Sesame-Anise Bread

Name: Sesame-Anise Bread
Ingredients: 1 pound prepared pizza dough, at room temperature, torn into pieces; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the parchment paper; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 1 tablespoon sugar; 2 tablespoons sesame seeds; 1 teaspoon anise seeds; 1 tablespoon orange-flower water (or 1/4 teaspoon each grated lemon zest and orange zest)

7 ingredients

8 steps

Ingredients

1 pound prepared pizza dough, at room temperature, torn into pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the parchment paper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1 tablespoon orange-flower water (or 1/4 teaspoon each grated lemon zest and orange zest)

Directions

1

Combine the pizza dough, olive oil, melted butter, sugar, sesame seeds, anise seeds and orange-flower water in a food processor; pulse until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough gathers around the blade.
2

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the parchment.
3

Form the dough into a ball and pat into a 6-inch disk on the parchment.
4

Cover with a large bowl; let rise in a warm place until airy and spread into a flat round, 1 hour, 30 minutes to 2 hours.
5

Put an upside-down baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Remove the bowl from the dough; put the baking sheet with the dough on the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
6

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and continue baking until the bread sounds hollow when tapped, 15 to 20 more minutes.
7

Let cool slightly before slicing.
8

Photograph by Christina Holmes