Sesame White Bread - the long and short versions

This one had a much longer first rise.

This recipe is all about technique - the ingredients are very simple, and very similar to my basic, everyday bread recipe that I use when I don't want to think too hard about ingredients.

My original plan was to come up with a recipe for a fast loaf of bread that still had good flavor. Since a short rise usually results in less flavor, I fudged that a bit by using honey in the bread and putting sesame seeds on top.

It was all a great idea, but things don't always go as planned.

This one has a short first rise. They look similar outside.

The first time I attempted my quick bread, I completely forgot that I had a project going. About 90 minutes later, I remembered. It wasn't a fast bread that day, but it was, an easy method and nice loaf of bread.

But of course, I couldn't let my original concept go, so I made the bread again and stuck with the timetable. With a timer right next to me, I managed to make the bread on schedule.

And gee whiz, it worked well enough for me to give a thumbs-up to both variations. Except for the time difference, the breads are made the same way.

Here's the loaf, sliced, that had the longer rise

Th kneading can be done in a stand mixer or by hand. Because of the nice wet rest, the gluten is well-developed before you need to knead, so it doesn't take much work to finish the dough.

As far as the results, in a side-by-side taste test, I thought the bread with the longer rise was better, but both were very good.

There were some other subtle differences, but overall they were much more similar than I expected. My husband couldn't tell the difference between the two.

So what have I learned? That if I need a faster loaf of bread, this recipe works.

On the other hand, if I need a dough that can sit around for a long time, this is the one. And the longer wait adds flavor. Can't argue with that.

Sesame White Bread

Here's the short rise, sliced. They look similar inside as well.

1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) bread flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
Egg wash (or Quick Shine)
Sesame Seeds

Combine the water, yeast, honey, and 1 1/2 cups of flour in the bowl of your stand mixer (or a mixing bowl, if you will be hand kneading.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 30 minutes (for the short version) or 90 minutes (for the long version). Or, really, any time in between.

At 30 minutes, the mixture will be very lively and bubbly.

At 90 minutes it will have rising in the bowl and will be bubbling actively. 

It may have started to collapse, but that's fine, too.

Sprinkle some corn meal on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the salt, butter, and remaining flour, and knead with the dough hook, or by hand, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

Flour your work surface lightly and turn the dough out. Knead briefly, then form the dough into a log about 12 inches long. Seal the seam at the bottom and place the dough, seam-side down, on the prepared pan.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled in size, 20-30 minutes.

When the dough has risen, brush it with egg wash (or spray with Quick Shine) and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Slash the dough down the center and bake until golden, about 30 minutes.

Let the loaf cool completely on a rack before slicing.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.