sesame-crusted sourdough bread

If you are looking for a sourdough recipe with a crisp nutty crust and super soft, bouncy crumb, this recipe is for you. It’s a simple, rustic loaf made with the addition of whole wheat flour and sesame seeds. It is my go-to sourdough bread recipe.

I love a crusty, rustic loaf of sourdough bread. The crust with the addition of sesame seeds makes it even better. As the bread cooks, the seeds toast in the oven giving them a subtle nuttiness. It adds a depth of umami and brings another level of crunchiness to the bread.

This is a fairly easy sourdough recipe, even though it takes quite a bit of time before you will have a baked loaf. The dough comes together quickly in just a couple of minutes. After it is mixed you will perform four total sets of stretches and folds over two hours, every 30 minutes. As the task suggests you are stretching a portion of the dough and folding it back on itself until you have a tight ball. This helps to strengthen the dough. Once complete, cover and let sit to bulk ferment until the dough has risen. It will have doubled in size and have large bubbles around the edges of the bowl.

Once bulk fermentation is done, you will preshape your loaf and let it rest. After the dough is done resting, you will do a final shaping, then spritz the dough with water and coat the outside with sesame seeds. Once shaped and coated in seeds, cover the proofing basket and place it in the fridge to proof for the next 24 hours. I like to use a shower cap to cover my proofing basket. You can leave the dough to proof up to 48 hours in the fridge.

When you are ready to bake, heat your oven with a Dutch oven and pizza stone inside until it comes to temperature. The pizza stone helps to prevent the bottom of the loaf from burning. Remove the dough from the fridge and score. I like to make an X or half moon. Place the dough in a covered Dutch oven for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes or so to get the loaf nice and golden. Simple enough right?

Really, the hardest part about making sourdough is the timing. There is a lot of waiting while the dough comes together, so just be sure to stay around the house, especially in the beginning of the bulk fermentation. There are also a lot of points where you can just pop the dough in the fridge if you are strapped for time. This slows down the fermentation process.

Once the bread is baked let it rest on a wire rack to cool down. You can slice the bread after it has had a chance to cool down for at least an hour. The best slice is the first slice that is all crust when it is fresh out of the oven. Smother it with some good butter and flakey sea salt and enjoy. It is heaven.

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