Sesame and Fennel Seed Bread

© 2021 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2021 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.

© 2021 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2021 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com