Ali Baba bread

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 4 loaves, you will need:

• 1 100 g sesame seeds
• 2 100 g water
• 3 100 g leaven
• 4 320 g water
• 5 30 g sesame oil
• 6 40 g tahini (sesame paste)
• 7 500 g plain white flour (French Type 65)
• 8 5 g yeast
• 9 9 g salt
• 10 10 g sesame seeds
• 11 1 tablespoon oil
• Total weight: 1,230 grams

Times:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
45 min.	3 hours	40 min.	4 hours 25 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C). Lay a sheet of cooking parchment on a baking sheet and spread 100 g sesame seeds out on this. Toast in the oven for 15 minutes.
2	Take the sesame seeds out of the oven and tip them into 100 g water. Mix quickly and leave to cool.
3	Put into a mixer bowl in the following order: 100 g leaven, 320 g water, 30 g sesame oil, 40 g tahini (sesame paste), 500 g plain white flour (French Type 65), 5 g yeast and 9 g salt.
4	Knead on slow spead for 15 mintes. Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home..
5	2 minutes before the end of the kneading time, add the sesame seeds with their soaking water.
6	Gather the dough into a rough ball and transfer to a large clean bowl, then cover with a plastic sheet. Leave to rest for 1 hour.
7	After resting, knock back and work the dough: stretch it up with a dough-cutter as far as possible...
8	...and fold it over. Do this once or twice, then cover again with the plastic and leave to rest for another hour.
9	After resting, weigh out the dough into lumps of about 350 g and shape these into oval balls. Cover with the plastic sheet and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
10	After this, fold each ball lengthways in 3 to form a long roll.
11	Lay the loaves in a baguette tin or mould or, if you don't have one, on a baking sheet.
12	Brush the tops of the loaves with a little water or oil and scatter some raw sesame seeds over them. Press these in slightly to help them stick.
13	Preheat the oven to 460°F (240°C ) and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Note: As when baking any bread, you should ensure that the oven is filled with steam for the first 15 minutes of baking. This page shows you how; it really is the secret of golden-brown, crusty loaves..

Remarks

This bread is delicious enough on its own, but it si simply heavenly with houmous, especially if sliced thin and toasted.

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