Baking ~ Whole Wheat Masala Spinach Bread

Whole Wheat Masala Spinach Bread

Summer is upon us. No two thoughts on that. I am functioning like half my brain has melted already. Copious amounts of ale has been drunk in the name of managing the heat! and power cuts for 3-4 hours a day are a reality (also very annoying in the mornings when breakfast has to be made).

A few months ago, I began Oding on this blog. I like the writing style… the recipes and the pictures…. no styling, no set up, no fluff… really good pictures of easy to do recipes… just up my alley… so a light form of obsession took place.

In between all the whining I have been doing, I baked this Whole Wheat Masala Bread. I swapped out a few ingredients for what I had on hand. It turned out fabulous… toasted or not, plain or with butter… it was yummy!

I’ve been using wholewheat (chapati) flour for a lot of bread baking and also cakes and the like. I think because I use the food processor to make the dough, I do not get a crumb as fine as is shown in the original recipe… not a deterrent tho because the bread itself was delicious. I also had to bake it in a tin because my dough was too, how shall I put it – loose? it wouldn’t hold shape.

The only thing I wish I had not done, was to leave the loaf in the tin to cool off for a couple of hours. the steam trapped between the bread and the tin, made it wet. Once the loaf was removed from the tin and left to air dry, all was well again.

Whole Wheat Masala Spinach Bread

Whole Wheat Masala Spinach Bread

Whole Wheat Flour           2 cups

Salt                                          1 teaspoon

Cooking Oil                           3 tablespoons

Active Yeast                        2 teaspoons (I used 1 teaspoon, as I have overactive yeast!)

Warm Water                         ¼ cup

Sugar                                       1 teaspoon

Warm Milk                            1/4 cup

Water for kneading as required

Spinach Leaves                   1 cup, washed, cleaned and chopped

Red Chilli Powder              1 teaspoon (or more if you want it more spicy)

Turmeric                               1/4 teaspoon

Cumin Powder                    ½ teaspoon

A dash of asafetida Ginger Garlic Paste            ½ teaspoon (optional but recommended)

Add the sugar and warm water to the warm milk, add the yeast and stir to dissolve a bit. Leave it in a warm corner for 15 minutes to froth up. This step is very important to make yeasted bread. If the yeast does not froth, the bread will not rise.

Mix together the whole wheat flour with the salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, asafetida and cumin powder.

Add the chopped spinach to the flour and toss it about. Add the ginger garlic paste to the milk – yeast and mix well. Pour it into the flour with the oil and mix. Add enough water to make a pliable dough. I used the dough blade of my food processor to do this. This dough is easy to make without any equipment as well. Knead the dough for a few minutes till it resembles a sticky mass. Leave covered in a well oiled bowl to rise for about an hour.

After an hour, when the dough has doubled, tip it onto a clean surface, dust with a little dry flour and knead for 5 minutes, using the heel of your palm. If it feels sticky, add more dry flour, but sparingly so.

Shape it into an oval loaf and place on a baking sheet lined with foil or baking paper. Or place it into a loaf pan. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise for the second time. For about 30-40 minutes.

In the meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C.

When the second rise is done, place the risen dough in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes. When the top has lightly changed colour, remove from the oven. Let it cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing it from the pan and leaving it on a wire rack to cool completely. I left it in the pan and wandered off for a couple of hours. The result was that the bottom of the loaf became soggy from the steam of the hot bread. I had to leave it out to dry out completely after that.

Slice the bread after it is completely cool. Enjoy with a robust gravy curry like this, or this whole masoor dal like Haathi served it with, toasted with chai or just slathered with butter. It tastes divine anyway you eat it.

This bread has a shelf life of about 24 hours in Hyderabad’s heat. You can store it in the fridge for a few days more, but I wouldn’t know, cos it did not last that long!

