water and bring it together. Add the rest of the water only if the dough will not come together. Knead it for ten minutes until it is smooth and springs back when pressed. The dough should be firm rather than soft, since it must hold a ring shape.