Açma: Turkish Bagels
31 Jul 2013
When we were in Istanbul, Eric and I became simit-dependent. Simits are toothsome bagel-shaped breads, usually topped with sesame seeds. Our favorite variety, a sweet and yeasty take on the original, is called açma. These hearty breads are sold all over the city for 1 Turkish lira, and boy howdy, will they fill you up. It’s a whole meal for 50 cents. I had despaired of ever having them again (Except! It appears that there is a Greek variant called koulouri! Katy, can you confirm or deny?), but then Eric found a few recipes here and there online, and I became determined to try!
So much of our experience in Istanbul is tied up in this bread. On our first morning, we woke up at 5am in a jet-lagged delirium and ate a quick breakfast at home. We didn’t venture out into the city until 10am or so, at which point we were getting really hungry (and getting really lost). The Golden Horn sparkled in the sun, a mirage at the end of a winding cobbled street, and, glory of glories, a simit stand was right in front of it. We got one of both kinds, and I exclaimed with wonder as I bit into my açma, “It tastes like curry!”
The secret seemed to lie in those mysterious black seeds–I had never seen them before. After a lot of googling (“Hey, what are those black seeds on Turkish breads?”), I discovered the answer. These precious gems go by a number of names: nigella seeds, black caraway seeds, and black cumin seeds. They pack the most delicious punch: a deeply savory curry flavor laced with a hint of lemon. They are completely amazing, and I was thrilled to find them at our trusty Armenian market here in town. Now I had the proper tools to recreate all our perfect breakfasts and afternoon snacks (we actually took several of them on the plane home with us, so loath were we to part with them).
Now, about how to make these beauties. I used to be really intimidated by yeasted breads until about a month ago. It’s crazy how something can seem so beyond reach until you just decide that you are going to do it. The dough for the açma is really similar to the dough for the pide I made recently. The only remotely complex part is that you have to let the yeast sit in warm water for five minutes before you mix the flour in. Otherwise, mix and let sit. Nothing too hard. It feels like a whole new world has been opened up to me (challah, I am coming for you!), and I feel like such a champ when I think of all the things that used to sound totally impossible to me, but that now I make all the time (to be fair: this list includes everything except grilled cheese and spinach lasagna).
This dough is also very forgiving, as I can report with full authority. I set it out to rise before we went to Griffith Observatory on Saturday, and then I completely forgot about it until 10pm or so. No harm done! Just a little zealous dough ready to be rolled out.
The wonderful thing about shaping these breads is that you just dip your hands in a bit of oil beforehand, and then the whole process is smooth and easy.
When all your little pretties are shaped, you coat them in egg yolk and sprinkle nigella seeds like precious black rain over them (I am obsessed. I admit it. This is one life-changing spice right here).
They bake up beautifully and make your whole house smell like yeasty goodness. I think I lightly overbaked this batch, but that’s okay because I am sure another batch will soon be on its heels.
It’s wonderful to be able to recreate a little bit of our trip here at home. Every bite takes me back to cobbled streets and tiny glasses of perfect tea.
Açma: Turkish Bagels
Recipe adapted from I Love Turkish Cooking
Makes about 15
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tbsp dry baking yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for shaping dough (I used canola oil)
1 egg (separate yolk from the white)
1 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp black cumin seeds (or as many as your little fingers can sprinkle!)
-Pour warm water into a large bowl (the bowl of your stand mixer, if you are using one). Add the sugar and yeast and stir it with a wooden spoon for just 5-6 seconds. Wait for about 5-6 minutes. During this time the yeast will grow.
-Add the milk, egg white, 2/3 cup of oil and salt, and mix them in.
-Add in the flour slowly, one cup at a time, and mix with your stand mixer or hand-held mixer until the flour is completely incorporated.
-Cover the bowl and let rise until the dough rises and doubles in volume (several hours).
-Heat the oven to 400F and grease your pans, or line with parchment paper.
-Pour several tablespoons of oil onto a large plate and dip your hands into it before working with the dough. Take one handful of dough at a time, about the size of your fist, and stretch it into a long cylinder. Then twist this cylindrical dough and wrap it around your hand until the two sides are joined together. Place the rounds on the pan.
