Sesame Bread

Wash and rinse your hands thoroughly with soap and water.  In a large bowl, use a fork to mix all the flour, yeast, water, and about ¾ of the sesame seeds, as well as possible.  Then knead the dough with your hands until no dry flour is visible.  The mixture will be sticky and will coat your hands.  Use a dull knife to scrape as much of the dough as possible off of your hands and into the bigger batch of dough.  Wash the remaining dough off of your hands.  Cover the bowl of dough with a dry towel and let it sit overnight.

The next morning, preheat the oven to 450°.  Grease and flour the bottom of a Dutch oven.  Place the Dutch oven into the stove oven.  After 10 minutes, take out the Dutch oven and set it on top of the stove.  Remove the towel from the dough bowl.  Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds evenly over the top of the dough, pressing them in slightly with a spoon.  With flour on fingers and hands, carefully pull the dough away from the inside of the bowl, lift it out, and place it into the hot Dutch oven.  Do not press down the dough.  Form the dough into either a circle or an oblong loaf.  The dough will not be as high as a standard loaf of bread; it will be much flatter.

Cover the Dutch oven and place it into the stove oven (still at 450°).  Leave it in for 25 minutes (or about 35 minutes at high altitude) with the cover on.  Remove the cover and continue baking for 10 more minutes (or about 20 minutes at high altitude), or until the top is golden brown.  Be very careful removing the Dutch oven from the stove oven when done.  It will be extremely hot, so use oven mitts.  Pick up the loaf and place it onto a cutting board for 10 minutes before slicing into it.