Wholewheat Bread

Conducting bread baking classes at home are proving quite beneficial to me in a way that my breads are getting better and more perfect than what they used to be. Since I am the instructor, it is extremely important for me to practice all my demo recipes before the class and thus perfection sets in. I am in love with my breads now more than ever before and hate to buy a loaf from the store even if it means taking a sweat shower in the kitchen in the unbearable Singapore heat!!

Ingredients 

2 cups wholewheat flour sifted (I have found Sharbati Atta of any brand gives you the best results; here, I have used Pilsbury Gold but Peshwai or Ashirwaad Sharbati will work equally well)

1 cup bread flour or all purpose flour 

3 tsp or 1 tbsp instant yeast 

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk powder 

250 ml warm water not exceeding 41 degree celcius or comfortable enough to hold a drop on the back of your wrist 

2 tbsp butter room temperature (I use low fat margarine)

Olive oil for greasing 

Direction 

Proof the yeast first. Dissolve the sugar into 150 ml warm water and mix in the yeast. Let it stand for 10 minutes till frothy and increased in volume. 

In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, and milk powder. Now make a well in the center and pour in the yeast and start mixing the flour and the yeast liquid. Once all the liquid is covered by the flour, start adding in water little atva time until all the water is used up (remaining 100 ml). With wholewheat breads we have to ensure that the dough is not dry but smooth and soft to the touch with slight traces of stickiness. A dry dough will result in a dry crumbly bread. 

Now transfer the sticky dough to a clean and floured work surface and using both your hands, start kneading with all your might till all the stickiness is gone. This will take 5-7 minutes. Now spread out the dough and splash 1 tbsp butter/margarine and fold in. Continue kneading till the butter is absorbed. Do not be tempted to add extra flour. Just keep kneading and in mo time the stickiness will be gone. Now add the remaining 1 tbsp butter and knead again till you have an incredibly soft and elastic dough. Congratulations! You are 70% done!!

Niw oil a big enough bowl to hold the doubled up risen dough and also oil the dough. Gently place it into the oiled bowl and keep covered in a warm place for 1- 11/2 hour till doubled in volume. 

Once doubled, punch down the dough and knead for 3-5 minutes to bring the dough into a uniformly shaped loaf. Grease a loaf tin and place the shaped loaf in it. Cover again and leave to rise for another 1 hour. 

Towards the end of the second rise, start preheating the oven at 180 degree celcius and also keep a small tray of water to build up steam. 

Brush the top of the loaf gently with milk (room temperature) taking care not to deflate the dough. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes till you get a dark brown top and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. 

Remove from the pan immediately and brush the top with butter. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. 

Garlic Knots

Bread baking is a superb stress buster and very satisfying too. When you see your ball of dough puff up like a mountain in the first rise, your chest also doubles up equally with joy in anticipation of eating something awesomely yummy fresh and hot from the oven. I had hosted an all Italian dinner at my place this weekend and to make it even more enticing, I decided to bake my bread at home to compliment my Lasagna. The bread superseded my expectations in every way right from the first rise, the oven spring to the cottony soft texture!! My happiness knew no bounds and even more so when my guests couldn't stop praising my efforts and the food. 

Ingredients 

3 cups all purpose flour (I used bread flour but APF works equally well)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt 

3/4 cup warm water plus 1/2 cup for kneading 

2 tbsp butter softened 

For the garlic wash

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tbsp garlic finely chopped (depending in how garlicky you want your knots)

2 tbsp parsley finely chopped 

Direction 

Dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup warm water (43.3 degree celcius to be precise or till you are able to bear a drop of water on the back of your wrist) and sugar and let it stand till frothy and doubled in volume. 

Mix the flour and salt and add the frothy yeasty liquid to it. Mix with your hands or a spoon until the flour just comes together. It is not required that it forms a dough at this point. Cover and let the dough hydrate for 15 minutes. 

