Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, or more as needed
- parchment paper
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
Directions
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Stir 1 cup water and yeast together in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let sit until frothy or foamy, about 10 minutes.
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Mix flour and salt together in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Add yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly combined and no traces of flour remain. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and stir again; dough should be tacky but not wet.
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Cover container with the lid. Let dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
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Set slow cooker to High. Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of your slow cooker.
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Dust a clean work surface with flour. Fold dough briefly with floured hands to get rid of any air pockets. Shape into a round or oval loaf depending on the shape of your slow cooker.
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Sprinkle some of the sesame seeds on the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle remaining seeds generously all around the loaf. Place dough in the slow cooker and cover with the lid.
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Cook on High for 2 hours. Lift the lid a couple of times during cooking to release the steam. An instant-read thermometer inserted deep into the loaf should read between 200 and 210 degrees F (93 to 99 degrees C). The surface of the bread should be dry and no longer spongy. Remove the loaf and tap the bottom; it should sound hollow.
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Remove loaf from the slow cooker. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting, at least 1 hour.
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Cook’s Note
I have a 3.5-quart slow cooker. If your slow cooker is larger, the loaf will not be as high. You can also place the dough into a greased loaf pan if you have a large oval slow cooker.
Instead of sesame seeds, you can use seeds sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, or rolled oats — or you can use a combination of any of those.
If you like a brown and crispy crust, preheat your broiler and place the loaf on the top rack immediately after it’s finished baking. Broil until it starts to brown. Make sure to stand by and remove the bread right away when it has the desired color as it can burn quickly.
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