Whole Wheat (Atta) Bread - (the No Maida Bread At Last!)

(Adapted from vegrecipesofindia.com - 100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe)

I have a veritable love affair with the process of bread making. I may go through a phase of baking cakes, tarts, bread pudding et all, but whenever my spirits sag low, I invariably return to making my humble loaf of bread. Nothing gives me as much peace and happiness as a golden-brown, fresh-baked loaf of bread.


Some people have asked me " Don't you find the whole process (of making bread) really long and laborious?" Surprisingly, my answer is no. This so because other than the kneading process that actually lasts 10 minutes, the process does not need my active participation. I knead the bread and leave it to rise on it own sweet will. In the meantime, I can put in one solid hour of office work (since I work from home). I cant expect a sabzi or a chicken dish simmering on the gas to take care of itself for an hour or two, while I am busy with a document!


This recipe has been a real God- sent for me. I was never comfortable consuming loads of all-purpose flour in my daily bread. Ironically, whenever I bake whole wheat bread, the husband man and daughter refuse to eat it because it is dense and "not-so-tasty". Most whole-wheat recipes call for vital-wheat gluten, that is essential to soften and make the bread fluffy. Dassana of vegrecipesofindia.com has come up with a breakthrough discovery that adding curd to the dough is all it takes to make a whole-wheat bread soft and tasty. I found her recipe here.


Adding curd to the dough makes the dough acidic, that further helps in gluten development. If you do not have curd, you can use vinegar instead. Any kind of vinegar that you use for cooking purposes! I also added a little powdered flaxseed because I have read that flaxseed really softens bread. The bread may taste slightly of curd (or vinegar), but once you have the bread with jam or any other spread it's just fine.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour (Atta): 3 cups

Warm water: 1.25 cups

Active dry yeast: 1/2 tablespoon

Salt: 1 teaspoon

Sugar (granulated or powdered): 2 tablespoons

Butter/oil: 2 tablespoons

Curd/Youghurt: 2 tablespoons (Or Vinegar: 1.5 tablespoon)

Milk: for brushing

Flaxseed powder (optional): 1 tablespoon

Process:

1. Mix Atta with salt. Add curd, sugar, yeast, flaxseed powder to this mixture.

2. Add oil.

3. Now add warm water and knead the dough by hand or using stand mixer.

4. The dough should be smooth, soft, and slightly sticky. You need to knead thoroughly for about 4-5 minutes. Add some more water if required.

5. Dunk the dough in a deep-bottom bowl and brush lightly with some water. Keep covered in a warm place for at least 1.5 hours.

6. The dough will appear puffed up and almost double its original volume.

7. Knead the dough once again and shape into a log.

8. Place the dough in a greased bread tin and keep in a warm place for another 1 hour.

9. The dough will rise and will be visible over the rim of the bread tin. Place a longitudinal cut on the top surface of the dough and brush with milk.

10. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees for 15 minutes.

11. Place the dough in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

12. Cover the bread tin with aluminum foil after 10 minutes to avoid over-browning of the top surface.

13. Remove from the oven and brush with milk or butter.

14. The underside of the loaf should not be wet or sticky to touch. If you tap the lower side of the loaf, you should get a hollow sound. If you don't, just pop it into the open for 5 more minutes at the same temperature.



The bottom part of the loaf

15.Cool to room temperature before slicing the bread. Enjoy!

The lovely slices