One day, I had the idea to get some sesame and try to make my own tahini. That's pretty simple to do, you just need to toast the sesame to release its flavor and then blend it until it transforms into a thick, tahini paste.
While in the market, I noticed that black sesame was also available and thought to try it instead of the most common brown/white one.
So, I poured and toasted the black tahini on a pan, and subsequently blended it using a food processor, adding also a tablespoon of olive oil to help the formation of a smooth paste.
I did that a few days before the beginning of the great Lent period for the Orthodox tradition, a time that traditionally we bake a typical flatbread known as Lagana. Because I was planning in any case to bake such a bread, I decided to make one incorporating the black tahini into it. I happened also to have some ginger available at home and thought why not add it also and take advantage of its aroma. Additionally, I included some black raisins, which bring some mild sweetness, balancing the bitterness of the tahini.
Regarding the dough, I used a blend of three different flours, all-purpose flour as a base, and additionally durum wheat and Dinkel whole grain flour as flavor carriers.
Black sesame tahini lagana
Dough
200g all-purpose flour
100g hard (durum) wheat flour
50g Dinkel whole grain flour
70g active sourdough
260g water
20g extra-virgin olive oil
4g salt
Filling
100g black sesame tahini
50g black raisins (pre-soaked in water)
a tablespoon of grated ginger
Toppings
a handful of black and brown sesame seeds
a few tablespoons of olive oil aromatized with grated ginger
- Mix the flour, water, and sourdough in a bowl until the flour is fully hydrated. Cover and let rest for 30 min.
- Add the salt and olive oil, and knead until fully incorporated into the dough. Cover and let rest for another 30 min.
- Transfer the dough onto a wet surface to prevent sticking and stretch it to open into a rectangle. Spread the black sesame tahini on the surface and pour the raisins and the grated ginger.
- Fold the dough like an envelope to enclose the ingredients and place it back into the bowl.
- Perform 3-4 stretch&fold rounds every 15 min to incorporate the filling into the dough.
- Cover and let the dough ferment at room temperature until it grows ca. 50% more of its original volume. This depending on temperature and sourdough activity might take between 5-8 hours.
- Transfer the dough to the fridge and leave it there overnight.
- The next day scrape out the dough with the aid of a spatula onto a well-floured surface, and then onto the baking tray, which is covered with a baking sheet.
- Stretch the dough carefully so as not to degas it into a rectangle shape of ca. 1.5cm height.
- Let it rest for 30 min, drizzle the ginger-aromatized olive oil, and sprinkle plenty of sesame seeds.
- Bake in a preheated at 200°C oven for ca. 40 min.
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