Sesame Seed Bread

November 9, 2015
Monday

I could stand on the shoulders of giants and write majuscule. Eventually, it shall still be stereotyped as bread here!

Or is it? How friends in Belgium and Germany treasure their breads, the quality of the local produce I experienced on the streets of European towns was the depiction of how civilisation was bred over centuries. The only competitor to the eating shall be the ability of citizens to commute using public transport.

I haven't tasted bread since when, my year (2010-11) of stay and exploring the streets in Europe, Hasselt. The smell of fresh bread in front of bakeries and the varieties of cheese was just a very deep-rooted experience. Its only today after what four years, that I have finally baked a bread which has the texture and the heaviness of the European bread. I still experience the same essence - I ate it like I was eating the white bread or the English bread rolls which are comparatively much lighter. Consequently, my stomach is filled to the brim. Well, at least I can write about the good memories I carry now in retrospect. Now, that I have baked it, I wonder what was holding me back. I think it was the perception of us as a nation still developing by and large. Somehow, I couldn't muster up enough motivation and drive to understand that it was much more political game. We as family and perhaps as individuals in North India driven by materialism, have been exposed to some very good quality equipments to explore culinary paths. In the case of baking especially, where if the recipe is followed precisely, the intuitiveness of it is quite simple and straightforward - all that remains is how we can express in presentation. I think savoury is much more elaborate, and requires much varied ingredients.

What I have found out is understanding of technique in baking as in other forms of cooking, helps relieve the tension of the basic failures like the dough not rising or the bread not becoming chewy enough. For that, the attention must be paid on the quality of the ingredients and of course the cooking time.

Okay, down to the business end of it.

To understand better about the action of yeast, follow the links below:

Yeast's crucial roles in bread making

Functions of yeast in baking

Yeast

Sesame Seed Bread

Ingredients

Yeast - 2 tsps

Luke warm water - 300 ml

Plain flour - 200g

Whole wheat flour - 200g

Salt - 2 tsps

Sugar - 1/2 tsps

Toasted Sesame seeds - 70g

Untoasted (fresh) sesame seeds - 5g


Procedure

1. To the sugar, add 125 ml water and stir it. When dissolved, add the yeast. This is to activate the yeast. Leave it for 10 minutes on the side.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the two flours with salt. Make a well into the middle.

3. Add the yeast mixture and the water into the well. Stir in the water and finally knead the dough using some flour.

4. Cover it with a plastic bag, and leave it to rise. In about 1.5-2 hours, it should have doubled.

5. Once doubled, remove it and punch it. Knead the sesame seeds into it, folding the dough multiple times.

6. Grease a round 9 inch baking tin. Divide the dough into 16 parts and arrange in the round pan. Cover it with plastic again, and let it rest till it rises to the rim height (approximately 1.5 hours).

7. Remove the plastic sheet. Brush it with some milk and sprinkle the fresh sesame seeds. Put it in oven at 220 deg. C for 15 minutes, and then reduce it to 180-190 deg. C for 30 minutes.

8. Remove the bread from tin, and place on a rack. Let it cool for 30 minutes.

Comments

1. For me, the texture is a bit heavier. I love the taste of the bread, absolutely smashing. For lighter texture, I shall try putting slightly more yeast (I think 2.5 tsp), and let it sit in warm temperature (approximately 40 deg. C) for about 1.5-2 hours. This should change the texture.

2. For the lining the tin, I used unsalted butter which gave it a crispy crust. For a softer crust, the lining of the tin could be done with milk or salted pasteurised butter. In addition, adding a bit of milk to the dough also makes the final product much more chewy. However, this is supposed to be a very solid bread.

Enjoy baking!