Sesame and Fennel Seed Bread

This flavour-packed bread is great with yoghurt cheese (labneh), air-dried ham and some olives. An ideal substitute for fennel seeds is anise seeds, as they have a similar flavour. However, the anise seeds are more pungent, so you might want to use slightly less. You can also substitute equal amounts of caraway or dill seeds. It is an excellent sharing bread for serving with soups or salads, and is really easy to make.

Dough	Filling&Topping
300 g All purpose or white bread flour 1/2 tsp Fine sea salt 2/3 tbsp Fennel seeds, lightly toasted and crushed in a pestle and mortar 170 ml Lukewarm water 15 g Fresh yeast (or 7 g dried yeast) 1 tsp Sugar 1 tbsp Olive oil	3 tbsp Tahini 1 tbsp Runny honey 25 g Salted butter, melted and cooled to room-temperature 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, soaked in water 2 tsp Caraway seeds, soaked in water 1 tbsp Chopped fresh herbs 1 tbsp Chopped pistachio nuts Labneh with olive oil, to serve

In the bowl of your mixer, add flour, salt, and crushed fennel seeds. Put the warm water in a measuring jug and crumble in the fresh yeast and sugar. Set aside for a few minutes until starting to froth.
Pour the yeast mixture and olive oil into the flour. Mix on a slow speed until it starts to clump together, then increase the speed and knead it until it a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 6-8 minutes. Cover with a cling film and set aside in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
Beat the tahini and honey in a small mixing bowl until light and well-combined. Soak the sesame and caraway seeds together with water in a bowl. Melt the butter and cool to room-temperature.
Turn the dough out onto on a lightly floured work surface, then shape it with a rolling pin into a large rectangle, about 1cm thick.
Spread the tahini mixture over the surface of the bread, then roll up to enclose the filling inside a long sausage shape, making sure it’s an even thickness. Coil the dough into a spiral and tuck the end under the coil.
Transfer to a parchment lined baking tray. Brush all over with melted butter, drain the sesame and caraway seeds and scatter all over the surface of the dough. Cover with cling film and set aside to prove for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/430F. Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle shelf until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool, then serve scattered with the chopped herbs, pistachio nut and labneh.

42 comments:

Brian's Home Blog 16/9/21 00:52: I'll bet that smells so good when it is baking. Sounds wonderful!
kathyinozarks 16/9/21 01:49: Hi Looks delicious!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 16/9/21 02:04: Oh this bread looks fantastic; you've elevated already delicious bread to a totally new layer by using so many other delicious things for topping and filling!
Tom 16/9/21 02:06: ...it looks delicious.
Gloria Baker 16/9/21 02:21: looks wonderful dear Angie!!
babYpose 16/9/21 03:35: I never had that kind of bread unless in European country, Brott, sehr gut, lecker :) so lieb Angie
J.P. Alexander 16/9/21 03:54: Gracias por la receta, de ley lo hago. Te mando un beso
Christine 16/9/21 04:22: It looks delicious!
Margaret D 16/9/21 06:41: Looking good.
Nancy Chan 16/9/21 09:27: A beautiful looking bread and I am sure it taste great too.
DEZMOND 16/9/21 13:44: That is something we would call a pogacha here :) Looks very nom and soft!
speedy70 16/9/21 14:10: Un pane meraviglioso, bravissima!!!!
foodtravelandwine 16/9/21 14:12: I can imagine it with labneh, olives, and tomatoes with garlic and olive oil....mouth watering!!.....Abrazotes, Marcela
Paolina 16/9/21 14:53: un pane ricco di profumi e sapori meravigliosi! Ad ogni morso un piacere eccezionale! Complimenti!
Kitchen Riffs 16/9/21 15:49: You make the best bread! This is great -- lot of flavor packed into each slice. Really good stuff -- thanks.
Sakuranko 16/9/21 16:25: Oh so good recipe darling
Thanks for share with us
xx
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary 16/9/21 17:02: How do you make everything look so gorgeous, Angie!? This bread is just TOO pretty!!! But, maybe not too pretty to eat, because it also looks super delicious!!! This gorgeous bread would make a great addition to a holiday table too!!
Catherine 16/9/21 17:18: oh, dear Angie, What a beautiful crusty bread. Perfect with dipping oil or warm with butter. xoxo Catherine
Pam 16/9/21 17:19: You always make the best bread!
Bill 16/9/21 17:57: That looks really good!
savorthebest 16/9/21 18:36: I love the flavor of fennel. This sounds fantastic. I would love a slice toasted with some melted cheese
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com 16/9/21 19:21: Angie, love this! I always toast then crush fennel seeds, so I'm glad you included that step. I won't change a thing!
Quiet and Sun by Alexa 16/9/21 21:39: I can almost feel the smell of freshly baked bread. It looks delicious, I must try it out.
bread&salt 16/9/21 22:05: Sesame seed and tahini are perfect and healthy ingredients! I am sure this bread must be delicious and vdry nutritous.
Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews 17/9/21 07:12: A great fusion of flavours, although there are so many alternative combinations which I imagine would work equally well!

A thoroughly versatile recipe and as you say, so easy to prepare!

Looks good enough to eat :)
Lola Martínez 17/9/21 08:32: Yo no me he atrevido nunca con el pan, si acaso alguna masa, por eso me parece tan bonito y sabroso, con todos esos ingredientes, el tuyo. Además es muy vistoso, queda perfecto para el uso que deseemos darle.
Bss
Rajani Rehana 17/9/21 10:52: Fabulous blog
Ann Low 17/9/21 11:18: Looks good and healthy!
The Velvet Runway 17/9/21 12:16: This bread looks so delicious! Perfect for sharing (although I would want to eat it all!)
Julia x
https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/
Ashley@CookNourishBliss 17/9/21 14:31: ooooo this bread is SO right up my alley! It looks amazing!
thepaintedapron.com 17/9/21 14:40: I'm drooling, will you please make me a loaf?
Jenna
gluten Free A_Z Blog 17/9/21 15:52: Angie,
This one is definitely over the top- looks amazing and I'm drooling with the filling and topping. As always a beautiful presentation too.
David 17/9/21 18:31: Angie, This is a beautiful loaf of bread. However, I just don't care for fennel seeds. Still, I'd give it a try if I had the opportunity. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Julie 17/9/21 19:27: I can smell the fennel flavour here,super like.. looks so yumm & perfect !!
tigerfish 17/9/21 23:45: This already-flavorful bread will be so good as-is too!
Kinga K. 18/9/21 00:33: So delicious, I will try it ❤
Tania|My Kitchen Stories 18/9/21 02:02: OMG those topppings. So exotically beautiful. I can only imagine
Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine 19/9/21 12:43: I love sesame on bread this looks fabulous!
Federica Simoni 21/9/21 10:25: complimenti, deve essere buonissimo!
Noob Cook 21/9/21 15:56: This looks healthy and wholesome with all the various types of seeds.
The Yum List 24/9/21 12:26: I am such a carb addict. I know I will love this.
mjskit 5/10/21 00:12: A very flavorful and lovely bread. Personally, I have not problem with fennel or anise. Either works for me.