Toasted sesame sourdough

6 HOURS + OVERNIGHT PROVING | MAKES 1 LOAF | EASY

water 400ml, warm to the touch

strong white bread flour 400g wholemeal or wholemeal spelt flour 100g

levain 100g (see p6)

fine sea salt 12g

sesame seeds 75g, toasted, plus 50g, untoasted

1 Pour 370ml of the warm water into a large mixing bowl with the flours. Mix really well with your hands until no lumps of dry flour remain and the texture is relatively uniform.

2 Leave this to rest for 20 minutes-1 hour, covering the bowl with a clean tea towel.

3 Tip in the levain, salt and remaining 30ml of water, and mix the dough really well until fully incorporated.

4 Leave the dough covered with a tea towel and, every 15 minutes for the first hour, stretch and fold the dough. Wet your hands, take one side of the dough, stretch it up (being careful not to tear the dough) and fold it over on top of itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat, doing this four to six times.

5 After the first two turn and folds (so after 30 minutes), sprinkle the surface of the dough with some of the toasted sesame seeds, then stretch and fold over, and repeat, sprinkling and folding as normal. It should take four to six turns and folds to incorporate all of the seeds – you want them to spread evenly through the dough and not clump.

6 Follow steps 3 and 4 as per the spelt sourdough recipe (see p8-9). Then, after the bench rest, sprinkle the untoasted sesame seeds evenly onto a plate.

7 Flour the banneton or proving basket. Then flour the top of the loaf, flip it over onto a worksurface, so the floured top is in contact with the worksurface. Lightly shape the loaf into a rough rectangle and fold the edge furthest from you up and over the middle. Do the same with the left-hand edge, the right-hand edge and the edge nearest to you, really pulling the edges in to tighten it.

8 Lift the loaf, seam-side up, and gently roll the loaf in the sesame seeds, coating to stick. Put the loaf into the banneton with the seams facing up. Chill overnight. Continue from step 6 of the spelt sourdough recipe (see p8-9) to finish the loaf.