Ken Forkish's Field Blend #2 with Sesame Seeds (2) boule shape

The last loaf I baked with Ken Forkish's Field Blend #2 recipe from Flour Water Salt Yeast with roasted sesame seeds was so good and addictive that I made another loaf using the same recipe, this time in the shape of round boule. The ingredients and the ratio of flours are the same as my previous loaf: 17.5% whole wheat flour, 12.5% whole rye flour and 70% white flour (KAF’s bread flour and all-purpose flour mixture). I also left out the instant yeast from the recipe again this time.

Before starting to mix the dough, I roasted the unhulled sesame seeds (which I got from Nuts.com) on a sauté pan for 20 minutes until the seeds' color turned darker and started to emit a nice toasted smell. Then I let them cool completely.      

My levain passed the float test after 5.5 hours, and then I was ready to mix the final dough. For the final mix procedure, you can see the details in my previous post.

Bulk fermentation time was 4 hours 45 minutes at 79F room temperature, until it rose to double. The dough temperature before bulk fermentation was 81F, and the final dough temperature afterward was 78F. (It was a little higher than desirable dough temperature.)

After 15 minutes bench rest, I shaped the dough to a round boule and sprinkled hulled raw sesame seeds on the surface. In order to make the seeds stick to the dough well, I patted the dough gently with a wet paper towel so the surface of the dough would be moist, and sprinkled the sesame seeds on top so they would stick to the dough evenly. Then I put the dough in a round basket with the seam side up.

Final proof was 9 hours 40 minutes in the refrigerator overnight. Forkish's book said the final proof should be 11-12 hours in the refrigerator, but the amount of time required for final proof depends on the temperature of your refrigerator and the season. Also, the dough temperature after the bulk fermentation seems to affect the final proof time. (This time, it was a little higher than usual.)

45 minutes before baking, I preheated the oven at 475F with the Lodge combo cooker (Dutch Oven) set on a pizza stone in the middle of the shelf.

I took out the dough from the refrigerator right before baking, flipped the dough onto parchment paper and pizza peel, and scored the dough in the Tartine way this time.

I baked 30 minutes at 475F with the lid on, then 20 more minutes without the lid. The oven spring was pretty good, though one side of the dough did not rise so much. It seemed like the dough fermentation was slightly uneven due to the temperature differences in the refrigerator, so one side of the dough was more over-fermented than the other side.

However, the final loaf tasted great with just a tiny hint of sourness. After cooling down for several hours, the initial sourness became less distinct and melded into the complexity of the taste. It is amazing to see how flavors and tastes of sourdough loaves improve several hours after being baked, growing richer and deeper. 

This loaf tastes fantastic as it is, untoasted. In spite of containing a lot of sesame seeds in the crumb, the flavor of sesame seeds are not so overwhelming, but rather subtle. It goes well with any kind of main dish - the hidden nutty 'umami' taste of the sesame seeds brightens up the deliciousness of the meal. I also like to eat a toasted slice with a small amount of butter or olive oil.

FWSY:  Field Blend #2 (with Sesame Seeds)

11:00AM Mix leaven
4:30PM Float test (passed)
4:15PM Autolyse (flour + water)
4:45PM Final mix + add sesame seeds
5:03PM Bulk fermentation starts (DT=81F)
9:48PM Bulk fermentation ends (DT=78F)
10:07PM Pre-shape / Bench rest / Shaping the loaf
10:15PM Final proof starts (in the refrigerator)
7:55AM Final proof ends
7:10AM Oven on @475F
7:55AM Baking (30 min. with the lid, 20 min. without the lid)
8:45AM Take out the loaf from the oven