The bread available normally is pretty tasteless and full of preservatives. If you want a tasty oven fresh bread then you have to go to a specialist Bakery and end up paying through your nose.
After trying different mixes of flour, yeast, sugar and spices, I have honed a recipe, which is easy and wholesome to be used daily at breakfast. I generally use two types of moulds, the smaller one used this time, gives me small slices perfect for open sandwitches. A larger mould results in giant sized slices, excellent for toasting or making picnic sandwitches.
STEPS
• Collect the ingredients
• Mix the dough
• Rest for the dough to rise once
• Mix the dough a second time and fill the bread box
• Wait for the dough to rise a second time
• Bake in a Hot Oven
Ingredients
• Refined flour (Maida) : 1/2 kg packet
• Normal flour (Atta) : 1/4 kg (two cups)
• Milk : 1 cup
• Sugar : 2-3 tea spoons
• Oil : 8 tea spoons
• Spice - Cumin (Jeera) : 1/2 tea spoon
• Spices - Onion Seeds (Kalonji) : 1/4 tea spoon
• Salt : pinch
• Dry Yeast : 2 tea spoons
Method
• Take a shallow pan, as used to mix chapatti dough
• Sift the Atta on to the pan
• Sift the Maida on to the pan
• Spread the dried yeast
• Mix the dry ingredients to mix the atta-maida uniformly
• Make a well in the centre
• Add the spices
• Add the oil
• Add Sugar
• Add the Salt
• Mix. The flour remains dry but the oil is absorbed resulting in large granules
• Make a well in the centre and add the Milk and kneed
• The dough becomes slightly smooth
• Make a well in the centre and add about 300ml of water (half a bottle of 650ml)
• Kneed till the dough becomes smooth and elastic. About 5 minutes. To test make a ball. Poke your finger in. The depression should slowly spring back.
• Cover the dough with a wet cloth. Wait for around 1/2 to 1 hour till the dough doubles up
• Kneed the dough another 5 minutes till the dough regains its original volume
• Make 2 to 3 balls of equal size. Each ball should have enough dough to fill 1/3 to 1/2 of the bread box.
• Dust the bread box with flour
• Roll or shape each ball to fit the bread box. Dust the dough with flour
• Press the dough into each bread box. Wait for it to rise. Ideally it should rise beyond the rim, and overflow a little
• Once the dough has risen, put the bread boxes into a pre heated oven. The temperature should be at lest 275 degrees. The hotter the oven the fluffier the bread, as the outer crust will harden fast, while the interior remains soft.
NOTES
• The more the Atta, the less the bread will rise in a given time. Pure Maida bread will rise at least three times compared to my mix's 2.5 times.
• I have tried yeast as little as 1/4 tea spoon and as much as 4 tea spoons. The more the yeast the faster the bread rises, but more yeast leaves a yeasty taste, disliked by some. 2 tea spoons in my opinion is the best compromise.
• The spices are to your taste. You can try any thing and every thing to get your favourite taste.
• Salt inhibits yeast growth, so do not use a lot, else the bread will not rise
• Warm the milk to body temperature to prevent large lumps in cold weather
• At times you would like to bake in the morning, but do not want to get up that early , so you can put the dough in the refrigerator and take it out early in the morning, wait for it to attain room temperature and bake just in time for the break fast. This is what I did this time.
Photographs
Mixture with spices added
Major ingredients - milk, sugar, oil to be added
Ingredients added
First round of mixing
Water bottle, just to measure the amount used
Add water
Closer look
Initial result of kneading
Water used up
Test the kneading. Poke a hole with your finger. It will bounce back in a minute
Dough covered with a wet cloth
After first rise. Knead again. Make two balls
Dough balls flattened and sprinkled with flour
Dough in the baking pans. As I wanted smaller slices, the dough is just 1/3 height of the pan. Normally it can be upto 1/2 the height.
Side view
Score a pattern for effects
Cover the bread boxes and let the dough rise
Out of the oven
Let the hot bread rest on a rack
Time to use the bread. Open sandwiches in making - Mozzarella topped with roast chicken-capsicum mix, topped with grated Parmesan
Finished sandwich, grilled in the microwave
Cooking Log - to get the total cooking time
1645 : Collect the ingredients and start mixing
1700 : Finished kneading the dough
1800 : Dough rises to twice its volume
As there was no time, kept the dough in the refrigerator over night
0910 : Started Baking
0950 : Finished baking
After trying different mixes of flour, yeast, sugar and spices, I have honed a recipe, which is easy and wholesome to be used daily at breakfast. I generally use two types of moulds, the smaller one used this time, gives me small slices perfect for open sandwitches. A larger mould results in giant sized slices, excellent for toasting or making picnic sandwitches.
