Bread baking day

Hope you had great weekend and have greeted the new week with renewed vigour!

Well, it’s time for some fresh home made bread again, and for me, nothing beats the satisfaction derived from it. Bread baking days are really special. Kneading, watching the dough rise, shaping, baking and taking in their heavenly aromas. Yes, it is worth all the hassle. And like all home made goodies, it offers tremendous potential for experimenting with flavours too.

This time I made some cheesy , rye and tomato bread.

It is quite easy to make and is packed with flavour. I have used rye flour which has a distinctive flavour. It is naturally lower in gluten, so I added some wholemeal plain flour , also referred to as 100% extraction flour, because it contains 100% of the wheat grain, including the bran and germ. It has a higher fibre content than plain flour. Sun dried tomato paste, herbs, mature cheddar cheese and chillies were also added to the dough to give added flavour. An assortment of seeds and chillis were sprinkled to the top for some extra bite.

The following measurements make 10 good sized rolls. I, however, made 6 rolls and 1 loaf.

What’s needed-

1 and 1/4 C  stone-ground rye flour
1 and 1/2 C + 12 tblsps wholemeal plain flour
2 tsp of fast action dried yeast
2 tblsp sun dried tomato paste
1 and 1/2 tblsp salt
2 and 1/2 C of loosely packed mature cheddar cheese
1 tblsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp of crushed red chillies ( more or less)
2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1 and 1/3 c of warm water

For the tops-

a little milk
a handful of sunflower and sesame seeds and a little crushed red chilies, mixed together
a few tbsp of melted butter for brushing the tops after baking

How to-

1. In a  bowl, place the rye flour, 1 and 1/2 c of wholemeal plain flour, yeast, sun dried tomato paste, oregano, cheese, extra virgin olive oil, garlic paste, chillies and salt. Rub the ingredients together with your fingertips till the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
2. make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, and tip in the warm water. Mix everything together. It will be very sticky at this stage.
3. Add the rest of the flour, a tblsp at a time and mix well after each addition. Gradually, with the addition of more flour, it will be quite workable and you should be able to knead it quite easily.
4. After all the flour has been added, knead the dough for at least 5 minutes. and form a smooth ball of dough.
5. Place the ball of dough in a clean, oiled bowl and toss it around. Cover the bowl with an oiled plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about an hour or till the dough rises in volume.



6. Punch down the dough with your knuckles and knead for about 4-5 minutes.
7. Shape the dough into a log and divide into 10 equal portions.
8. Grease a baking tray. Shape each portion into a ball and place them on the tray, with enough room in between to allow for the balls of dough to rise. ( As I mentioned earlier, I shaped the dough into 6 rolls and one loaf. For the loaf, I made an oval shape and made three cuts on the top with a sharp knife. The rest was the same).
9. Brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle the seeds and chilli mixture. Cover the tray loosely with an oiled plastic wrap and leave to rise again for about 45 minutes or till doubled in volume.
10. Pre heat the oven at 220 deg C. Remove the plastic wrap and place the tray in the top rack of the pre heated oven and bake for about 17 -19 minutes or till the top browns beautifully and a toothpick inserted through the centre comes out clean ( For the loaf, I baked for about 16 minutes, covered the top with a foil and baked for 5 more minutes)
11. Brush the tops immediately with the melted butter ( softens the crust).
12. Cool the rolls in the tray for a minute and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

All the flavours in the bread merged with each other perfectly. The rolls / loaf met with 100% approval from the family. I served them with some hearty soup on a cold night. Rengoni and Agastya even had a piece each on it’s own

Needless to say, these rolls and loaf are off to Temperance as my contribution for “Bread Baking day #16″.