100% Whole Wheat Bread (Slow Rise)

I'm no expert baker, and am learning. Bread baking gets easy only when you are willing to attempt it. I have been persistent at my efforts in baking 100% whole wheat loaves, some hard, some dense, some brittle, some soft, have had them all. Flour doesn't go too well with me, hence I never tried a loaf with all flour. I kept trying different methods and it looks like I have nailed it this time. 

This loaf definitely deserves a special mention of NO added gluten, half the yeast (of a standard recipe), and a slow rise. All three together! I was certainly prepared to risk it. 

After a lot of reading on why whole wheat bread doesn't turn as soft and pillowy as plain flour bread, I understood that the wheat bran in the WWF cuts through the gluten not allowing it to develop.(This requires addition of Vital wheat Gluten in most WWF bread recipes) Also, the bran tends to absorb water, thus becoming softer, and making the dough dry. This made me conclude that I could use slightly more water, adding it in one teaspoon at a time and kneading as I do. 
Adding salt at the last leg of the hand kneading stage helped me here. Had read that salt retards the growth of yeast, hence added it at the fag end. This gave an additional 20 minutes for the yeast to work on, in the dough. I also added curd, which must have been a factor in the bread rising well. 

I did not use any thermometers for measuring any temperatures. Just followed my intuition.

Here is my recipe: 

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 3 cups + 3 tbsp for dusting, if needed. 
Active Dry Yeast - 1 tsp 
Sugar - 2 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Curd - 2 Tbsp
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp for greasing
Water - 1 1/4 cups + 1 Tbsp + more for later 


Procedure

1. Heat water (1 1/4 C + 1 T) till lukewarm, just tolerably warm to touch on the back of your wrist or your little finger. Dissolve the sugar in it. Add the yeast, give it one quick stir and let it sit for 10 minutes, preferably covered with a bigger vessel. (gives better warmth for the yeast to activate) 
2. Be ready with the flour. I used my food processor for the first part of the kneading. Add  the oil, curd and the water with proofed yeast, and knead well. Add water as you knead, as the bran absorbs water, so gradually add water in measures of tsps. The dough should have left the sides of the bowl and should be a like a ball.  ( I have a small food processor, so I had to do this twice). 
3. Take it our on the counter top and get ready to knead by hand. If the dough got sticky by chance, in step 2, add a little flour, maybe one Tbsp and knead again. Once you start kneading, you will see it is soft and supple, but the bran inside is continuously absorbing water. So very carefully, add one tsp of water and knead well. Do this for about 8-10 minutes, till the dough is nice and pliable and very soft, but not sticky. The dough ball must hold its shape, and not stick to the counter or your hands. If it does, you could consider waiting for a minute or two, before attempting to work on it again.
4. after about 6-7 minutes of kneading, add one tsp of Salt. Continue kneading. 
5. After 10 minutes of kneading, take the dough in your hands and shape it into a round loaf. See detailed pictures on this link - http://www.thekitchn.com/baking-technique-how-to-shape-66140
6. Place this in the greased bowl and leave it in a dark spot for the first rise. Usually, a slow rise bread is refrigerated in its first rise, however, I did not do this. 
7. It would have doubled in size in six hours time. Take it out, punch it, knock it down to release any trapped air, shape it again, and leave it for another rise for about 45 minutes. 
8. After the second rise, take the dough, punch it, knock it, and shape it into a loaf, and place in the greased leaf pan. The third rise will take about one hour. To see how to shape it into a loaf, see this video from 1:23 http://www.kingarthurflour.com/videos/bread-101-basic-white-bread-shaping-and-baking-the-loaf
9. Pre-heat the oven, brush the loaf top with milk. You could slash the top to ensure it doesn't rise non-uniformly while baking. Bake at 155 deg C for about 40 minutes, watching the top closely after the first 20 minutes. (All oven temperatures are different, hence this is not a standard, it's just what I used) 
10. Tap the pan sides to check whether the bread is done. A hollow sound means its done. 
11. Let the pan sit in the oven for about 5 minutes after its been switched off. 
12. Take the pan out of the oven and generously brush it with butter. Unmould after 5 minutes. 
13. Allow to cool completely. Slice and enjoy!

100% whole wheat and oats seeded bread

Bread baking is an art as much as it is a Science. 

The gluten development, how the yeast behaves in different climates is all a science. And it takes some practice to understand this perfectly. 

I have always baked whole wheat breads, and resist to try with APF. I'm no expert, am learning myself. 

Beginners find it easy to use APF for breads since it gives a great crumb and a soft and pillowy texture. But I do not use APF since it is not as healthy as whole wheat. As a result, Whole wheat bread that I bake is slightly more dense, but a lot healthier. Bread needs good quality yeast and perfect kneading. Whole wheat breads always are more dense than APF breads.

If the yeast doesn't become frothy, toss it. Good quality dry active yeast should get frothy in lukewarm water in 10 minutes. 

The water content depends on the climatic conditions. Dry and cold areas might need water slightly more than humid climate. That is why this is a science. Means after some trials (and may be errors) you will crack the correct technique!  

Here is the Recipe.

What went in

3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats (i used the instant variety)
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil ( I used Rice bran oil)
2  tbsp sugar
Seeds - 3-4 tbsp ( I used a mix of  flax seeds, sunflower seeds and black sesame seeds) Roast these well. 

Wheat flour for dusting 

Oil for greasing 

Milk for brushing on loaf top. 