Now add the remaining water little at a time and start kneading the dough. Once the dough starts coming together, transfer to a clean kitchen counter or silicon mat and knead with the heels of your hands till the stickiness of the dough is almost gone. Now flatten the dough slightly with your hands and put 1 tbsp butter on the flattened base and fold in. Bang, fold, and knead the dough with all force till the butter is all absorbed and the dough is smooth with no stickiness. Again roll out the dough with the hands and apply the remaining butter and fold, bang, fold and knead like before till the dough is smooth to touch and and soft and elastic. Oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl and grease it too. Cover and let it rest either in one corner of the kitchen counter or inside the microwave (basically a warm and humid place) until doubled in volume. 

Now deflate the dough and punch down the dough for 2-3 minutes. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and divide the dough into two. Keep one part of the dough in the bowl covered while working on the other. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle of 1/3" thickness. With the help of a knife cut long strips. 

Pick one strip and make a knot (bring both ends together and then push one end into the circle making a knot). Place it on the prepared baking tray. 

Repeat with the rest of the strips and the dough. Place the knots 1" apart as you keep them covered in a warm place for their second rise, about 1 hour or until doubled in size. Singapore is quite hot and humid these days and so it took me just 45 minutes in both the proofings for the dough to rise. 

Pre-heat the oven 20 minutes before the end of the second rise at 225 degree celcius. Now make the garlic wash. Melt the butter and oil together on the stove top and add the garlic. Stir for a minute and then remove from heat and add the parsley. Stir and cool it to room temperature. Now brush the cooled garlic wash generously (but gently) on the puffed up knots. Take care not to deflate the risen knots by hard brushing or hot garlic wash. 

Bake in the pre-heated oven at 200 degree celcius for 15 minutes or until golden on top and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and brush again with the remaining garlic wash. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely!

Bread Dhokla

My health and fitness mantra is going quite strong in my household and results are now slowly showing up for both me and my hubby. I realized all you need to eat and stay fit and healthy is a little self motivation, among other things, and determination to achieve a certain goal. That said, you should not start by setting impossible targets for yourself which, later when not achieved, turn into more of a demotivation than inspiration. Give your body some time, love it, pamper it at times, and most importantly do not reprimand it or over stress it to achieve that goal. Go slow, go steady and success will surely be yours!!

Today's recipe serves as a wonderful tea time snack and is inspired by the famous Gujrati Dhokla. Although no besan is used in this recipe, the dish gets its name for the typical dhokla shape. It is extremely easy to make and equally delicious and healthy to eat. 

 

Ingredients

4-6 slices of bread, edges cut (I used wholemeal brown bread)

1 cup yogurt whipped (preferably non sour)

1/2" ginger finely grated

1 green chilly finely chopped

1/2 tsp cumin powder (preferably freshly roasted and ground)

1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)

1 tsp finely chopped coriander

Salt to taste

1/4-1/2 tsp sugar (optional; use if you like a sweet and spicy dhokla and if your yogurt is too sour)

For the tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp oil

1 tsp turmeric powder 

Few curry leaves

Direction

Take the bread pieces together, edges removed, and cut them uniformly into four squares. 

Whip the yogurt  and mix all ingredients till smooth. Now take individual bread squares, quickly dip in the yogurt mixture and take it out, ensuring that it has been coated well on all sides. Now take another square, repeat the process and place it on the already dipped bread square. You can make a tower of either three or four dipped and sandwiched bread squares. Make sure that the squares that were originally cut together are sandwiched together. This will ensure uniform edges. (Sorry could not take a picture here as the hands were dirty). 

Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan and splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the turmeric and mix. Now gently slide in the sandwiched bread squares and lower the flame to medium low. You can add 2-3 bread square towers at a time. Putting too many at a time may however result in disintegration while flipping. Once it is done on one side, flip and toast on the other sides till all the sides are well toasted and sealed. Keep a close eye on the flame as the bread will tend to get burnt easily. Carefully transfer the toasted bread squares into a serving plate. If you have any more towers left untoasted, add a little bit more of the tempering and repeat the process. Serve hot with green chutney or with an additional tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves on top. Enjoy your tea time!!

Bruschetta - The Perfect way to Use Leftover Bread

So this is how my delicious Lemon Bread came to a scrumptious finish. I strongly believe nothing in this world happens before its pre-destined time, food too! Making a Bruschetta had been on my mind since I don't know when and every time I set out to make it, something else would crop up. My thursday mornings are particularly hectic as compared to the rest of the days as I go for an extended Yoga class after Gym. By the time I reach home, I have just about enough time to cook my baby's lunch before I rush to pick her up. As such, my lunch is either the previous night's leftover or something extremely quick and easy. I thoroughly enjoyed my quick-fix, healthy, yummy, and filling lunch today and thus finally my Bruschetta's got their due in my kitchen!!