STEPS
• Collect the ingredients
• Mix the dough
• Rest for the dough to rise once
• Mix the dough a second time and fill the bread box
• Wait for the dough to rise a second time
• Bake in a Hot Oven
Ingredients
• Refined flour (Maida) : 1/2 kg packet
• Normal flour (Atta) : 1/4 kg (two cups)
• Milk : 1 cup
• Sugar : 2-3 tea spoons
• Oil : 8 tea spoons
• Spice - Cumin (Jeera) : 1/2 tea spoon
• Spices - Onion Seeds (Kalonji) : 1/4 tea spoon
• Salt : pinch
• Dry Yeast : 2 tea spoons
Method
• Take a shallow pan, as used to mix chapatti dough
• Sift the Atta on to the pan
• Sift the Maida on to the pan
• Spread the dried yeast
• Mix the dry ingredients to mix the atta-maida uniformly
• Make a well in the centre
• Add the spices
• Add the oil
• Add Sugar
• Add the Salt
• Mix. The flour remains dry but the oil is absorbed resulting in large granules
• Make a well in the centre and add the Milk and kneed
• The dough becomes slightly smooth
• Make a well in the centre and add about 300ml of water (half a bottle of 650ml)
• Kneed till the dough becomes smooth and elastic. About 5 minutes. To test make a ball. Poke your finger in. The depression should slowly spring back.
• Cover the dough with a wet cloth. Wait for around 1/2 to 1 hour till the dough doubles up
• Kneed the dough another 5 minutes till the dough regains its original volume
• Make 2 to 3 balls of equal size. Each ball should have enough dough to fill 1/3 to 1/2 of the bread box.
• Dust the bread box with flour
• Roll or shape each ball to fit the bread box. Dust the dough with flour
• Press the dough into each bread box. Wait for it to rise. Ideally it should rise beyond the rim, and overflow a little
• Once the dough has risen, put the bread boxes into a pre heated oven. The temperature should be at lest 275 degrees. The hotter the oven the fluffier the bread, as the outer crust will harden fast, while the interior remains soft.
NOTES
• The more the Atta, the less the bread will rise in a given time. Pure Maida bread will rise at least three times compared to my mix's 2.5 times.
• I have tried yeast as little as 1/4 tea spoon and as much as 4 tea spoons. The more the yeast the faster the bread rises, but more yeast leaves a yeasty taste, disliked by some. 2 tea spoons in my opinion is the best compromise.
• The spices are to your taste. You can try any thing and every thing to get your favourite taste.
• Salt inhibits yeast growth, so do not use a lot, else the bread will not rise
• Warm the milk to body temperature to prevent large lumps in cold weather
• At times you would like to bake in the morning, but do not want to get up that early , so you can put the dough in the refrigerator and take it out early in the morning, wait for it to attain room temperature and bake just in time for the break fast. This is what I did this time.
Photographs
Mixture with spices added
Major ingredients - milk, sugar, oil to be added
Ingredients added
First round of mixing
Water bottle, just to measure the amount used
Add water
Closer look
Initial result of kneading
Water used up
Test the kneading. Poke a hole with your finger. It will bounce back in a minute
Dough covered with a wet cloth
After first rise. Knead again. Make two balls
Dough balls flattened and sprinkled with flour
Dough in the baking pans. As I wanted smaller slices, the dough is just 1/3 height of the pan. Normally it can be upto 1/2 the height.
Side view
Score a pattern for effects
Cover the bread boxes and let the dough rise
Out of the oven
Let the hot bread rest on a rack
Time to use the bread. Open sandwiches in making - Mozzarella topped with roast chicken-capsicum mix, topped with grated Parmesan
Finished sandwich, grilled in the microwave
Cooking Log - to get the total cooking time
1645 : Collect the ingredients and start mixing
1700 : Finished kneading the dough
1800 : Dough rises to twice its volume
As there was no time, kept the dough in the refrigerator over night
0910 : Started Baking
0950 : Finished baking
