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A simit (Turkish), Aramaic qeluro/qelora, koulouri (Greek: κουλούρι), đevrek (Serbian: ђеврек), gjevrek (Macedonian: ѓеврек) or gevrek (Bulgarian: геврек) (the last three, from "gevrek" in Turkish, meaning "crisp", which is, in some parts of Turkey, colloquial to "simit") is a circular bread with sesame seeds, very common in Turkey, as well as in Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and other parts of the Balkans and Middle East such as Lebanon. Simit's size, crunchiness/chewiness, and other characteristics vary slightly by region. In the city of İzmir, simit is known as "gevrek," (literally, 'crisp' in Turkish) although it is very similar to the Istanbul variety. Simits in Ankara, which is the capital of Turkey, are smaller and crisper than the ones in other cities. Simits in Devrekare made with molasses.
Drinking Turkish tea with simit is the traditional way in Turkish culture. You can see many simit pedlers on the street. Those pedlers usually carry their simit trays on their heads. Simit is generally served plain, or for breakfast with tea, jelly, jam or cheese.
Simit and koulouri are often sold by street vendors, who either have a simit trolley or carry the simit in a tray on their head. Street merchants generally advertise simit as fresh ("Taze simit!"/"Taze gevrek!") since they are baked throughout the day.
Simit is also known as "Turkish bagel" in USA.[1]
A type of bread very similar to simit is known in Poland as "obwarzanek". The main difference is that the rings of dough are poached briefly in boiling water prior to baking (similarly to bagels), instead of being dipped in water and molasses syrup, as is the case with simit.