Ali Baba bread


Ali Baba bread
This bread is so-called because its magical sesame flavour is non-negotiable! The triple dose comes from tahini (sesame paste), sesame oil added to the dough before kneading, and toasted sesame seeds both in the dough and on top of the loaves.

The texture is soft, rather like ciabatta, but with a very distinctive taste - so "open sesame" and enjoy!
62 K 5/5 (1 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: December 10th 2017
For this recipe: Comment Send to a friend Ask me a question Follow Printable Diaporama Video
For 4 loaves, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 45 min.
Resting: 3 hours
Cooking: 40 min.
All in all: 4 hours 25 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - ⌛ 15 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 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.

Stage 2 - ⌛ 1 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 2
Take the sesame seeds out of the oven and tip them into 100 g water.

Mix quickly and leave to cool.

Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 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.

Stage 4 - ⌛ 15 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 4
Knead on slow spead for 15 mintes.

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home..

Stage 5 - ⌛ 2 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 5
2 minutes before the end of the kneading time, add the sesame seeds with their soaking water.

Stage 6 - ⌛ 1 hour
Ali Baba bread : Stage 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.

Stage 7 - ⌛ 2 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 7
After resting, knock back and work the dough: stretch it up with a dough-cutter as far as possible...

Stage 8 - ⌛ 1 hour
Ali Baba bread : Stage 8
...and fold it over.

Do this once or twice, then cover again with the plastic and leave to rest for another hour.

Stage 9 - ⌛ 8 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 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.

Stage 10 - ⌛ 8 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 10
After this, fold each ball lengthways in 3 to form a long roll.

Stage 11 - ⌛ 2 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 11
Lay the loaves in a baguette tin or mould or, if you don't have one, on a baking sheet.

Stage 12 - ⌛ 1 hour
Ali Baba bread : Stage 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.

Stage 13 - ⌛ 25 min.
Ali Baba bread : Stage 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.
Keeping: A few days in a coth bag.
Source: Home made, but based on a recipe by Eric Kayser.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe100 RDI=40 %530 RDI=50 %140 RDI=20 %3,310 RDI=170 %13,880 RDI: 170 %
Per 100 g8 RDI=3 %40 RDI=4 %10 RDI=2 %270 RDI=10 %1,130 RDI: 10 %
Per loave20 RDI=10 %130 RDI=10 %30 RDI=5 %830 RDI=40 %3,470 RDI: 40 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: Sesame, Gluten
How much will it cost?
  • For 4 loaves : 2.75 €
  • Per loave : 0.70 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Simple maple-syrup tart
Simple maple-syrup tart
It would be hard to find a simpler tart recipe: just sweetcrust pastry filled with maple syrup, then baked.
November 5th 201468 K4.2 50 min.
Country filo tart
Country filo tart
For this recipe, we use strips of filo pastry, assembled in circles in a tart mould, which are then filled with Reblochon cheese, potatoes and cooked meat, and finally topped with a quiche filling. The resulting tart is very tasty and crisp, but also very light, since it doesn't require a conventional tart dough.
February 9th 202519 K 1 hour
Clarified butter
Clarified butter
This is a way of melting butter to eliminate all the impurities. The clarified butter can then be heated without spoiling, and is more digestible. It is ideal for cooking at high temperatures where small black specks would spoil the appearance, or for emulsified sauces like béarnaise or mousseline.
June 21th 2017482 K4.2 2 hours 15 min.
Home-made terrine of foie gras
Home-made terrine of foie gras
Preparing your own home-made foie gras from raw is immensively satisfying: good quality liver and a simply amazing flavour – much better than anything you can buy. This recipe is a bit tricky, but quite within everyone's grasp, as long as you follow the 3 most delicate stages carefully. These are, in order: de-veining the liver, seasoning and cooking. As usual, I have explained every stage of the recipe in full, with photos to help you.
December 16th 20245.32 M 74.2 4 days 15 hours 50 min.
Fougasse with bacon and Comté
Fougasse with bacon and Comté
This is a richer version of the traditional Mediterranean recipe (originaly, it was a simple olive oil bread).
October 24th 2017353 K4.1 3 hours 9 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-01-04)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page