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Simit Pide Recipe

Simit pide is a Turkish flatbread combining the sesame crust of a simit with the stuffed centre of a pide, filled with sucuk, cheese, tomato, pepper and olives. Chewy, seeded edges with a molten, savoury middle.

I’ve tried a few versions of stuffed flatbread and this one keeps coming back to the table because the pekmez and sesame coating gives it something no plain pide has. The grape molasses caramelises in the oven and turns the crust dark and slightly sweet, which works against the salty sucuk and cheese inside. Skip the pekmez dip and you just have a regular pide.

The dough is soft and oily, which makes it easy to shape but means you need to work quickly. Once you’ve dipped each piece in the pekmez water and rolled it in sesame, get it on the tray and fill it straight away. If the dough sits too long after shaping, it sticks to everything and the sesame falls off. I shape two or three at a time, fill them, then move to the next batch.

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Simit Pide Ingredients

For the Dough

250ml (9fl oz) lukewarm milk
250ml (9fl oz) lukewarm water
200ml (7fl oz) vegetable oil (just under 1 cup)
21g (3/4oz) fresh yeast or 1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
1.5 tbsp caster sugar
1.5 tsp salt
800g (1lb 12oz) plain flour, or as needed

For the Sesame Coating

100g (4oz) sesame seeds, toasted
50ml (2fl oz) grape molasses (pekmez)
50ml (2fl oz) water

For the Filling

150g (5oz) beef sucuk, sliced
1 tomato, diced
1 green pepper, diced
100g (4oz) cheddar or kashkaval cheese, grated
A few black olives, sliced

How To Make Simit Pide

Make the dough: Put the lukewarm milk, water, oil, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Stir until the yeast dissolves. Add the flour gradually, mixing as you go, until a soft dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 8-10 minutes, adding a little oil to stop it sticking. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled.
Prepare the coating: Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until golden, shaking often, and tip onto a wide plate. In a separate shallow dish, mix the grape molasses with the water until combined.
Shape the pides: Knock the dough back and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into an oval pide shape, about 15cm (6in) long and 1cm (1/2in) thick.
Coat with pekmez and sesame: Dip each shaped piece into the pekmez water, turning to coat all sides. Then press it into the toasted sesame seeds, making sure the top, bottom and edges are well covered. Place on a lined baking tray.
Fill and shape: Press the centre of each pide down with your fingers to create a well. Fill generously with grated cheese, sliced sucuk, diced tomato, diced pepper and olives. Press the filling down gently so it stays in place.
Bake: Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas Mark 6) on fan setting. Bake for 18-22 minutes until the edges are deep golden brown, the sesame is toasted and the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve warm.

Recipe Tips

Toast the sesame seeds before coating. Raw sesame tastes flat and papery. A few minutes in a dry pan brings out the nutty flavour. Watch them closely, they go from golden to burnt in seconds.

Dip in pekmez water first, then sesame. The sticky molasses water is what makes the sesame grip the dough. If you skip it and just press seeds onto dry dough, half of them fall off in the oven.

Don’t overfill the centre. A thick pile of filling stops the cheese from melting properly and makes the pide hard to eat. A generous but flat layer is what you want.

Press the centre down firmly. The dough puffs up as it bakes. If you don’t create a deep enough well, the filling slides off the sides. Use your knuckles, not just fingertips.

Bake on fan setting if your oven has one. The circulating heat crisps the sesame coating evenly all around. Without fan, the undersides can stay pale while the tops over-brown.

What To Serve With Simit Pide

A simple tomato and cucumber salad with a squeeze of lemon dresses the plate without competing. Turkish tea alongside is the classic pairing.

These also work well as part of a brunch spread with eggs, olives, cheese and fresh herbs. They’re filling enough to serve as a meal on their own with a side salad.

How To Store Simit Pide

Fridge

Wrap individually in clingfilm and store for up to 2 days. The sesame crust softens overnight but the flavour holds.

Reheat

Place on a baking tray and warm in the oven at 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) for 5-7 minutes until the crust crisps back up and the cheese re-melts. Microwaving makes the dough chewy and the sesame coating loses its crunch.

Freeze

Freeze baked and cooled pides individually wrapped in clingfilm, then in foil. They keep for up to 1 month. Reheat from frozen in the oven at 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) for 12-15 minutes.

Simit Pide Nutrition Facts

Per serving (1 pide): Calories: 420kcal, Protein: 14g, Fat: 22g, Carbohydrates: 42g, Sugar: 5g, Sodium: 650mg. Estimated. May vary based on ingredients and cooking methods.

FAQs

Can I use honey instead of grape molasses for the simit pide coating?

You can, but the flavour changes noticeably. Pekmez has a deep, malty sweetness that caramelises differently from honey. Honey works in a pinch but the crust won’t taste like a proper simit.

Can I make the dough the night before?

Yes, after kneading, cover and refrigerate overnight. Take it out an hour before shaping to bring it back to room temperature. Cold dough is harder to roll and doesn’t coat as well.

Can I use chicken sucuk instead of beef?

Yes, chicken sucuk works the same way. It’s milder in flavour so the cheese and pekmez crust carry more of the taste, but the texture and cooking time stay the same.