Tahini Toast!

Manager Heather's boyfriend Finn is obsessed with Sofra's tahini toast. So when they discontinued it two months ago he was devastated, to say the least. Then one day I received this Facebook message from Finn:

               "Tahini toast. I've been a bit crestfallen since Sofra discontinued
               this. If you ever happen across the recipe and decide that you'd
               like to go into business selling it -- the toast, I mean, not the 

               recipe -- then I will be your first through fifth customers.

               Think about it.

               -Finn"

How could I resist that? I had to make it. So I went to Thao the Baker and got the recipe (sidenote: Thao the Baker is awesome). Heather picked up some Tahin Helvasi, and I made a trip to Iggy's to get the best loaf of brioche I could find, and voila! Tahini toast! It's great because it appeals to the sweet-lover, the salty-snacker, and everyone in-between. It's carb-y and sugar-y and filled with protein (ok maybe not filled, but at least it's got something...) and and AND it's a straight-up Sofra recipe! Come on, now, how often do you get to make something from a Sofra recipe. Never, I bet. So here's to toast!

Makes 8 slices

For the tahini spread:

1/2 cup tahini halva (like this Tahin Helvasi)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter
2 eggs

For the bread:

1 pullman loaf of brioche bread

For the simple syrup:

2 cups sugar
2 cups water

For the topping:

3/4 cup sesame seeds
confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Cut the brioche into slices, about 1 1/2 inches thick. A standard-sized loaf will produce about 8 of these big slices. Set aside.

In a medium pot, combine water and sugar for your simple syrup. The syrup will be ready when the sugar crystals dissolve completely into the water. Allow to cool slightly.

In a food processor, combine the halva, sugar, flour, salt, butter, and eggs until combined. Set aside.

Using a cup measurer, pour 1/4 cup of simple syrup onto each slice of bread, coating the bread evenly. Next, spoon about 3 tablespoons of tahini spread onto each slice, again spreading evenly to coat. Last, sprinkle the entirety of the sesame seeds over each slice. Bake on a well-greased cookie sheet for 30 minutes on one side, then flip and bake for another ~30 minutes, as needed. The goal is to get both sides nicely toasty and golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack, then sprinkle with the confectioner's sugar and serve!