Sesame Ring

This is a recipe from a book (The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas) that my friend Michelle strongly recommended when we were out shopping last week. This was the first recipe that caught my eye while I was leafing through it at the store.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tb melted butter or oil
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 tb sesame seeds

Directions:

• Dissolve the yeast in the water and put aside for a few minutes.
• Pour 4 cups of white flour into a large mixing bowl.
• Add to it he egg, yeast and water, and butter (or oil)
• Stir vigorously until the dough is smooth and somewhat elastic.
• Add a little more flour to make a stiff dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is very elastic and smooth.
• Form the dough into a ball and put it into an oiled bowl, turning it over once so all the surface is lightly oiled.
• Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set it aside to rise for about an hour; it should double in size.
• Punch down the dough, knead it a few more turns, then form it into as smooth a ball as possible.
• With your fingers, poke a hole through the center of the ball.
• Pull apart the dough carefully into a donut shape, making it even and pulling up dough from the sides into a tightly pinched seam.
• Place the ring in a buttered pan, cover with a tea towel, and leave it to rise until nearly double.
• Brush the top with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle a dense layer of sesame seeds over the entire visible surface of the loaf.
• Bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes.