breads n more
i had promised my friend swapna to post my bread recipes as she is on a weight loss program too and i have been telling her to try n experiment with various kinds of fiber rich food......all of us have moved towards a refined n processed food habit n it is hard to stay away from it......she has stopped eating bread n i suggested to make it at home............as for me, i started experimenting with bread making when i got my microwave 7 years back.............though baking is not very convenient in a microwave , i was one stubborn girl to keep trying until i got fairly satisfying results...........femina has been my source of recipes for over 20 years n now, somehow i remember my happy cooking days n getting nostalgic at the moment.......now a days it is just functional cooking n these blogs are the only good thing which i am doing.
i make breads off n on depending on my mood n consciousness towards health.........whenever i get a fresh pack of yeast, it is breads n more breads until the pack lasts...........n then no breads for a few weeks , or months at all......more so cuz i have never been able to get a good pack of dried yeast in my beginning days n have now obsessed with fresh yeast...........i find this excuse handy for not baking breads at home...........more often....
i want to tell swapna that making bread is not at all difficult n if you bake enough for a week it is convenient n time saving.............though arvind keeps telling me not to do it at home cuz he doesn't want me to spend more time in the kitchen.......
secondly if you make bread with AP flour for the first time , it helps to boost your confidence as you find the perfect air pockets n light texture with this.......as you add the whole wheat flour to the mix , it becomes heavier n the air pockets are fewer, directly in proportion to the fiber content of the bread mix.........also, only glutinous flour makes good air pockets and any whole wheat or mixed cereal bread will not be as spongy n light as that of plain white all purpose flour........this is to be kept in mind before going for it...........the good thing is that, the taste of any mixed cereal bread is great as the fresh yeast lends a nice taste n aroma to it.........now swapna has to tell me if it is a good tutorial on the subject.........:D :D.
though i never measure my ingredients for this, i'll try n give you a good idea to start with......
1. warm 1/2 cup of water with 2 tbsp of sugar n tip a lemon sized piece of fresh yeast into it n leave for 10 minutes or until it froths, in winter months i keep it over a warm water bath or into the micrwave after heating water in it.........now add 2 tbsp of AP flour mix n wait for another 5 minutes.................it looks like a well fermented dosa batter now.......like this.......
2. now mix 2 cups of flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1tsp salt and 2 tbsp oil of your choice into the mixture and knead into a loose dough using some milk..........at this stage the mix gets messy n sticks to your fingers........keep kneading till a soft ball stage....kneading helps developing gluten into the dough n helps making good air pockets in the bread......if using AP or whole wheat flour........
i use whole wheat or mixed cerial flour all the time ........mixed cerial flour, which is complex carbs n a lot of fibre lacks in gluten n the bread results in a heavy texture as i told earlier....... also i do not use any oil when using soya solids as it makes the bread enough moist by itself.......instead of milk i use soya milk mostly.........
3. the dough looks like this after kneading........
this dough is to be kept in a warm place like over a warm water bath or inside the microwave like earlier.............and it looks like this when it doubles up in volume after 15 minutes.......
4. now knock down the dough and with floured hands , shape into loaves or buns , place them into greased n floured tin and bake in the grill option of the microwave..........after preheating .........it takes 10 minutes to bake a medium sized loaf into my microwave, it may vary with the wattage of a microwave ........to check if it is done you need to see browning on the top of the bread n it should sound hollow when tapped at the bottom of the tin........ the above pics are of a whole wheat dough with 25% soya solids which i used to make pita bread........ready to bake in the microwave........
to be stuffed like this for breakfast.........
5. when done, brush the loaf with butter to prevent drying , let it cool n slice after that.......see my mixed cerial bread sliced up........
these breads store well in the fridge n i use them differently ........simplest being with hot milk for a quick breakfast......
and with a hot hot soup for a dinner........
sometimes i make scrambled bread in a south indian style using stale bread......
the possibilities are endless n will keep posting the bread recipes in the future .........this much seems enough for swapna.........now you know how the healthy fibre rich breads can be included in a weight management diet........tell me .........i am waiting...........
oh..wowwww..Sangeeta..good job dear..that a beautiful n healthy bread..:)
ReplyDeletehey that's a mouthful for breakfast...looks yummy the stuffed version. I loved ur blue smiley bowl. You know my reader was not showing ur new post. I just saw ur comment on Varsha's and checked ur blog and saw this one. Need to shake my reader i think.
ReplyDeleteDelicious Bread ,amazing you made it so well in a Microwave.I usually add half APP flour and half whole wheat flour to get the best of both:)
ReplyDeletewow the bread looks delicious and good.Finally i can post a comment in your post.I have been trying to leave comment in all your blogs a week or two ago but i can't.Anyway,yeah i don't really like to bake using the microwave..hmm you really got patience experimenting with bread using microwave :)
ReplyDeletevery nice post, excellent recipe!
ReplyDeleteMicrowave bread-wonderful!It's great that you make your own whole grain breads-that way you know for sure that it is 100% whole grain :)
ReplyDeletethanks all of you for appreciating.........this is basic cooking for now n i must say that i find such exotic bread recipes on your blogs........varsha , yasmeen, sweetiepie....i have seen them on your blogs......
ReplyDelete