Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
• 3 cups warm water (100°F)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 6½–8½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour, sifted
• 4 tablespoons oil or butter
• ½ cup (3oz) yellow cornmeal, for dusting
• 1 tablespoon each of sesame and nigella seeds
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon plain, whole yogurt

Method

1. Dissolve the dry active yeast in the warm water in a wide mixing bowl, stir in the sugar, and leave the mixture for 10 minutes.
2. Add the sea salt to the yeast mixture, then gradually stir in the sifted flour, and once about 6½ cups have gone in and a sticky dough has formed, mix in a tablespoon of the oil or butter for 2 minutes before kneading the dough on a floured counter for about 15 minutes, adding more flour as needed, until it is no longer sticky.
3. Pour the remaining oil or butter into the mixing bowl, turn the dough in it until coated all over, cover the bowl with a clean damp dish towel, and let the dough rise undisturbed in a warm place for 4 hours.
4. Punch the air out of the dough in its bowl, flip it over, cover it again with the damp towel, and give it a second rise of 2 hours.
5. Set a baking stone on the oven's lower level and heat the oven to 500°F for at least 20 minutes before baking.
6. Whisk the egg with the plain whole yogurt in a small bowl until smooth for the wash.
7. Divide the dough with oily hands into four balls, roll each ball with an oiled rolling pin on a lightly oiled surface into an oval roughly 11 by 6 inches, place the loaves on an oiled surface, cover them with the towel and rest them at room temperature for 20 minutes.
8. Dust a baker's peel with the yellow cornmeal, move one loaf onto it, brush the loaf with egg wash, press dents along the length of its top with your fingertips, and sprinkle the sesame and nigella seeds over it.
9. Slide that loaf straight onto the hot baking stone with the cornmeal side down, bake it for 8 minutes, turn it over, and bake it 2 minutes longer, repeating the wash, dents, seeds and baking for the other loaves.

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data