Hearty Sesame Bread

(Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Tahini and black sesame seed impart a mild sesame flavor to this bread, giving it an exotic, yet hearty and comforting flavor. The recipe mimics the workhorse sandwich bread in all but a couple ingredients, but it is shaped into medium-sized baguettes rather than sandwich loaves. The bread can be sliced into rounds and served alongside soups or stews, or it can be toasted and topped with houmus, tahini, pesto, olive oil, butter, cheese, peanut butter, or frankly anything else you care to experiment with. I haven’t tried it with Nutella, but the idea of a hazelnut spread on a tahini-infused bread is making my mouth water.

The black sesame seeds give a beautiful color contrast to the bread, but if you can’t find them, white sesame seeds work just as well.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup millet flour
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• ½ cup brown rice flour
• ½ cup tapioca starch
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
• ½ teaspoon kala namak (optional)
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
• ¼ cup ground white chia seed
• ¼ cup ground psyllium powder
• 2½ cups warm water (about 110°F)
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoons canola oil (or other mild tasting vegetable oil)
• 2 tablespoons honey, sorghum syrup, or maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Mix together millet flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, yeast, salt, kala namak, and sesame seeds in a large mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together chia seed and psyllium. Mix in water and stir until no lumps remain. Whisk in tahini, oil, and sweetener. Let sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
4. Add wet chia/psyllium mixture to dry ingredients one third at a time and mix with electric mixer on medium speed for 4-6 minutes until all ingredients are well mixed and there are no pockets of chia/psyllium. Dough will be wet and sticky, but thick.
5. Roll dough into two baguette loaves about 12 inches in length, and roll up each baguette in a sheet of parchment paper. Let rise on a baguette pan for about 40 minutes or until double in height.
6. Bake bread in middle of the oven for 40-50 minutes. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped, should not hiss (sound of water vapor being released), and should feel much lighter. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

NOTES

1. Bread can be stored on the counter in a bread box or closed (but not sealed) plastic bag for a couple of days. If the bread will not be eaten within a couple of days, it should be sliced and frozen. Gluten Free on a Shoestring has great tips for storing homemade bread.
2. The kala namak, also called black salt, adds an eggy flavor to baked goods. When first added to the dough, it will smell sulfurous, but the nasty smell disappears after baking.
3. If using psyllium husks instead of psyllium powder, increase amount to 1/3 cup.
4. Chia seed doubles in bulk when they are ground. You can grind two tablespoons of chia seed in a coffee grinder which bulks it to about a quarter cup. Just make sure the coffee grinder is clean, or you will add a new flavor profile to your bread.

Makes 1 loaf, 20-24 slices

NUTRITION

Per slice (24): 96.2 calories, 1.9 g protein, 2.2 g fiber, 2.2 g fat

Per slice (20): 115.4 calories, 2.3 g protein, 2.6 g fiber, 2.7 g fat