Ate another bowl of zucchini soup for lunch today, accompanied by a slice of quiche – both of which spent yesterday thawing on the kitchen countertops. Halfway through February, my seasonal eating still depends on propping open the chest freezer lid and sifting through the rock-hard contents (wear a winter glove while doing this). Pieces of torn sesame bread rings helped sop up the soup and fill up my tummy.
Bread baking has largely filled the creative void of a season without fresh fruits and veggies from my backyard. I’ve enjoyed shifting the focus from bushels of peaches to different shapes of flour, water, yeast and salt. And although I’d like to think these baking practices come naturally, I must give thanks for the inspiration and guidance of Flatbreads and Flavors, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid.
For Savory Sesame bread rings, you’ll need: 1 tsp dy yeast; 1 1/2 cups warm water; 3 to 4 cups hard white flour; 1 tsp salt; 1 egg whisked with 1 Tbs water for an egg wash; 4 to 5 tsp sesame seeds (I used more). Also! Get out your good olive oil and dip these in when done cooking. A delectable treat to enjoy as you prepare dinner or need a snack late afternoon.
To cook, dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a medium-sized bowl. Combine the flour and salt and add to the yeast, a cup at a time, stirring constantly in the same direction to help activate the gluten. When the dough will no longer take any more flour, turn it out ont a lightly floured surface and knead for 7 to 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Clean out the bread bowl, lightly oil, place the dough in it, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow to rise until doubled in volumn, approximately 1 hour. (I place the bowl very close to our wood stove – but perhaps you will need to use a room in your house capable of staying above 65 degrees for this amount of time, perhaps your bathroom?)
Punch down the down and divide it into 4 pieces. On your bread board, roll each piece under your palms (or hold it in the air between your palms and let it hand down as you make your rope) into a cigar-shaped rope 24-36 inches long, depending upon the size of your baking sheets. Pinch together the ends of each rope to make a loop. Place the ka’kat rings on lightly oiled baking sheets, by shaping the loops into the traditional long oval shape (This recipe is from Israel) and fitting 2 side by side on each sheet. Cover and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush each bread liberally with the egg wash. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Bake in the upper part of your oven for 15 to 17 minutes, until nicely browned; if the size of your oven and baking sheets permit, bake them side by side. If not, bake on 2 different racks and switch the sheets after 8 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack before serving. Serve with olive oil. Touch this to an herb blend also before you eat it, if you like, such as ground thyme.
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