Name: Miso Black Sesame Sourdough Bread Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients: 250g water; 30g miso paste; 150g active sourdough starter; 125g whole wheat flour; 250g all purpose flour; 30g black sesame seeds; 10g salt

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This miso black sesame sourdough is one of those loaves that looks like it came from a fancy bakery but is completely doable at home. Miso brings a deep savoury umami that works with the tang of sourdough in a way that is hard to describe until you taste it.

miso black sesame sourdough bread with cut vegetables

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This loaf is quietly becoming one of my favourites. It’s soft, has a subtle nutty umami flavour that is slightly addictive, and it brings something a little unexpected to the table — literally. The kind of loaf you bring to a dinner party or gathering and people immediately want to know what’s in it.

Miso and black sesame are both traditionally prepared, intentional ingredients with real nutritional value — fermented, mineral rich, and deeply nourishing. But honestly the flavour is reason enough. Together they create something that is earthy and savoury and just a little different from anything else in your sourdough rotation.

It is not a complicated loaf to make. If you can make a basic sourdough you can make this. The miso folds in easily, the black sesame press into the dough beautifully, and the result is a loaf that looks and tastes like you really know what you are doing.

Why You’ll Love This Miso Black Sesame Sourdough Bread

has a deep umami flavour
simple to make but unique enough to impress
contains bonus probiotics from the miso

Bronwyn’s Sourdough Notes

This is your loaf! I’m here to share my tips, experience, and what’s worked for me — but sourdough is wonderfully flexible. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting out, feel free to experiment and make this recipe your own. There are a bajillion ways to make a great loaf of sourdough, and my goal is simply to help you find the methods and rhythms that suit you best.

Water: If you can drink it, you can bake with it. I’ve used city, tap, well, and filtered water — all with great results. Don’t overthink it.

Salt: Use whatever fine salt you have. Unrefined salts like Himalayan or Redmond Real Salt support fermentation beautifully, but table salt works fine too. Don’t let people tell you your salt isn’t good enough.

Sourdough Starter: Start bread with an active, bubbly starter for best results. Learn more about your starter here.

Temperature: Dough rises best around 23–26°C (73–79°F) dough temperature.
Colder = Slower fermentation (6-12 hours)
Warmer = Faster fermentation (3-6 hours)
Adjust with warm or cool water depending on the season.

Flour: I always do a blend of standard all-purpose flour and freshly-milled whole grain flour as my whole wheat flour. Use whatever flour works for you.

Hydration: In summer, I use cooler water and slightly less. In winter, warmer water and a touch more can help balance fermentation speed.

Autolyse: This step involves holding back salt and sourdough starter at the mixing stage. I prefer a simpler variation called fermentolyse — I mix in the starter right away but hold back the salt for 30–60 minutes. This short rest gives the dough time to hydrate and relax, especially important when using whole grain flour, which takes longer to absorb moisture.

Sourdough Starter

If you’re here, I’m assuming you have a sourdough starter and generally know how to use it. It is beyond the scope of this post to teach you how to create and maintain a sourdough starter.

If you haven’t made one already, read my post on how to make a sourdough starter from scratch.

Once you have an established sourdough starter and you know how to identify when it’s active or needs a fresh feeding, you’re pretty much good to go. It doesn’t matter much whether its thin, batter-like, or stiff, a healthy starter will make healthy bread.

If you have a sourdough starter but are having trouble understanding it, learn more with the ultimate guide to understanding your sourdough starter.

Freshly Milled Flour

The whole wheat flour in all of my baking recipes is made with freshly milled whole wheat flour. While store-bought whole wheat works just fine in terms of texture and flavour, the nutritional value of freshly milled flour is far superior — it’s full of the natural oils, vitamins, and minerals that are lost once flour sits on a shelf.

If you live in the city, you might be able to find fresh-milled flour at local bakeries or specialty grocery stores.

If you’re in the country or have access to whole grains, consider milling your own. You can start small with what you already have — a powerful coffee grinder or blender can get you going. A great next step is a KitchenAid grain mill attachment, perfect for small batches.