Curries to serve this bread with:

Mushroom Masala

Whole Masoor (red Lentils) dal

Fake Meat and Potatoes

Bottle Gourd Kurma

Baking ~ Wholegrain Pita Bread

Baking ~ Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

How sweet is it that a friend you meet online becomes so important that even if I were to stop blogging, the friendship wont end. Arundhati was out shopping she saw these cute christmassy stuff and immediately sent me a package… besides the christmas supplies, it had these little packets of yeast. if you are in India you will know that the dry active yeast we get here is so bad, you have to pray to the forces that be, that the dough will rise! The blogosphere was afire the last few weeks with pumpkin recipes for thanksgiving, I made these rolls to celebrate the packets of yeast ( This post has been in my drafts for almost a year. Ironic that pumpkin season is back). If there is just one recipe you want to try that uses pumpkin, do try these brilliant Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.

Perfect for breakfast, or for an evening snack… if like me, you are also perpetually craving a sugar high, have one warmed up with a dollop of fresh cream.

I found a picture on foodgawker, led me to this site called Ambrosia, head over for some fantastic baking. I adapted it a bit with the flour and spices, and left out the maple frosting. otherwise the recipe is pretty much the same. the following is my version.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

For the Dough

1 package dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 cup Pumpkin puree ( I used fresh puree)

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

For the Filling

3 tablespoons castor sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small cubes

4 tablespoons butter, melted

To Make the Dough

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water along with a pinch of sugar, and let stand for ten minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, pumpkin puree, milk, melted butter, granulated sugar, salt, and spices, the yeast and water and with the dough blade, mix until all the ingredients come together.  Knead the dough in the mixer for 7-8 minutes, or alternatively, turn the dough out onto a flat surface and knead by hand, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with a towel.  Place the bowl in a warm spot and allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

To prepare the filling, combine the castor sugar, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Add the butter, and cut in with a pastry blender or two knives, just until the mixture begins to form crumbs the size of peas.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down, and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.  Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface, and with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12 x 10 inch rectangle.  Brush on the remaining melted butter, and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough.

Roll the dough like a swiss roll, tightly to form a cylinder. Slice the cylinder into about 12 equal pieces, and place in a greased 10 x 8 rectangular baking dish. Cover with a towel, and let rise another 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Bake the rolls until they are golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Place the pan on a wire rack, and allow the cinnamon rolls to cool in the pan.

At this point, you can make a simple sugar glaze for the rolls if you wish, dust with sugar or serve as is. These rolls are mildly sweet and have an excellent texture. They need to be stored in the refrigerator if you intend to keep them for more than 24 hrs in tropical climates. reheat in a hot oven for 3-4 minutes before serving or simply bring to room temperature. Tastes great with a dollop of fresh cream.

Baking ~ Whole Wheat Banana Coconut Almond Bread

Banana Coconut Almond Bread

This was one of my favourite cakes / quick breads to bake and photograph. It was wholesome, not overly sweet and full of nutritious bananas, coconut and almonds. Its taken almost 8 months to be posted on the blog, but then I never claimed to be regular here. The fondest memory of taking these pictures was a 4 month old Sage sitting patiently in the background, waiting for me to finish taking pictures of the banana loaf and give him some to taste.

cake and dog

He was battling a severe gluten intolerance at that time, so I sadly couldn’t give him more than a sliver. That habit has not changed. Every time I bring out something to click pictures of, Sage will come sit around knowing that his patience and good behaviour will pay off. This made it to an article I wrote for a magazine on how healthy eating and baking need not be boring.

On a side note, I turned a year wiser (and older) yesterday. I need to write one of those “letter to my 20 year old self” one of these days. The blog too completed 5 years in june, but i rarely remember. It is not often that I have grateful satisfied thoughts on life. This year before I get all crabby, I want to record that I am just thankful for ~ the people, the love and the experiences that have made my life what it is. This blog has played no small role in this. Thank you dear readers.

banana coconut almond whole wheat bread

Whole Wheat Banana and Coconut Bread

(Makes 12 slices, Time Taken : 20 minutes to put together, 60 minutes to bake)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs or 4-5 tablespoons yogurt

1 cup mashed banana (2 medium-large)

1/2 cup skim milk

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup shredded coconut ( I used fresh grated, desiccated or frozen should be equally good too)

1/4 cup sliced almonds (substitute with any nuts of your choice, or leave out if you have allergies)

Method:
Preheat oven 350F and lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until well combined, then whisk in the mashed banana, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined, making sure no streaks of flour remain. Stir in shredded coconut and almonds and pour batter out into prepared baking pan.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Turn loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing

Baking ~ Savoury ~ Corn Bread

Corn Bread with Potato Basil Soup and Egg Salad

So after a few years and many bags of unopened (and subsequently trashed) cornmeal, I am finally posting the corn bread I made for our dinner last evening. I tried my hand at it a few times, experimenting with a few recipes. I even made cornmeal muffins which was very similar to the corn bread. I found a real simple recipe that worked well for me. I used mint and green chillies to add some flavour. This is a versatile recipe and any herbs of choice can be used. I will be making this again with a splash of vegetables like chopped onion, green onions, red & yellow peppers, corn kernels etc. I also think adding some red chilli flakes, chopped black or green olives or even different herbs like oregano, rosemary etc will give it a nice flavour.

Easy Corn Bread

(Makes 4 moderate servings)

Used this recipe from Mark Bitman, omitting the sugar and using buttermilk instead of plain milk. The crumb was very light and made for a fluffy loaf of cornbread. (I halved the recipe)

3/4 cup cornmeal (I used a medium grind, pulsed in the food processor for a minute to make it smoother)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used regular chapati atta)

11/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk (add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to milk and let stand for 10 minutes)

2 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves

1 green chilli, chopped fine

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a metal baking tin (I used a loaf pan) by greasing it with a bit of the oil. Place the tin in the oven to heat along with the oven.

In a mixing bowl, add the cornmeal, wheat flour, baking soda and powder, salt and mint and green chillies and mix well.

In a mixing jar, add the egg and the oil to the buttermilk and whisk it till everything is mixed through. Add this to the dry ingredients and gently mix until everything is wet with a few even strokes.

Pour the batter into the heated baking tin, bake for about 20-25 minutes or till a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before taking the loaf out of the tin and slicing.

Serve with a hearty soup or bean chilli. I served it with a hearty Potato Basil Soup and Egg Salad for dinner.

Baking ~ Multi Grain Bread Rolls Stuffed with Cottage Cheese and Herbs

I made these yummy bread rolls and used it in an article on healthy eating I did recently for a publication. Healthy bread ~ did you just do an eye roll? Well they’re made from the same multi grain atta (flour) that is used for regular rotis (Indian flat bread) and the stuffing was a mix of low fat cottage cheese, low fat cheddar and a lot of vegetables and herbs, it was a good specimen to showcase how bread need not be treated as the enemy. Every time I see a blanket accusation that carbs are bad, or bread is to be avoided, I have this urge to dropkick the person who preaches this like the gospel truth. Eating every food group is essential; just don’t overdo the sugars and the white stuff and the refined stuff. Shunning any food group for reasons other than medical and upon medical advice especially for fad diets is ridiculous. While I am not qualified to comment on nutrition, I do follow what my common sense tells me to do.

Onto the rolls now… I’d been seeing the sweet version of bread rolls in the form of cinnamon rolls or pumpkin rolls all over the blogosphere (still not sure if that is a word) around autumn / Halloween and was tempted to try them out. Around Christmas, my namesake sends me a package with some baking supplies as a present. It also had a few sachets of instant yeast. Anyone who is baking with yeast inIndiawill tell you how difficult it is to find good yeast. The boxed stuff we get here needs to be proven and prayed over for it to rise well. But this was great yeast and I had to use it immediately. I made two versions, sweet and savoury that I will hopefully post quickly (hopefully). The average time I take to post a recipe here from the time I make it is …. Well I’d be ashamed to post the number here. Let’s just say it takes between a few days to a few years… yes I have posted posts that have been in drafts for say a year or more too and a lot of stuff still sits there…

Here is the recipe for the rolls. I used a commercially available Multi-grain chapatti atta which is 75% whole wheat and 25% assorted grain flour. Feel free to use all whole wheat flour or replace half with white/refined flour or Maida.

