Sesame and Honey Bread

I've been baking my own bread now for a couple of weeks. Not only is the taste better (Lekker!) but you can vary your bread as much as you like and it's cheaper too. With 1 kg of flour, I can make one big loaf and one small. Unfortunately here in the Netherlands, the only flour (unless you want soya flour) you can find in the supermarket is  normal white wheat flour. Don't get me wrong, you can go a long way with plain white flour. But I miss the Swedish supermarkets with a wide range of flour and seeds. 

I've been making a plain white bread many times. My boyfriend wanted to try a bread with sesame seeds in it (not just sprinkled on top of the bread). So I went looking on Youtube and the internet and finally ended up with this recipe:

Sesame and Honey Bread, 1 small loaf

2.5 dl water

1 teaspoon of instant yeast

1 teaspoon salt 

6-6.5 dl wheat flour

1 handful sesame seeds

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 tablespoon honey

Heat the water to 37 degrees Celsius. I have a water cooker with temperature setting, I heat the water to 40 degrees Celsius and then I add a little glas of cold water and then feel if the water is warm enough (you don't want it to be too warm). 

In a bowl, mix flour (save 1/2-1 dl for kneeding), yeast, sesame seeds and salt. Add oil and honey. Mix. Add water and make a dough. The sides of the dough should release from the sides of the bowl. Put plastic foil over it, I usually smear some oil on it so it doesn't stick. Put it in the fridge over night. I tried this method recently and the bread tastes more. If you don't have the time, let the dough rise somewhere warm (like in a cupboard or in the oven - no heat!) for an hour. 

From the cold-rise method, it should look something like this: 

It'll rise more or less half of its original size. 

Take a tin out and put oil in it. Line it with flour. 

After rising put the dough out on a board and kneed it until it's not sticky, add saved flour when needed. Form to a loaf or braid it. Put into the tin and let it rise again somewhere warm for 30 minutes. 

Put the oven on 230 degrees Celsius. After the second rise, put the loaf (if you've made a loaf, cut the surface a few times before putting it in the oven) into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 180 degress Celsius and bake for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven. Enjoy!