Recipe for 11 buns

Israeli sesame buns

Ingredients
 
665 gram bread or white flour
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp dry yeast
½ cup sugar
 
¾ cup olive oil
1½ cup + 1 Tbsp lukewarm water
 
1 tsp salt
 
2 cup tap water
1 cup sesame seeds
 
2 Tbsp olive oil


Preparation steps:
    Prepare the dough and let it rise
  1. Sift the flour (it aerates the flour) and mix it with the dry yeast and sugar.
  2. Add the oil, and gradually add the lukewarm water. Knead for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the salt and knead additional 5 minutes.
  4. Oil a bowl. Make a large ball from the dough. Slightly oil the dough and place it in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic and with kitchen towel to keep the dough warm. The dough is a bit sticky. It is helpful to lightly oil the hands when shaping it into a ball.
  5. Let the dough rise in room temperature for 1¼-1¾ hours until doubled in size. You may keep the bowl in a closed space, like the microwave.
    Create 11 dough balls - 110 gram each
  6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  7. Weigh the dough with a a kitchen scale (it should be 1210-1230 gram). Divide the dough into 11 pieces each one 110 gram. Make a ball from each piece, and place it on the baking sheet. Keep the balls covered with a kitchen towel.

    Shape the buns
  8. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into 10" ellipse.
    Fold the ellipse by hand on the long side, the 10", into a strand.
    Place the strand back on the baking sheet. Keep covered with a kitchen towel.
  9. Using the palm of the hands, roll each strand into a strand 18" long.
    Hold the strand in in the air at 40% of its length. Loop the 60% side of the strand around the 40% side of the strand.
    Pinch the ends together.
    Create additional 2 loops in the end of the twisted strand (close to the pinched area) and 2 additional loops at the top of the twisted strand (close to the hole).
    Insert the pinched end into the hole, about 1" out.
    The buns currently has a hole in the middle which will close during the baking. Keep the buns covered with a kitchen towel.

    Dip in sesame, rise, bake, and brush with oil
  10. Pour the 2 cups tap water into a 10" deep dish.
    Pour the 1 cup sesame seeds into another 10" deep dish.
  11. Dip each bun in the bowl with the water on both sides and then dip the bun immediately in the sesame bowl on both sides, place the bun back on the baking sheet.
  12. Keep the buns covered with a kitchen towel. Let the buns rise in room temperature for 25-30 minutes.
  13. Bake on the top shelf at 375F for 30 minutes until the buns get a light brown color.
  14. Remove from the oven. Brush the top side of the buns with the olive oil.
Personal notes
I've learned this recipe from my friend Odelia, who is a pro in everything baking!
Picture of recipe


Take note!
  • Bread flour = unbleached wheat flour,
    enriched with niacin (Vitamin B3),
    iron, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B1),
    riboflavin (vitamin B2),
    folic acid (vitamin B9), enzyme.

  • 1 Tbsp dry yeast = one packet of
    Fleischmann's ActiveDry Yeast (¼ oz)

  • Lukewarm water temperature is 105-110F

    Tips for working with yeast doughs:

  • Preparing the dough -
    due to the interaction with the yeast,
    the salt is added later.

  • Creating a ball from the dough -
    folds the edges under the ball center
    to create the ball shape.

  • Dough rise in a cold room temperture -
    Alternative 1: cover the bowl with a
    large plate and place it on top
    of another bowl with hot water.
    Alternative 2: place the bowl in an oven that
    has been warmed to 150F then turned off.

  • When rolling the dough and it immediatly
    shrinks significantly, it means that
    the dough needs to continue to rise.