Cottage Cheese and Herb Stuffed Multi-grain Bread Rolls (makes 10 rolls)

Multigrain flour (regular atta) – 2 1/2 cups

Dry active yeast – 1 teaspoon

Olive oil – 2 tablespoons

Warm milk – ½ cup

Salt – ½ teaspoon

Sugar – 1 teaspoon

Chilli Flakes – 1 teaspoon (optional)

For the filling

Shredded Cottage Cheese – 1 cup ( I used home made paneer, crumbled)

Grated low fat cheese – ¼ cup (optional)

Shredded vegetables of choice – 1 cup (I used a mix of colored peppers, grated carrot, onion and finely chopped mushrooms)

Fresh herbs like mint, coriander, celery leaves or basil – ½ cup chopped fine

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder – ½ teaspoon

Mix all the ingredients together and set aside for use.

For the topping

Olive oil – 1 tablespoon

Garlic clove – 1 peeled and crushed

Sesame seeds – 2 tablespoons toasted

mix this together and set aside for use.

Method

In a bowl, mix the warm milk, sugar and yeast till the yeast is dissolved. Set aside for 20 minutes till it is frothy.

Mix the flour with salt and chilli flakes, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and the rest of the ingredients including the milk and mix well, adding water to make a soft almost sticky dough.

On a clean surface, dust some dry flour; knead the dough with your palms for about 5 minutes till it becomes elastic. Oil it with the remaining olive oil and put it in a bowl to rise for 1 hour, cover with a clean damp cloth/ cling wrap.

After an hour, take the puffed up dough, punch it down and knead again. Divide into two equal portions, on a floured surface with a rolling pin roll out into a ½ inch thick rectangle.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling together.

Spread half of the filling on the rolled out dough. Lift up two ends of the roll and roll it in gently to make a cylinder. Slice into 4-5 equal parts and place it in a greased baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

Cover the rolls and let them rise for 30 minutes. Brush with the olive oil glaze, sprinkle sesame seeds liberally on top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees F for 30 minutes till the tops are golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Note: Oven temperatures and hence baking times may vary. Do a skewer test to check for doneness.

These rolls are best eaten fresh and warm from the oven. But they do keep well for a couple of days in the fridge. Just gently reheat before you serve them.

Clean up Act ~ Pizza Nights!

Thank you all for the response to my previous post on the rolls. Its been a long hiatus and this recipe has been in my drafts for almost a month. I am still going to be posting recipes that i have made using stuff long forgotten in the pantry or the fridge.  Since my last post, i turned a year older. Since i have been really busy with work, the celebrations were really small and low key, nothing compared to the last year….on the whole, older and hopefully wiser.

Onto the recipe for one of  my favourite comfort foods – Pizza. Making it from scratch is as enjoyable for me as sinking my teethe into a warm slice. And while I have been known to make  good pizza, it was not until a few weeks ago that K acknowledged it. What is it about getting the approval of a skeptic? I for one was determined to win him around. I ‘d made some extra yeast-ed dough with which i made the pesto rolls I’d posted previously. This dough was sitting in the fridge for about 10 days and i needed to finish it up quite literally. Thin crust does it for me and deep pan for K. So we always have our own separate versions with and without olives. Leftovers are always welcome to sit in the fridge for when snack pangs hit me. One of the many vices of working mostly from home!

It the simplest thing to do if you have pizza dough at hand. Even if you dont, it is very simple to make it in a snatch.

For the Pizza Base:

3 cups flour, you can use All Purpose, I used 2 cups Whole Wheat and 1 Cup APF

1 teaspoon dried yeast

1 cup water (warm)

1/2 cup milk (warm)

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the toppings:

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 cup halved yellow cherry tomatoes

1 medium sized regular tomato

1/2 cup of roasted and sliced red and yellow bell peppers

1 cup grated or thinly sliced mozarella cheese

For the base

Mix together the sugar, water and milk. Add the yeast, mix well and leave it on the counter top to bloom (about 15-30 mins). in a large bowl, add the flours, salt and mix. Add the milk- water mix and knead to a smooth dough. You can also do this in a food processor. Oil a bowl with the olive oil and place this dough in the bowl, turn to coat with the oil and cover and set aside till it doubles in size, about 1 hr.

Punch the dough down and knead it for 2-3 minutes till it is nice and elastic. divide into 4 equal tennis ball sized parts. This makes four 8 inch bases. I used just one and a half of the dough balls, and the rest were used to make pesto rolls.

