For sesame lovers: Black sesame bread

Every time I return to Ottawa, I always end up baking Asian inspired sweets due to my family’s Asian pantry items. For example, sesame is a typical Asian ingredients because of its high health values. My mom and grandma always told me to eat more sesame because its makes your hair more black. Haha =P, I am not too sure about that but I am sure that it is high in minerals, vitamins, and dietary fibre for healthy bones and weight management!

I personally love the smell and taste of sesame, I love the delicate crunch and nutty taste (and smell!) it adds to dishes. So I present to you my black sesame bread! To be honest, this recipe was an accidental discovery. I was trying to make Black sesame brownies, but I didn’t have butter so I substituted margarine. I also didn’t have my square baking pan (back in toronto) so I used a loaf pan, which extended the baking time due to a thicker batter in the pan.  So here is my recipe for my healthy black sesame bread!

My recipe evaluation: 

• Pros: right amount of sweetness with nuttiness, love the crunch that sesame adds to this bread, sesame explosion in mouth! 
• Cons: just a tiny bit on the dry side, probably because I didn’t end up using all of the margarine it said to use. Also maybe increase temperature to decrease baking time?

Black Sesame Bread (Adapted from Pig Pig’s Corner)

Ingredients: 
2/3 cup of margarine (melted)
1/2 cup of black sesame seeds (toasted)
5/8 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
2 eggs
7/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon of black or white sesame for sprinkling on top

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 320 degrees F.
2. Combine melted margarine and sesame seeds in a blender or food processor, blend until a paste is formed (this smells delicious, which I can capture the smell on my camera).
3. Add sesame paste to a pot on medium heat. Add sugar and soy sauce, stir until fragrant. Take it off the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.
4. Mix in egg 1 by 1.
5. Mix flour with the baking soda. Fold flour mixture into the sesame paste mixture.
6. Pour batter into lightly greased loaf pan and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
7. Bake for 30-35 min until insert toothpick and it comes out clean.