Sesame Swirl Bread

This is a subtle loaf, since the color of the swirl is not as obvious as in a cinnamon swirl and since it is not as sweet.  But the crust is crisp, the smell scrumptious and the taste just sweet enough to serve as both a breakfast and a dessert bread if you have not become accustomed to commercial bakery breads.  If you have, add one more tablespoon sugar to the dough and two more to the filling.

Dough:

1 tbsp. yeast

1 c. bread flour

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

1 ½ c. dark rye flour

3 tbsp. dark brown sugar

2 c. water

Leave in bowl, covered with greased wax paper.  Let the above dough ingredients rise for a minimum of 2 hours; 3 is preferable.  Punch down.  Add:

1 c. bread flour

1 tsp. salt

¼ c. toasted sesame oil

Knead on bread board about 5 minutes, adding approximately:

¼ c. additional bread flour as needed

Keep an additional ¼ c. available for flouring a rolling pin and the dough as you roll it out until it is fairly thin, like a thin crust pizza.  Spread with the following:

Filling:

3 tbsp. softened room temperature butter

2 tbsp. sesame oil

3 tbsp. brown sugar

3 tbsp. sesame seeds

Roll up the dough and carefully place on a greased baking stone that has preferably also had a piece of parchment spread on it (because if the filling leaks out, it tends to burn onto the stone and make the bread stick to it).  Cover with greased wax paper.  Let rise an additional 2 hours.  (Bread with a lot of heavy, whole grains is easier to digest, lighter and more flavorful with a long rise.)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Once oven has reached temperature, place bread in the oven for 30-40 minutes, depending on how thick you've made your roll.  Remove, turn pan upside down onto baking rack and check for doneness.  Crust should be crispy.  Let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it.  Enjoy!