For a deep pan pizza base, flatten one of the dough balls with your palm and fingers on a clean and floured surface till it is about 1/3 of an inch thick. Transfer this to an oiled baking sheet (i used a regular rectangular baking sheet). Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest about 20 mins while you go around doing other stuff. In a preheated oven, Bake it at 375 F for 12 mins or till it is puffed up, almost cooked, but still not changed colour.

Spread with a few tablespoons of tomato sauce (recipe given below) top with vegetables of your choice. I used sliced onions, cherry tomatoes and roasted red and yellow bell peppers on the deep pan pizza. Bake at 375F for 12-14 minutes till the vegetables are cooked but not overcooked. Add the mozarella and bake another 4-5 minutes till it has just melted. Slice the pizza. Serve hot.

Easy Pizza Sauce

1 cup tomato puree (readymade, or homemade)

salt to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pod of garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon of italian seasoning or dried and crushed oregano and basil

1 tablespoon of olive oil

heat the olive oil in a deep pan, add the crushed garlic and wait 1/2 a minute till aromatic. add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes till it is thickening. cool and use. it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.

Thin Crust Pizza

pinch off half of the dough from one of the tennis ball sized portions of dough. Flatten to about 1/3 centimeter with your palm and fingers or roll out with a rolling pin, using very little dry flour to dust it. Transfer onto a baking sheet (i used a rectangular baking pan). spread this with 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce and add toppings and mozarella cheese. I used sliced red onion,, cherry tomatoes, red and yellow roasted bell peppers and sliced black olives from a bottle. drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil onto the pizza. Pop it into a preheated at 375 F oven and bake in for 15 minutes till the sides of the base are browning. Cool slightly, slice and serve.

Pumpkin – Red Bell Pepper Soup and Pesto Rolls

The rains, they have arrived in our part of the world. The last few weeks have been the most gorgeous weather. To celebrate this, I am posting a nice recipe for a simple soup and some fabulous pesto rolls.  Nupur’s BB#4: Whats lurking in your kitchen made me look at my fridge with renewed interest and even tho the last date for entries is over, with the amount of stuff i have hoarded both in the fridge and the pantry, i will be continuing to cook for the next couple of weeks with ingredients already here.

OK enough now… onto the recipe….

For the Pesto Rolls, the recipe inspiration was from these gorgeous rolls. So the pesto sauce is the same that i used for the Spaghetti. And of course I had to make changes to the recipe for the roll. Swapping the All purpose Flour with whole wheat etc. I also skipped the cheese (I know cheese makes everything more awesome, but really, I do not need cheese in my life… not at this point).

For the Pesto Rolls (makes 24 small rolls)

1/2 Cup Pesto from this recipe

3 cups flour, you can use All Purpose, I used 2 cups Whole Wheat and 1 Cup APF

1 teaspoon dried yeast

1 cup water (warm)

1/2 cup milk (warm)

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together the sugar, water and milk. Add the yeast, mix well and leave it on the counter top to bloom (about 15-30 mins). in a large bowl, add the flours, salt and mix. Add the milk- water mix and knead to a smooth dough. You can also do this in a food processor. Oil a bowl with the olive oil and place this dough in the bowl, turn to coat with the oil and cover and set aside till it doubles in size, about 1 hr.

Punch the dough down and knead it for 2-3 minutes till it is nice and elastic. divide into two large portions and shape into a ball rolling it between your palms.

Flour a clean rolling surface with a little bit of dry flour. I use my stone counter top. With a rolling pin, roll out to a 1/4th of an inch thickness. you can roll into a rectangular shape, i just rolled it out round.

Spread the pesto with a blunt knife in a thin even layer. Pick up one end of the dough and roll it into a spiral. with both your palms, make a roll like a swiss roll. gently move it onto a chopping board and slice into 11/2 inch pieces. (they can be frozen at this point and baked straight out of the freezer when needed) Place on a baking tray and leave them to rise for about 45 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 375degrees F and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. When done and still hot, brush with some melted butter. I shaped a few into croissants just for fun and ended up with about 24 small rolls. enjoy while still warm with a hot bowl of soup.