Ingredients

Bread slices as per your requirement cut into halves

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 medium tomato finely chopped

1/4 bell pepper finely chopped (any color or a mix of colors)

2 tbsp sweet corn kernels

2 tsp garlic finely chopped

2 tsp black olives finely chopped (I forgot !)

Seasoning of your choice (I used a mix of oregano, basil, parsely, and red chilli flakes)

A dash of lemon juice

A dash of olive oil

Salt and freshly crushed black pepper to taste

Butter or any bread spread of your choice

Grated cheddar cheese for the topping

Direction

Pre-heat the oven at 200 degree celsius with only the top rod on. On a skillet, lightly toast the bread slices. Alternatively, you can butter the slices and toast them while pre-heating the oven. Take care however not to burn them. 

In a bowl, mix all the veggies (onion, tomato, corn, garlic, olives) and the seasoning and give a good stir. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and keep it aside till the bread is toasting. 

Now, take the bread slices and put the veggie topping generously on top covering maximum space. Top it with some grated cheese and crushed black pepper. Repeat for the rest of the slices. 

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5-7 minutes till the cheese has melted and the veggies look a little toasted. Remove from the oven and serve hot!

Lemon Honey Bread

So it was Sunday again and time for me to decide on my weekly breakfast. I was bored of all the healthy wholewheat goodies I have had in the previous weeks (sometimes, too many health food tend to mull down their worth) and wanted to try something regular yet interesting. I was curious about adding lemon in breads and was quite surprised to find out from Google that Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a very good dough conditioner and results in a very soft and moist crumb. I set about to experiment this new ingredient in my weekly bake and the results are for all to see!! 

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour (use 2 1/2 first and then add as required)

2 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast

2 tbsp honey

200 ml warm water (a drop of the water on the back of your wrist should feel comfortable)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon rind

1/2 tsp salt

50 ml milk at room temperature

1 tbsp room temperature butter plus more for greasing

1 tsp vital wheat gluten/bread improver (optional)

Direction

Dissolve the honey and warm water and add the yeast. Give a good stir and let it stand for 10 minutes. The yeast should become foamy and frothy and the liquid almost doubled in volume. 

Mix the flour, salt and bread improver (if using) and make a well in the center. Pour the yeasty liquid and start mixing with a spatula, moving in a single direction. Once the flour starts coming together, add the butter and lemon juice and start kneading the dough. Add the milk little at a time as required. Add some extra flour little at a time as required while kneading. You may also grease your hands in between with butter if it gets too sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and continue kneading for 10 minutes. The dough should be non-sticky but soft, smooth and elastic. Grease the dough from outside and loosely wrap in a clingfilm. Put it back in the bowl and keep it in a warm place (I keep in the microwave) and let it rise until doubled, about 1-1.5 hours. 

Now take the dough out and punch it down in a lightly floured surface to release the gasses. Line a large loaf tin with parchment paper. Shape the dough into a rectangular log and place it in the prepared loaf tin. Cover and put it back in the warm place for the second rise until doubled, about 1 hour. 

Pre-heat the oven at 200 degree celsius and keep a pan of warm water inside in order to form steam. Sprinkle some sesame or flaxseeds on top of the dough and gently brush the top with room tempetature milk. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden, sounds hollow when tapped on the top and the internal temperature of the bread is between 90-100 degree celsius. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a wire rack. Let it cool completely before slicing. 

