Sesame Turkish ring breads recipe

Recreate popular Turkish street treats with these delicious sesame ring breads from The Australian Women's Weekly 'Made from Scratch' cookbook - perfect with breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Makes 8

100 mins prep
20 mins cook

Ingredients

Sesame turkish ring breads

3 tsp(10g) dried yeast
1 tspcaster (superfine) sugar
1 1/2 cups(375ml) lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups(500g) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra to dust
1 tspsalt
1/2 cup(125ml) vincotto or pekmez (see tip)
2/3 cup(100g) sesame seeds
1/4 cup(40g) poppy seeds
1 tbspnigella seeds
1 tbspcoriander seeds, coarsely crushed
Recipe by Women's Weekly

Steps

Sesame turkish ring breads

1. Whisk yeast, sugar and ¼ cup of the water in a medium bowl until yeast is dissolved. Stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy. Add the remaining water; stir to combine.

2. Place flour and salt in the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (or use the paddle attachment), add the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until a rough dough forms. Increase speed to medium, knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

3. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap; stand in a warm place to prove for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; punch dough down with your fist. Divide into 8 equal portions. Place vincotto in a small bowl. Combine seeds on a large plate.

5. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 50cm (20-inch) long rope. Fold rope in half; lift off work surface and twist dough together to form a twisted rope shape. Return to the work surface; form into a circle, pressing ends firmly to seal.
Repeat with remaining dough to make 8 twisted rings.

6. Preheat oven to 220°C. Grease and line oven trays with baking paper.

7. Carefully place each ring in the vincotto, turning to coat; allow excess to drain off. Coat rings in seed mixture, then transfer to trays; stand in a warm place for 20 minutes or until slightly puffed.

8. Bake rings in oven for 18 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tips
Vincotto translates from Italian as ‘cooked wine’; it is made by boiling down grape must (the juice and pulp of wine-making grapes) to make a thick syrup. It is available from delis and greengrocers. Pekmez is the syrup traditionally used for these breads, and is made in a similar way; however, it can only be found in Greek and Middle-Eastern grocery shops.

Try these with marinated feta and cured meats.