Pumpkin and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup (serves 3)

1 medium sized red bell pepper

1 cup yellow pumpkin,skinned and cubed

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 ripe red tomato, chopped

1 teablespoon olive oil or butter

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup of milk (i used skimmed milk)

Roast the Red bell pepper on and open flame till charred, keep it in a tightly closed container (or a zip lock bag) to sweat. scrape off the charred skin, seeds and stalk and chop up the flesh into small pieces.

Heat the butter/ oil in a pressure cooker. Add the chopped garlic and saute till aromatic. Add the chopped onions, pumpkin pieces and saute for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomato and red bell peppers, salt and 3 cups of hot water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. When the pressure releases, open the cooker, pour into the blender jar and pulse till everything is incorporated. Strain with a soup strainer to remove the skins of tomato etc. pour it back into the pressure cooker, add the milk , oregano and pepper and heat through, stirring constantly. Taste to check for seasoning and adjust. Serve hot or cold.

Easy Beginners Homemade Bread

A few weeks ago, tempted by the absolutely perfect temperature of the tap water at home, i bloomed some yeast and baked bread. Turned out to be the best i’ve ever baked. it was crusty from the outside and crumbly and soft on the inside. The house smelled heavenly and i lopped off a slice even before it cooled to have with some orange marmalade and tea…here’s the recipe. I used half maida / all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. feel free to use all all purpose flour if you want the bread more white.

Bread (Makes one large 9×5 loaf)

2 cups Maida/ all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour (i used ITC’s ashirwad atta)

2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon dried instant yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

in the warm water, dissolve the sugar and the yeast and leave it to bloom/ froth up for about 15 minutes.

Mix the flours together with the salt and set aside in a large deep bowl. Add the yeast- sugar-water mix to the flour and mix together with a wooden spoon till it becomes a shaggy mound of dough. knead it for a couple of minutes till it becomes a smooth large ball and add the oil and coat the dough with the oil.

transfer to a large deep bowl and cover with a damp clean kitchen cloth and keep aside for about an hour or two till it more than doubles in size. sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoons on dry flour on a clean surface such as the countertop. punch down the dough and knead it for a minute.

shape it into a loaf to fit the loaf pan. grease the loaf pan and place the dough into the pan. cover and let it rise for about 30 minutes. preheat the oven to about 375F. Score dough by cutting three slashes across the top with a sharp knife.

Put in oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Turn out bread and let cool on a rack or clean dishtowel. wait till it cools completely before slicing.

Enjoy with a liberal coating of butter and marmalade/ jam.

Club Sandwich

Hunger pangs ride home with me on my way back from office. Sometimes making me wish, I kept a loaf of bread handy for me to dip into my cup of chai to calm the pangs. We don’t eat or stock bread too much and both K and I arent very butter and jam type of people. Amma on the other hand can have a nervous breakdown if there’s a depleting bread stock!! Not that I don’t like bread, I love it…. Especially to mop up sambhar or with some freshly scrambled egg. We somehow don’t seem to buy it as often as Amma did. When we buy a loaf, it ends up lying around a couple 0f days before it ends up as bread crumbs.

On one evening, i decided to use up some leftover bread by making myself a Club Sandwich. I had some sweet Mayo from Indiana foods in Bangalore, so this was what they call “Top Class”. This isn’t so much a recipe as much as it is an assembling method. But for whatever it is worth, here’s my restaurant style club sandwich. Its a rather large one and will be best enjoyed shared with a loved one!

Club Sandwich

3 slices bread, toasted lightly

2-3 leaves lettuce

1 firm and ripe tomato, sliced

6-7 slices cucumber

1 Tbs mayonaise (from a bottle, i got mine from Indiana Foods)

1 Tbs butter

1 egg

1 tsp oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat a pan with oil and fry the egg on both side, adding salt and pepper to taste. divided into two halves and set aside.

Butter the toasted slices of bread. Place one  on a wooden board/ plate. Layer with lettuce leaves, tomatoe and cucumber slice, season lightly with salt and pepper and add one piece of the fried egg. Place another slice of toast on top of this and repeat the layers, adding the mayonnaise before placing the last slice of toasted bread on top. Press down gently. Slice diagonally into half. Serve with some hot tea or coffee.