Directions

1. Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water. Add the yeast, give it a quick stir and let it proof for 10 minutes. The mixture should become frothy.
2. Mix the flour, oats, salt and oil in a big bowl.
3. Add the proofed yeast-water mixture and mix exerything with a wooden spatula. It will look like a shaggy mass. Leave this for 10-15 minutes, which is when the wheat absorbs some of the water ( I did all this by hand and used up a lot of my energy (read calories)... you might want to use your Kitchen Aid or food processor ) 
4. After 15 minutes, the dough should look better and will start becoming one mass. ( I accidentally added more water hence had to add some flour) Start kneading it on a lightly floured countertop. Push it away with the heel of your hand and fold. Then repeat. Knead for about 10-12 minutes till it is smooth and elastic. Add the seeds till it gets uniformly mixed in the dough. Continue kneading. Kneading is complete when the dough bounces back when slightly prodded.
5. Once kneading is done, shape the dough into a smooth ball. Place it in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in a dark place. The oven is a good place.
6. The dough should rise to double. It took 90 minutes and I let it rest for 30 more. This is the first rise. 
7. Take the dough and punch it and knock down on a wooden surface. This will release the air bubbles. Knead for a minute or two till it is soft and elastic. 
8. Grease the loaf pan and keep ready. Flatten the dough into a rectangle with the loaf pan as a guide for the measurement.
9. Fold one edge inside and fold the other edge on top of this just like you would fold a letter. Pinch the edges and sides so that it sticks well. This will prevent formation of carbondioxide pockets at the folds as the loaf gets baked. 
10. Place the log shaped loaf into the greased loaf pan and cover with cling film. Allow this to rest in a dark place. If you live in colder climates, you might consider covering the film wrapped pan with some thick kitchen towel as well. This is the second rise. Let this sit for one hour.
11. Preheat oven to 170 deg. Brush milk generously with a brush on the top of the loaf. This will make it soft. Sprinkle some seeds. 
12. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or so, or till the pan sounds hollow when tapped from outside. If you find that the top is browning fast, place an aluminium foil loosely on the top and continue baking. 
13. Once done, remove from oven. Brush some butter on the top. Yields a softer crust. Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then unmould it and let it cool.on a wire rack completely. 
14. Slice after it cools completely.

Eggless Healthy Cake

What do you do when one side of the brain tells you Flour( and processed food of any type)  is not good for health and, the other side pinching the hunger zone, telling you to somehow have the healthy cake, linking it to the picture you saw on social media a couple of days ago? 
Well to cut the long sentence short, what I did was I baked that cake! 


I am an aware and healthy eater. And, no, I am not choosy or picky to the bone, but I know I will be what I eat. So I choose to eat healthy. Simple. 

This wheat flour cake was inspired by a social networking picture bosted by a member on a group. And it was enough to let my imagination take over. Offcourse, this friend was kind to share what she had used. And once you enjoy cooking/baking, you are sure to try out different combinations all by yourself. And sometimes, kitchen experiments do give out reasonably good results! Definitely satisfying ones :-) This cake was one of them :-) 

Let me share how I made this healthy cake. I was trying out with a small quantity. I would recommend you too first try out a small quantity. This recipe is for a small 6" baking pan. 

What went in:

Over ripe Bananas - 3 ( I used the small elaichi variety) 
Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup
Thick curd - 1/4 cup ( a little sour is better) 
1/4 - 1/2 cup powdered jaggery ( you may want to add a little more)
flax meal - 1 tbsp ( mixed with 3 tbsp water and kept aside) 
Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp 
Oats - 2 tbsp 
Baking Soda - 3/4 tsp 
Cinnammon powder - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch 
Chopped dry fruits - 3/4 cup ( Figs, dates, raisins) 
Water - 4-5 tbsp 

(For a vegan option, add 3 tbsp oil and 3 tbsp water) 

How I made it: 

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees, grease and dust the pan.  
2. Take some warm water in a bowl and soak the chopped dry fruits for some time.
3. In a bowl take the wheat flour, baking soda, cinnammon powder and sift once. Then mix the oats and salt. Mix thoroughly Keep aside.
4. In a big mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add the curd, jaggery, the flaxmeal- water mix, oil and mix all this well till it is smooth and even. You might want to add more jaggery if you prefer this sweet. If you are fine with using white sugar in this recipe, you may use it. 
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in batches of 3 tbsp each, at a time. Mix the contents well wit a gentle folding motion till you do not see any traces of dry ingredients. Repeat till all the contents are mixed well. Do not overmix. 
6.  Strain the soaked contents and keep the water aside. Add the soaked raisins to the cake batter. If you find the batter too thick, add some water. 
7. Pour this in the greased pan, tap the pan, and bake for 40 minutes. 
8. You might want to cover the top with an aluminium foil with slits on the top to prevent the top from burning. 
9. Bake till the cake passes the skewer/tootpick test. Once its done, turn off the oven and let it be in the oven for 10 mins. 
10. Let it cool for another 5 minutes after you take it out. Invert and let it cool on a wire rack. Enjoy.

Additional Gyaan: 

• Curd + Baking Soda is an egg replacer, 1 tbsp flaxmeal in 3 tbsp of water is an egg replacer for one egg, 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar is an egg substitute. 
• I have also read that mashed ripe bananas work great as egg substitutes. 
• I used three of the known egg substitutes. This made the cake too crumbly, nevertheless the taste was great. You might try with any one only. In other substitute, make sure you add 1/2 tsp baking powder. 
• You might add walnuts in the batter for a nutty flavour. ( will be trying this one soon ) 
• Cutting out curd makes this a vegan recipe.