-Mix the egg yolk with 1 tbsp oil and brush the breads with this mixture. Be generous! Sprinkle black cumin seeds on top and bake them for 10-20 minutes. Start checking them for doneness after 10 minutes; they may be finished by 12-15 minutes. When the tops become brownish take them out of the oven and let them cool.
Blast the trumpets: I finally finished this quilted laptop case! And I love it! Quilting this little case was one of my June goals, but I say better late than never. We travel a fair bit, and I was filled with zeal to create something not only beautiful, but useful.
This is the third installment in my quilting adventures (I 
I also had the hardest time picking out fabric for this project. I wandered and wandered and wandered some more through the fabric store, and I finally alighted upon these jewel tones with metallic dots. Bright and shiny. Just how I like it.
I wouldn’t presume to give a tutorial here because I’m still such a beginner, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Denyse Schmidt’s fabulous 
to you. It has been my quilting bible and the inspiration for all of my projects thus far. I can give you a little walk-through, though. The quilt starts with cutting and piecing. Slowly but surely, the strips come together. The back and front of the laptop case are identical.
Next, the quilt sandwich is made: quilt top, batting, backing (or, in this case, inner lining). I chose this bright yellow striped fabric for a little play on texture. Finally, I sewed the two sandwiches together to form a case. Almost done!
Finally, I carefully stitched the top edging closed and painstakingly stitched the velcro on. That last part was honestly the slowest! I realize it looks a little Bride of Chucky, but I don’t mind one bit. Yellow thread would have been more invisible, but I like the homemade touch.
And that’s it! Finishing this project has been a huge confidence booster for me. It has tiny little mistakes here and there, but mostly it looks totally legit! It’s a little wide on the side, but that leaves room for my little travel charger. A bonus.
In any case, this is a huge improvement over what I have been using as a laptop case for the past handful of years: an old heating pad cover! The funny thing is that the tutorial in my quilting book is for…a heating pad cover. But I used it to make a laptop case. I believe I have now officially come full circle.
And now, a little speculation about my next project. I think I am ready to move on to a full-blown quilt. Dare I try to make one for our bed? Reader, I am already envisioning it. I have been thinking about color schemes and patterns for the past few days, but I love these three fabrics so much that I’m totally tempted to just use them again. I will see if anything else speaks to me at the fabric store…but these are solid contenders, for sure. Feel free to weigh in in the comments! And thank you all so very much, you sweet people, for your kind comments about the new blog design and about all my crazy projects. Thank you for being here and for putting a smile on my face every single day. I think the words that say it best are probably echoing around a lot of sweet southern towns: I appreciate the heck out of you. I really do.
Before I dive into this post, I want to give a hearty round of applause to Eric, who masterminded and implemented this entire new blog design. The best part is not even that he did such a great job. The best part is how invested he is in my blog and in everything I do, how relentlessly encouraging he is. Also, I think it looks pretty fantastic. Thanks, genius husband! And on the topic of genius husbands…this weekend’s foray into LA was to an iconic scientific playground of the astronomical variety: 
Here’s a closer look. I love the stately Greek key design and the elegant window grates.
We knew we wanted to see the building, but we didn’t have any other expectations. So we were blown away 1) by the fact that it was *free*, and 2) by the wide range of fabulous exhibits and the working solar telescope. If an astrophysicist gives it a thumbs up, you know it’s good. Here he is looking at the live color spectrum of the sun.
This was the old planetarium projector. Pretty awesome.
You can also climb up and view the telescopes. I couldn’t stop thinking about 
And now it’s time to talk about the other reason why Griffith Observatory is so amazing: the view. It was absolutely stunning.
I love this picture, even though the sun is totally in my eyes.
This is the view from the other side, also iconic. And the loooong line of parked cars all the way down the hill. It was a busy day for astronomy!
After we’d finished looking around, we spontaneously decided to head to our Los Feliz favorite, 
A little menu humor.
I had soup and salad, but I talked Eric into getting fries with his sandwich. The best of all possible worlds!
The Alcove is a dessert wonderland. So many cakes! All of them gigantic! We always try to save room for dessert. And then we eat dessert even if we didn’t save room. Or maybe that’s just me. This was Eric’s cake. Light and refreshing!
And here I am with my gargantuan slice of apple pie. After this, a brisk walk through the neighborhood and a browse through the bookstore was obligatory. All in all, a lovely Saturday. The loveliest.
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