After Friday’s QC Cadre Fete I took this past Saturday and Sunday off. So back in the bakery this morning I made a new bread. It’s based on a blend of Azerbaijani and Turkish breads. My friend Maggie sent me a video of a rural Azerbaijani woman making bread that looks like this but only showed ingredients but no amounts or temperatures etc. I am sure the woman knows the amounts by looking at and feeling the dough. I do not.

Turkish “simit” was the closest bread I could find, but the ingredients and method were totally different from the bread in the video. I figured out the method based on the video and calculated the amounts, times and temperatures myself. Basically, it is not a “simit” but it’s a good a name as any until some Azerbaijani corrects me.

I also add a Tangzhong to increase the bread’s shelf life and make it softer.

The QC Cadre feels this may be the best bread ever (although my Pain de Cristal is very good, different but very, very good!)

Azerbaijan Enriched “Simit” Bread

INGREDIENTS
Tangzhong
• 60g (½ c) bread flour
• 320g (1 ⅓ c) whole milk (I use 2% milk plus ¼ c whole cream)
Dough
• 720g (6 c) bread flour plus 60g reserved to add to the dough as it kneads in case its too sticky
• 240g (1 c) warm water (~115F)
• 56g (4 Tbl) olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 100g (½ c) sugar
• 18g (4 tsp) yeast
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 104g (8 Tbl) softened unsalted butter
Egg Wash
• 3 large eggs, divided
• 2 Tbl water

METHOD

1. In a small saucepan mix the tangzhong ingredients and heat while constantly whisking until the mixture looks like smooth mashed potatoes. (~2-3 minutes)
2. Add tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer and sift remaining 720g of flour into the bowl
3. Add warm water and oil into the flour
4. Add egg, sugar, yeast, salt (not on top of yeast) and softened (but not melted butter)
5. Mix well with Dutch whisk to combine and make a shaggy dough being sure all the butter is incorporated.
6. Knead the soft, pliable dough (KitchenAid mixer speed 4 for 10 minutes.) If necessary, add more flour 20g at a time to help kneading.
7. Remove dough from the mixer bowl (it will be very sticky) then oil the bowl and return the dough, flip it over to coat both sides of the dough with oil then cover and let rise until doubled. (~45- 60 min. I use an oiled proofing bucket)
8. Dump from bowl onto lightly floured work surface. My dough weighed 1687g,
9. Punch it down to de-gas then divide the dough into 9 pieces ~180-190g. (9 pieces 187g each)
10. Reserve 2 balls for the roses and 7 for the coils.
11. Let the 2 balls rest at room temperature and 7 balls rise, covered in a warm place.
12. Working with 1 at a time (leave the rest covered,) roll each ball into a rope ~12” long, then let the rope rest as you shape the rest of the rolls. Repeat the roll/rest until you can roll the rope to ~36” long. (48” would be better.) The rope thickness should be ½-3/4” thick
13. Form a ~5” diameter loop with one end and coil the end under and around a couple of times.
14. Coil the other end around the rest of the loop and tuck the end under
15. Cover and let rest
16. Roll each of the two reserved balls into a large circle ~2mm thick on a lightly floured surface, like a thin pie crust. ~12” diameter yields ~12 three-inch circles. Let the dough rest once or twice to reduce shrinkage during rolling.
17. Cut 4” long ovals (they may be circles, distorted by the angle of the camera) and stack 6 over-lapping leaving ½ to ⅓ uncovered
18. Roll up, then cut in half, placing cut end on the table and spreading the loose end to resemble a rose. Don’t let the roses rise.
19. Use scraps if necessary to make extra roses.
20. Preheat oven to 375. degrees
21. Separate ~3 eggs, first whisk the whites then whisk in ~2 tbl water
22. Whisk the yolks and 1Tbl water to make an egg wash
23. Dip one side of each coil into the egg-white wash, then dredge that side in the sesame seeds and set on a parchment paper lined baking pan sesame side up
24. Place a dough rose inside each coil and egg wash the rose with egg yolk wash
25. Bake until done. (~20-25min) They should be a golden brown with the egg washed roses darker. (~190F)