If you fall in love with fresh milling (like I did), investing in a Harvest NutriMill is absolutely worth it. I use mine almost daily — it’s both beautiful and practical.

When you’re ready to invest, get your Harvest NutriMill using this link and use my code BRONSBREAD20 at checkout for $20 off your order!

Ingredients

White flour: Just simple all-purpose is what I use.
Whole wheat flour: I like a blend of freshly milled grains but whole wheat from the store is fine too.
Water: Good ol’ drinking water.
Active Sourdough starter: Essential for a fluffy loaf. If you don’t know when your sourdough starter is active, learn more here.
Miso Paste: Any kind you can find near you or order this one online.
Black Sesame Seeds: The have a bold colour and nutty taste, buy from the store or online here.
Salt: The best quality salt you have because sourdough bread deserves the best.

Materials

Medium-Sized Mixing Bowl: A heavy set ceramic mixing bowl would work best.
Bowl Cover: Anything that covers and seals the bowl and covers your loaf for final proofing. I use these reusable elastic bowl covers.
Dough Whisk (optional): It is cleaner to get things started with a dough whisk but it’s definitely not necessary. A wooden spoon is great too.
Plastic Bench Scraper: I find this tool very handy for cleaning and scraping the dough out of the bowl. It can also be used for dividing dough and pre-shaping.
Metal Bench Scraper: I use this tool for dividing dough, pre-shaping, and cleaning the table. Not essential though, as the plastic bench scraper can serve similar purposes, but I like using both.
Kitchen Scale: I prefer using a kitchen scale but if measuring cups and spoons is all you have then that’s all you need to get started.
Banneton Basket: I like a 10″ basket for my artisan loaves.
Razor Blade, Bread Lame or Sharp Knife: I haven’t found a bread lame I really like so I just use razor blades as is.
Dutch Oven: For baking your artisan loaf. It is the best vessel for trapping steam and giving your dough a nice strong rise.
Cooling Rack: For cooling down your loaf.

miso black sesame sourdough FAQ

Yes, of course.

Then it will just be a black sesame loaf. Not the same but still tasty.

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getting started with sourdough

and the “why” behind each step

Whether you’ve never touched sourdough or you’re tired of every recipe being different and not knowing why – this guide will help clear things up.

Learn the basics, avoid common beginner mistakes, learn why you’re doing what you’re doing and finally bake an edible loaf!

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Step-By-Step Instructions

Mix – Add water + miso paste to your bowl, mix until dissolved. Add sourdough starter, white flour, whole wheat flour and black sesame seeds. Mix until no dry bits. Rest 30–60 min (autolyse).

Add Salt – Add salt with a splash of water, squeeze in until fully integrated and dissolved. Rest 30 minutes.

Strengthen – Perform a series of stretch and folds. Let rest for another 30 minutes.

Strengthen (pt.2) – Perform another series of stretch and folds.

Bulk Ferment – Let the dough rest until doubled in size, jiggles, and has a domed surface. (Warm 4–6 h; cool 8–12 h.)

Shape – Pre-shape into a ball and let it bench rest for 20–30 minutes. Final shape into a round shape. Sprinkle black sesame seeds or flour on top of you loaf and place it in your banneton basket, seam side up.

Proof Options

Same-day bake: cover and let rest on the counter at room temperature until risen and puffy (1-3 hours).

Next-day bake: cover and refrigerate 8–24 hours for enhanced flavour, structure, fermentation & easy scoring.

Score & Bake

Preheat your oven to 500°F with the Dutch Oven inside for 30-60 minutes. Gently remove your loaf from the banneton basket to a large piece of parchment paper by flipping it over so seam side is down. Once preheated, score the top with an “X”. Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven and then carefully place your loaf into the hot Dutch oven, cover with the lid, and return to the oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes covered and then 10-15 minutes uncovered, until dark golden crust is achieved.

Cool – 1 hour minimum before slicing to ensure the crumb has fully set and then enjoy with a generous amount of butter!

How to Store

Once it has cooled down completely: Store cut-side down on cutting board 1–2 days; then cloth or plastic bag 3–4 days. Freeze in plastic for longer storage, sliced or unsliced.

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