Sesame seed SD loaf | The Fresh Loaf

This weeks bake features sesame seeds. I hadn't tried them in a loaf yet so i decided to give it a go. I really wanted to try black sesame seeds (mainly because i think they would have looked really cool in the crumb) but i couldn't find them :( So i went ahead with regular white sesame seeds, because i like the taste :)

Formula:

		Weight (g)	Final dough

Levain (80% hydration)		170
Water		310	387	76%
Flour		420	513	100%
Unbleached white bread flour	300		300	59%
Whole wheat flour	120		213	41%

Salt		11	11	2%
Sesame seeds		35	35	7%

Total dough weight		946	946

1. The levain was built with all whole wheat flour starting with 8g on NMNF rye starter.

2. I mixed the flours and the water, chill for few hours and leave to come the room temperature over night.

3. Next morning I mixed the dough, levain and salt.

4. I did 4 sets of stretch and folds over 3 hours(45mins apart), adding the sesame seeds on the 3rd set.

5. I left the dough to bulk ferment for 3 hours (until there were signs of healthy bubbles around the edges).

6. I pre shaped and rested for 30mins, before shaping and leaving to proof for about 1.5 hours and then retarding for 19 hours.

8. I brushed the dough with milk and sprinkled generously with sesame seeds.

9. The loaf was baked for an hour, 30mins with steam. I made a tent out of aluminium foil to stop the seeds from burning too quickly and then I uncovered the loaf for the last 20mins of the bake.

My original intention was to also add oat groats and then I forgot or changed my mind or both, but I ended up forgetting to increase the amount of sesame seeds to make up for it. So the flavour doesn’t come though very strongly in the crumb. So I decided to cover the loaf in sesame seeds! Next time i'll double the sesame seeds.

The loaf is still very tasty, it’s got a nice subtle sourness to it. My loaves have been getting sourer lately. I suspect its because its cold and they take longer to ferment.

The crumb ended up nice and open and the crust is so yummy with all those sesame seeds. I’m pleased they didn’t just fall off when I sliced the loaf.

I'm managing pretty consistent results at the 40% whole wheat mark, so i think its time i try a higher % of whole wheat now, maybe 50%.

Happy baking!

Ru007's Blog
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I love sesame seeds and look for great ways to use them . we make wonderful sesame seed biscotti. The recipe is the one that is used at a very famous bakery in New Orleans. They are truly wonderful. Beautiful loaf and crumb as usual. You bake a fine loaf. c

I appreciate the compliment.

Did you insert a link in your comment to the recipe? I can't seem to see one. I'd love to try the biscotti :)

Thanks again.

230 g white sugar

189 g good quality lard ( we have used Crisco in the past but it has the taste of " fish" now due to all the canola oil in it and it is really terrible. The original bakers used lard when these were made . you will find them with butter instead but again that isn't the traditional way. 1/2 and 1/2 butter /lard isn't bad but lard is the best) Must be real lard not partially hydrogenated.

cream these together until light with a Kitchen Aid mixer or similar . Add 3 large eggs one at a time and cream them in. Gently mix in 600 g unbleached white flour, sifted with 6 g Ammonium carbonate ( do not substitute baking powder or baking soda. Again this is what gives cookies a real crunch. It is a must. Can be purchased online will need to crush it with a mortar and pestle ) and 4 g salt.

Chill dough in fridge for one hour . Shape the cookies into 2" logs each should be .6 oz /17g. dip each log into water and then roll into bowl of toasted sesame seeds. coat thoroughly and place on parchment. Makes 6 doz. cookies. Bake at 350 for 20 min then cool 10 min then bake again 10 min 350 . Biscotti means twice baked.

Let me know if you have any questions. You can look up the Regina biscotti to get more idea of the finished shape. But this is the original recipe from Brocato's in NOLA.

This is an interesting recipe, i've never come across a biscotti that isn't sliced.

I don't have ammonium carbonate though. I'm a bit of rebel so i'll see what happens without it while i try and get my hands on the real thing! Or maybe not... hmmm... tough one :)

Just use the baking powder in an equal amount. The ammonium carbonate is what makes the cookies extra crisp. It is used in commercial baking. The ammonium bakes off as you make the cookies so there is an odor but the result is amazing. As far as the shape biscotti means cookie so all Italian cookies are biscotti. There are lots of different shapes to be made. You should try cuccidati. https://www.google.com/?ion=1&espv=2#q=cuccidati%20sicilian%20fig%20cookies%20recipes

the dried fruit filling is like a super duper fig newton :) Have fun and let me know how you like the cookies. c

I have a friend that lurks on here that kept telling that her favourite bread is sesame. I wondered why she raved about it until I made some, then I knew why! It is delicious!

Did you toast the seeds that went into the bread? By the way, love the crumb!

Glad you liked it. Sesame seeds are awesome the flavour is wonderful!

I actually decided to make this loaf when i saw a loaf you posted a while back that had sesame seeds :) so thanks for the inspiration!

I did toast the seeds that went into the bread, but not the ones on top, i was afraid they'd burn too quickly.

That is one fine crust fora 41% WW bread with 7% seeds. Light and airy while still being healthy is just wonderful. Plus it has to taste great too. Well done and happy baking Ru007

So glad you liked it.

Healthy + tasty is definitely a win! It does taste great, next time i just need to up the sesame seeds, or maybe i'll try Job's suggestion and put a bit of sesame seed oil in the dough too.

Happy baking to you to :)

Nice open crumb. One of my favorite seeds. Personally I love to use black sesame in baking because they're more striking but they just taste the same. Amazing how one simple ingredient especially when toasted elevates the bread flavor of the bread. I add a little sesame oil to kick up the sesame flavor sometimes, it's potent so less is more.

be my new favorite, i'll give the sunflower seeds a break :)

Glad you liked it Job. Thanks for the tip about the sesame seed oil, i'll give it a try and see what happens.

Hope you're doing well at work?

Great looking loaf! Nice crumb and crust and it must have tasted great. You would love the smoked sesame seeds I found and the latest which are garlic infused. I used those on some rolls last week and they were excellent.

Happy Baking!

Ian

Sounds awesome, i love onion and garlic so i'm sure i would like those sesame seeds :)

Smoked sesame seeds, hmmm... i think i'd put those in a loaf with cheese. Speaking of which, if i put cheese in my dough, how much do i need to adjust my salt by? 2% is my standard amount of salt.

Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated!

I never adjust the salt when adding cheese. I'm making a porridge bread tonight with a smoked cheddar cheese and smoked maple syrup.

Happy Baking!

Can't wait to see it :)

thanks for the tip, i'll try leaving the salt as is and see what happens.

... jaw droppingly beautiful. Please advise.

I'm so flattered.

Advice? My first couple of loaves did not look good, so i'd say practice. i repeated the same recipe 5 times in a row before i got my basic SD right to a place i was happy with. But more than that, have fun and keep it light hearted!

Happy baking!

you have been turning out some consistently good bread. Congratulations! I'm wondering where you could live, where it might be cold? I'm in Texas, and am requesting you to send a cool breeze my way! marybeth

I appreciate the kind words.

I live in South Africa. To be honest i'd send you my cold weather in a heartbeat if i could! I can't wait for it to warm up, but winter will be over soon, only about another month to go.

Thanks again,

I appreciate the kind words.

I live in South Africa. To be honest i'd send you my cold weather in a heartbeat if i could! I can't wait for it to warm up, but winter will be over soon, only about another month to go.

Thanks again,

A couple questions regarding your intruiging Sesame Seed SD loaf recipe: #1 - no yeast involved, at all? How do you achieve a rise? #2 - what temp. in the oven to bake at?

this anytime soon but the Levain is sourdough which is a wild yeast culture and that is what raises the bread.

