Sesame Bloomer
TIER 1
Sesame Bloomer
The Tier 1 dough is relatively low hydration so simple to work with – by hand or in your mixer. The great technique here is lightly soaking the dough and then coating it in sesame seeds. It is a technique I use to get perfect coverage of seeds over the loaf, rather than spilling seeds everywhere! This is a slightly softer loaf than Tier 2 so great for sandwiches. Feel free to swap out sesame seeds for poppy seeds too.
1
LOAF
Ingredients
Makes 1 Loaf
12g Fresh Yeast/6g Instant Dry Yeast
12g Fine Salt
400g Strong White Bread Flour
100g Wholemeal Bread flour
325g Tepid Water
15g Sesame Seeds + Extra To Coat
20g Unsalted Butter, Soft
5g White Sugar
Special equipment
Stand mixer
Bread scorer
Digital thermometer (optional)
Method
1. Add all of the ingredients for the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Attach the dough hook and knead on a medium speed for around 6-7 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and appears smooth. It should pass the windowpane test, which is when you stretch a small piece of dough out and it forms a windowpane without tearing.
3. Lift the dough onto your work surface, and perform a few slap and folds with the dough, then use your hands to shape it into a smooth ball shape.
4. Lift the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with clingfilm – the dough needs to proof for about an hour at room temperature or until doubled in size. This may take longer if your room is cold.
5. Just before it is ready, soak a tea towel and ring out any excess water. Set this next to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
6. Lightly toast a tray of sesame seeds for about 10 minutes at 180C/355F. They just need to be a light golden brown – not too dark!
7. Lightly flour your work surface, and scoop the dough, smooth side down, onto the flour.
8. Gently flatten the dough with lightly floured hands into a large circle. Stretch the left side out slightly and fold it toward the center. Then stretch the right side and fold it in to overlap the first fold.
9. Reshape the dough into a tidy rectangle. Starting from the top edge, roll the dough tightly towards you, using your thumbs to press the dough firmly inward with each turn to create a taut log.
10. Once fully rolled, pinch the seam closed by using your fingers to stitch it together.
11. Working quickly, tilt the dough side to side on the wet tea towel, then transfer it to the toasted sesame seeds, tilting it to cover the entire loaf.
12. Flip the dough over and place it seam side down onto your baking tray.
13. Cover the dough with a tea towel to proof for about an hour at room temperature. The dough should almost double in size.
14. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 230C/445F non-fan assisted and place a small tray on the bottom shelf.
15. Once the dough is proofed, take a razor blade and slash the dough. I used multiple diagonal slashes across the top of the dough, but you can slash it any way you prefer.
16. Splash a cup of boiling water onto the preheated tray and immediately place the bread on the middle shelf of the oven.
17. Immediately drop the oven temperature to 190C/375F non-fan assisted and bake for around 50 minutes – the dough should be a golden colour, and a digital thermometer inserted into the centre should reach 90C/195F or just above it.
18. Lift the baked loaf onto a wire rack and cool for at least an hour before slicing.
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Multigrain Bloomer
TIER 2
Multigrain Bloomer
In Tier 2 we are looking at the importance of soaking seeds in dough. Seeds suck up a lot of moisture so it’s important to pre-soak them before they go into the dough to ensure they don’t draw out moisture from the bread itself, making it dry. The final loaf is proofed in a banneton basket, and then baked in a cast iron dutch oven which gives a really rustic, bakery style finish. This bread is heartier and is great for toast and eggs!
1
LOAF
Ingredients
Makes 1 Loaf
Poolish
150g Strong White Bread Flour
150g Water
1.5g Fresh Yeast / 0.75g Instant Dry Yeast
Soaker
10g Rolled Oats
5g Poppy Seeds
35g Mixed Seeds (Pumpkin, Linseed, Sunflower)
60g Boiling Water
Dough
120g Wholemeal Flour
230g Strong White Bread Flour
1g Fresh Yeast/0.5g Instant Dry Yeast
12g Salt
15g Unsalted Butter. Room Temperature
120g Water
Special equipment
Stand mixer
500g Wood Pulp Banneton Basket
Bread scorer
Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Digital thermometer (optional)
Method
Poolish
1. Into a small bowl, add the water and yeast. Stir this until the yeast has completely dissolved.
2. Tip in the flour and mix to form a smooth paste. Cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for 12 hours, by which point it should be very bubbly on top.
Soaker
1. Add all the seeds into a bowl and pour the boiling water over the top. Set it aside at room temperature for 12 hours.
Dough
1. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the poolish, soaked seeds, and remaining dough ingredients.
2. Attach the dough hook and knead on a medium speed for around 6-7 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and appears smooth. It should pass the windowpane test, which is when you stretch a small piece of dough out and it forms a windowpane without tearing.
3. Lift the dough onto your work surface, and perform a few slap and folds with the dough, then use your hands to shape it into a smooth ball shape.
4. Lift the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with clingfilm – the dough doesn’t have a lot of yeast, so it will need 2.5-3 hours to rise at room temperature, until doubled in size.
5. Once proofed, lightly flour your work surface, and scoop the dough, smooth side down, onto the flour.
6. Gently flatten the dough with lightly floured hands into a large circle. Stretch the left side out slightly and fold it toward the center. Then stretch the right side and fold it in to overlap the first fold.
7. Reshape the dough into a tidy rectangle. Starting from the top edge, roll the dough tightly towards you, using your thumbs to press the dough firmly inward with each turn to create a taut log.
8. Roll the sealed dough lightly in some flour, then lift it into your floured banneton basket. Pinch the seam together when it is in the basket if needed.
9. Lightly flour the top of the dough and cover the basket with a tea towel. Proof for another 2.5-3 hours. It should puff up above the rim of the basket – see the video as a visual cue!
10. 45 minutes before the dough is ready, pre-heat the oven to 230C/445F non-fan assisted, with a cast iron pan (with the lid on) in the centre.
11. When the dough is proofed, carefully flip it out onto a circle of parchment paper, and then use a razor blade to score the dough lengthways.
12. Remove the cast iron pan from the oven and being very careful, lift the dough into the pan. Drop a few small ice cubes at the side of the pan, place the lid back on top, and get it straight into the oven.
13. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid of the cast iron pot and lower the oven temperature to 190C/375F and bake for a further 15 minutes. It should be a golden brown colour, and a digital thermometer inserted into the centre will read 90C/195F or just above.
14. Remove it from the cast iron pan and lift it onto a wire rack to cool completely, at least an hour before slicing it.
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