Whole-Wheat Bread

And trust me if you have not smelled the aroma of proofed yeast and freshly baked bread while it's doing its thing in the oven, you have not been in food heaven. Truth be told I wasn't intending to post this but my cousin Munmun wanted the recipe, and if I was going to write it down, why not share.

I made this early morning (ya my body clock is ticking in a time of its own and I sleep by 0400 hrs these days) and was almost tempted to wait for the sunrise and enjoy it with a cup of tea. But sunrise in Delhi is at around 0600 hours so that didn't happen.

It's a basic whole wheat bread, and a recipe that you can hold onto for life. Tweak it, adapt it and change it as per your taste after the first few tries. 

Ingredients:

1.5 cup whole wheat flour

.5 cup refined flour

1 cup warm water (approx 45degree c)

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp active yeast

Method:

Dissolve the sugar in water and add the yeast, stir once and cover to let it prove. Proofing yeast means activating the live micro organisms. It will take 5-10 mins and once done you will see a cloudy foamy mix atop the water. If it's not foamy, throw away and start again. Don't proceed or your bread won't rise.

Mix everything with the yeast mix and make dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes and then cover and rest for 1 hour in a oiled bowl. After an hour the dough should have doubled in size. Punch the dough down.

Now take the bread tin, grease and put the dough in any shape you like. I divided mine to three equal portions and braided them. Leave it in the tin to rise a second time. It should be done in 30-45 minutes.

Now top with seeds of your choice, or oats if you want. This is optional.

Bake at 180 degrees in a pre- heated oven for 30 minutes. Let it cool a little and enjoy.