 

 

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Carrot Bread

There were some fresh carrots lying in the fridge and some wilting spinach in the freezer. There had to be a way out to use them before the carrots loose their crunch and the spinach its life. However, stir fry or salad or sandwich was definitely not on my mind. Not being a vegetable lover, I had to think of something to camouflage the goodies and feed myself and my family. Bread it was and what better way to have a complete meal along with a bowl of soup! A wonderfully healthy and wholesome bread made with 100% wholewheat, goes well even with your faborite dip or a fresh and fluffy Spanish Omelette! 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup wholewheat flour

1/2 cup carrot puree (boil the carrots, drain and reserve the water, and puree the carrots in the blender)

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk powder

1 tsp vital wheat gluten (optional; you can use 1 egg optionally or skip it)

1 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast

100 ml lukewarm water (use the liquid in which you boiled the carrots for maximum health)

2 tbsp olive oil plus more for greasing

For the filling

1/2 cup spinach puree

5-6 slices of cheese

2-3 tbsp coriander and garlic paste (blend together in the grinder)

1 tbsp your choice of seasoning (I used a mix of cumin powder, coriander powder, and pinch of homemade garam masala)

Salt to taste

1 tsp olive oil

Direction

Prepare the filling first. Mix all the ingredients except the cheese slices and keep aside. If you feel it is too watery, drain the liquid and keep it in a bowl for use in some other curry or gravy. 

In a bowl, take the warm water (feels confortable when put on the back of your wrist or 40-45 degree celsius measured on the food thermometer) and dissolve 1 tbsp sugar. Add the yeast and mix thoroughly. Let it stand for 10 minutes undisturbed until frothy and foamy. 

In another bowl, mix together the flour, milk powder, salt, wheat gluten, and remaining sugar. Now slowly add the frothy yeast liquid and start mixing the dough with a spatula in one direction till all the liquid is absorbed. Now add the puree and start kneading with your hands. It will feel very sticky and messy at the beginning. Add the oil and continue kneading while adding some extra flour if required. Do not add too much flour. The dough needs to be smooth, non-sticky, and elastic but will still be a little soft and moist as for wholewheat we need to keep it moist. Oil the dough on the outside and loosely clingwrap it and keep in a warm place to rise for about 1-1.5 hours or until doubled. 

  Now roll out the dough on a clean and lightly floured surface into a rectangle. 

Arrange the cheese slices on top unevenly and fill up the spaces with the spinach puree. Start rolling in towards the other end, pinching the edges as you go.

Now grease two loaf tins and line them with parchment paper. Cut the log of dough into half and keep each half in the prepared loaf tins. 

Cover and keep aside for 1-1.5 hours or until doubled. While nearing towards the end of the proofing time, start pre-heating the oven at 180 degree celsius for at least 10 minutes. Slice thin long strips of capsicum and arrange on top alternating with slices of cheese. 

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until browned on top and the tap sounds hollow and the internal temperature is between 80-100 degree celsius (on the higher side). 

Remove from the loaf tin immediately and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. 

 

Brown Bread -- 100% Wholewheat Bread

My passion for cooking started with baking, breads specifically. I love my morning breakfast with a freshly baked toasted slice of bread with a light smear of butter and a dollop of homemade jam. However, I was missing out on this soulful breakfast for quite some time now as I was weary of eating white bread and I wasn't quite fond of the dense texture of the homemade wholewheat bread. I started reading up articles and blogs and found that wheat gluten, which is absent in wholewheat, is the reason behind the dense structure as the flour lacks the protein to help in gluten development. Bread flour or enriched flour comes ready mixed with the gluten and so the bread is soft and more delicious than the wholewheat one. One option, in the case of unavailability of wheat gluten, was to mix bread flour/enriched flour with wholewheat flour in a 40-60 proportion or otherwise and attain a better texture.

 In countries like India, where bread flour is not easily available, you can use regular all purpose flour with an egg or 1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature. You can, however, try searching on online sites, like Zansaar, which are known to have a good stock of baking supplies or request your local baker for wheat gluten. I was however looking for a 100% wholewheat bread baking technique without compromising the texture. After a lot of search, I finally laid my hands on a pack of Bread Improver/Wheat Gluten and was overly excited to try a simple wholewheat loaf to see the difference in texture. All this while, I had also bought the Bread Bible on Kindle and started reading the basics of bread making. While it is actually a science to achieve that perfect loaf of bread, I tried to correct my kneading and proofing process wherever possible to achieve better results. There are so many tips and tricks, you have to actually try and experiment in several attempts to know what works best for you. I will add my gathered knowledge on bread baking through all my bread posts and keep updating as well, as I keep experimenting more and start getting better results. Today's recipe is of my own but I have tried to include a few techniques I have read over the past few days. Also, it is quite handy to have a digital kitchen thermometer, especially while baking breads, where temperature plays a vital role. 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup wholewheat flour (I used organic)

