Açma
Açma are breakfast rolls from Turkish bakeries, eaten with tea, white cheese and olives. Unlike crunchy simit, they are soft and fluffy, made with milk, egg, oil and a little butter, and twisted into knots or rings scattered with sesame and nigella. They are slightly sweet but go equally well with cheese and tomatoes or with jam. The dough is easy to handle, and you soon get the knack of shaping the knots.
Your own work in that: 35 min.
- Kneading 15 min
- Rising 60 min
- Shaping the knots 20 min
- Proving 30 min
- Baking 40 min
- Cooling 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the dough
Mix the flour with the sugar, yeast and salt. Add the milk, egg and oil and knead 5 minutes, then add the butter and knead another 8–10 minutes, until smooth, soft and no longer sticky.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 ml lukewarm milk · 30 g sugar · 7 g dried yeast · 1 pcs egg · 60 ml oil · 30 g butter, softened · 8 g salt
Soft and elastic — it twists easily.Leave to rise
Cover the dough and leave somewhere warm an hour, until doubled.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 ml lukewarm milk · 30 g sugar · 7 g dried yeast · 1 pcs egg · 60 ml oil · 30 g butter, softened · 8 g salt
Divide the dough
Divide the dough into 12 pieces of about 77 g (ideally weigh them) and rest under a cloth 5 minutes to relax.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 ml lukewarm milk · 30 g sugar · 7 g dried yeast · 1 pcs egg · 60 ml oil · 30 g butter, softened · 8 g salt
Roll into ropes
Roll each piece under your palms into a rope about 30 cm long. If the dough shrinks back, leave it a moment and come back to it.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 ml lukewarm milk · 30 g sugar · 7 g dried yeast · 1 pcs egg · 60 ml oil · 30 g butter, softened · 8 g salt
Tie the knots
Loop the rope and pass one end through the middle to make a loose knot, or twist the rope like a cord and join the ends into a ring. Set on two lined trays, about 4 cm apart.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 ml lukewarm milk · 30 g sugar · 7 g dried yeast · 1 pcs egg · 60 ml oil · 30 g butter, softened · 8 g salt
A loose knot — it will grow in the oven.Prove
Cover the rolls and leave 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180°C.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 ml lukewarm milk · 30 g sugar · 7 g dried yeast · 1 pcs egg · 60 ml oil · 30 g butter, softened · 8 g salt
Brush and sprinkle
Beat the yolk with a spoonful of water, brush the rolls and sprinkle with sesame and nigella.
Ingredients: 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tbsp sesame seeds · 1 tsp nigella seeds
Sesame and nigella — as in a Turkish bakery.Bake
Bake 18–20 minutes, until golden and glossy. Bake the trays one after the other — keep the second covered in a cooler spot meanwhile. Cool 10 minutes and serve warm, with tea, cheese and olives.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 250 ml lukewarm milk · 30 g sugar · 7 g dried yeast · 1 pcs egg · 60 ml oil · 30 g butter, softened · 8 g salt
Before you start
Filled
Turkish bakeries often fill açma with olives, white cheese or chocolate. Before twisting, flatten the rope, lay on the filling and pinch the edges.
Extra soft
For a very soft crust, cover the baked rolls with a cloth for 10 minutes — the steam softens the tops.
Storage
Açma is best on the day it is baked. The next day warm it 3 minutes in the oven. It freezes well.
