Prep Time: 20 minutes + 2.5 hours rising time
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 10-12 slices
Nutty, hearty and deeply aromatic, this wholemeal black sesame loaf brings a subtle roasted depth to a classic everyday bread. Perfect toasted with butter, alongside soups, or simply with olive oil and sea salt.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 300g strong wholemeal bread flour
- 50g strong white bread flour (for structure)
- 40g black sesame seeds (lightly toasted, then roughly ground)
- 7g instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp honey or molasses
- 250ml warm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Optional topping:
- Extra black sesame seeds for sprinkling
Method
- In a large bowl, mix the wholemeal flour, white flour, ground black sesame seeds, yeast and salt.
- Stir in the warm water, honey (or molasses) and olive oil until a rough dough forms.
- Knead for 8–10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth, elastic and slightly tacky. Wholemeal dough will remain a little more rustic than white dough — that’s exactly right.
- Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1–1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Knock back gently, shape into a loaf and place into a lined or oiled loaf tin.
- Cover and leave to prove again for 45–60 minutes.
- Lightly brush the top with water or olive oil and sprinkle generously with black sesame seeds.
- Bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for 30–35 minutes, until deeply golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
- Cool completely before slicing.