Simit is a circular bread, typically encrusted with sesame seeds or, less commonly, poppy, flax or sunflower seeds, found across the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East, especially in Armenia, Turkey and the Balkans.[2] Simit's size, crunch, chewiness, and other characteristics vary slightly by region.

The word simit comes from Arabic samīd (سميد) "white bread" or "fine flour".

Archival sources show that simit has been produced in Istanbul since 1525.[9] Based on Üsküdar court records (Şer’iyye Sicili) dated 1593,[10] the weight and price of simit was standardized for the first time. The 17th-century traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote that there were 70 simit bakeries in Istanbul during the 1630s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simit