As to baking, most of us heat our ovens to 500F with the pots inside, but drop the temperature to 475F when we load the dough in the pots.

Hope this helps.

Yeah, maybe two minutes after I left the (what, no yeast at all) comment I thought the same about the levain performing the rising function. Now, just to clarify, when you indicate "heat our ovens to 500F with the pots inside" would your term pots mean the same thing as breadpans? Any breadpan? Or a specific size and make such as cast iron, glass, steel, etc? In advance, my thanks.

There are a couple of ways or more how you can bake this loaf.

My usual way is to bake it in a pot. This can be anything that is safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit such as a cast or enameled Dutch oven (deep pot with a lid), a clay baker, a graniteware roasting pan with a lid, or even a pizza stone with a stainless steel bowl inverted over it. So what you do is to heat up the oven with whatever contraption you are using for 45 minutes to an hour. If you are using graniteware, this can be shorter as that heats up way faster. Then I put a round of parchment paper in the bottom to prevent sticking and carefully drop/place the loaf on top. Replace the lid, put back in the oven and drop the temperature to 450 F. Bake for 20-25 minutes covered then remove the lid and bake until you have a nice dark crust which can be another 15-30 minutes depending on the size of your loaf. Internal temperature should be at least 205 F.

The other way is to use a pizza stone and steam. Put your pizza stone in the oven and find some way of steaming the oven. It can be a shallow tray with wet tea towels, lava stones that you add water to when you put your loaf in, or a cast iron pan that you add ice cubes to when loading the loaf. Once again you heat up the oven to 500F for 45-60 minutes. Carefully place your loaf on the pizza stone using some kind of a peal (you can use parchment paper under there as well) and add water or ice cubes to your steaming apparatus if needed. Two warnings, don’t drop water on the oven door glass as it can shatter and watch the steam. I get burned every time I open the door when i use steam. And bake as above at 450F for 20-25 minutes, remove your steaming stuff and bake until you have the colour of crust you like and the internal temp is 205f or more.

I guess there is a third way and that is to use loaf pans but since I don’t use this method, I really don’t have a clue on how Rue would bake this bread in those.

Thanks D!!!

Ever evermore thanks!

So Danni pretty ,much nailed it with her responses.

I don't use a bread pan. I typically bake free standing sourdough loaves (I don't have a pot). I use a heavy based metal tray (like the ones that come in the oven), and preheat the oven with that inside (to about 230 celcius).Then I put the loaf in with only a single layer of light aluminium foil underneath it (so its not directly on the metal). For steam, I use two mini cake pans filled about 1/2 away and I also spray the loaf with water right before putting it into the oven.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Best

hope all is well with you and it sounds as if you are still baking! have missed your bakes

happy baking Ru

Leslie

Hope you're well! I actually haven't been baking at all, last year and the beginning of this year kind of smacked me in the face. I'm doing a lot better now and I've missed all of you too.

I literally rehydrated my dried starter a few hours okay, so I'm looking forward to getting back in the kitchen.

It's so good to be back!!!!

How are you?

Can't say anything but the same for Danni's commentary/methodology. Now I've determined to utilize my baking stone for my next bake. I just acquired a peel too. Also, since Danni's elucidation, I'll put either parchment paper or a silicon mat on the baking stone prior to dropping the dough. Again, now that Danni mentioned it, I'll just have the oven temp a few degrees hotter while that's done. But now I'll probably also get a sprayer for the loaf just prior to oven.

Thank you Ru, I really love this site, Ted

This site is incredible! Look forward to seeing more of your bakes :)

to see you back Ru!

It's so good to be back, I honestly feel like like I'm home.

I'm really sorry I kind of fell off the face of the earth on y'all for a looong time. I just had a bit of a rough time.

Hope you're doing well! How is Lucy?

Because you did spell out bake for 1 hour I'd like to assume the oven temperature will not be 425F. But you didn't explain what the oven temp is for the bake. Should I assume it's 350F? Or lower, say, 325F?