This is a recipe I have been making for a while now and is quite a favourite for the husband and me.I wrote this recipe in an elaborate manner for a friend who is/was a newbie to baking and breads in particular. I hope you folks find it useful. Do let me know in case of any questions! 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD (Single Rise) 3-3(1/4) cups whole wheat flour or atta, divided- this means, keep 1 cup of flour separately and the other 2 cups flour in a diff bowl for use later. The last 1/4 cup will be used while kneading upon need so keep that separately. 1(1/4) cup warm water( water should be warm to the touch, basically you should be able to keep your finger in that water for a few seconds without it stinging you- if unsure, err on the side of too cold ) 1(1/2) tsp instant yeast 2 tbsp. + 2 tsp honey 2 tbsp. + 2 tsp oil 1(1/4) tsp salt 1 tbsp. vital wheat gluten (optional- I used to add this before, not anymore) First, warm the water according to directions above and add it to a big mixing bowl. To that, sprinkle the yeast and add 1 cup of the flour. Set it aside for 20 minutes. Add the oil and the honey (in that order, for the honey to come off easily). To the 2 cups of flour you've kept separately add the salt and the gluten(if using). Now add this flour-salt-gluten mix to the mixing bowl containing the yeast mix. Start kneading by hand now- it will be sticky. That is how it is meant to be. Knead inside the bowl until it look like a messy ball of dough- push this to your lightly floured countertop and knead it for around 10 minutes. The time is important until you get a better understanding of how the bread dough should feel. While kneading, do NOT be tempted to add more than the 1/4 cup of flour you have designated for this purpose. Even at the end of the 10 mins it will feel lightly sticky, but, that's ok- that's exactly how it is supposed to feel. Remember it is better to be a little sticky than dry. This dough SHOULD NOT be dry. Form the dough into a loaf and grease a loaf pan with a small pat of butter and drop this loaf into that. It should rise for an hour to at best an hour and a half. By then it should rise to such an extent that the loaf comes a little over the loaf pan, around 1/2 inch or so. During the last few mins of the 1 hour or 1 1/2 hour rise, take the loaf pan out and pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C. Once done, put the loaf pan in and let it bake for 30 minutes. It should be done by then. Once its’ done, let it rest for 5 minutes before taking it out to a cooling rack. Take a tiny piece of butter and rub atop the loaf (this is to give the loaf an inherent soft texture).Wait for bread to cool down (at least an hour to an hour and a half) before attempting to slice. After slicing, it has to be consumed within 2 days if kept outside. Else store inside fridge for up to a week.
nice recipe. you should have added a pic of the loaf.. the warm bread slice..yum.. and aroma of yeast baking. once you master the yeast beast, the breads are a wonderful hobby... I make it the same way @newbie87, but i use the tangzhong method of making roux. it helps in making any bread soft. I don't use gluten as i don't get that easily. and please do not store bread in fridge. you can freeze excess once prooved dough but not bread. because bread becomes stale in the fridge faster than left out. you can googled on it too.
Hi, Yes, the tangzhong method makes for equally delicious bread. I don't store it in the fridge to be honest because between the two of us, we use it up within a couple of days. However I have baked for friends who've told me storing it in the fridge helped them. I did not know that it causes the bread to go stale actually. The one time I did store in the fridge I did not feel it go bad on me. Let me modify the post however. So, consume it within 2 days or store excess dough is what you're saying?
Guess I can't edit it now. However, I hope people reading the recipe also read your comments and do as they deem fit . Thank you SO much for your feedback
@newbie87 :cheers I make whole wheat bread somehow the same way,not exactly,theres no honey,vital gluten, but tangzhong. No refrigeration. I follow this.Wrap in cling film after complete cooling,will be fresh as baked. Thanks.