3 tbsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast

1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (optional, but helps in attaining a better texture; please refer to the notes above for options)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk powder (you can use any milk powder here including your baby's unused and leftover dry formula milk powder)

2 tbsp olive oil plus a little extra for greasing

2-3 tbsp milk for milk wash

About 1 cup warm water or as required for kneading (33.5 degree celsius)

Direction

1. Start with the preparations. Warm a little water, about 100 ml, and dissolve 1 tbsp sugar. Bring it to the desired temperature of 33.5 degree celsius or just comfortable enough to be put on the back of your wrist. Now dissolve the yeast by mixing thoroughly with a fork and let it stand for 10 minutes undisturbed. You may be inclined to start kneading the dough as soon as you see it foaming and frothing. However, be patient and give it those 10 minutes to activate those innumerable number of dry but living cells to feed on the sugar and feel powerful enough to puff up the dough later. Here is how it should look at the end of 10 minutes.  If it does not look anywhere close to this, discard and start fresh again and if problem persists, you surely have expired or dead yeast. 

2. Sift the flour and salt together and take it in a bowl. To this, add the wheat gluten, if using, milk powder, and sugar. Mix everything well. Keep aside. Also, warm another 100 ml of water to 33.5 degree celsius or just lukewarm and keep it ready. 

3. Now, make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the frothy yeast mixture into it. With the help of a spatula, start mixing the flour by stirring only in one direction till the entire liquid is soaked up and forms a lump. There might be some dry flour in the bowl at this point. Try and gather everything well as far as possible into the lump. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the flour to soak up the water and remain moist and soft while baking. 

3. Now, pour in the warm water little at a time and the oil and start kneading the dough. If using egg or buttermilk, you must add it now instead of the water. Ensure that the egg or the buttermilk is at room temperature. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface for kneading further for about 10 minutes. At the end of it, you should have a smooth, soft, and elastic dough. Ensure that the dough is not dry and stiff as wholewheat dough needs to remain a little moist. Oil your hands and lightly grease the dough on the outside. Wrap if loosely in a clingwrap and keep it in a warm place (I keep in the microwave) for the first rise, about 1-1.5 hours or until doubled. 

4. Lightly grease a medium loaf tin and line it with parchment paper. 

5. Now take the dough out and punch down to release the trapped air. Transfer the dough to a clean surface and, with the help of both the hands, roll the dough out to a uniform thickness rectangular log almost the same size as your loaf tin. Arrange the dough on the prepared loaf pan and spray some water on top and keep it loosely covered. Return it to the warm place for the second rise, about 1-1.5 hours or until the dough starts reaching the brim of the pan or doubled. 

6. Towards the end of the second proofing, pre-heat the oven at 175 degree celsius with a pan of hot water inside. This will help form steam inside the oven and helps in browning the crust as well as prevent it from drying out. 

7. Take the loaf pan out and give a gentle milk wash on the top with room temperature milk. This is again for a beautiful brown crust. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and give a gentle press with the tip of the milk brush to ensure the seeds stick to the top. Put the loaf pan in the pre-heated oven and bake at 175 degree celsius for 20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the top and the internal temperature (by inserting the food thermometer in the center or the side) is between 80-100 degree celsius. 

8. Remove the bread immediately from the loaf pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Store in an air tight container. 

Wholewheat Fruit and Coconut Bread -- No Butter No Oil

This one is probably the most healthy bread I have made in a long time now. It is like a Pandora's Box filled with all the healthy goodies. Wholewheat, loaded with fruits and without the overpowering guilt of those unwanted calories. While I did add some light sour cream with 18% fat (regular butter is 80-84%), you can even skip that and make some changes as per the suggestions given at the end of this post. The best part that I like about this bread is the fresh fruit pieces which you dig into in every bite. There is Mango, Apricots, Raisins, coconut, and the list can go on as per your choice and liking. But wait, I hope you are not confusing this recipe with that of a regular yeast bread. This "cakey" bread is actually more closer to being a cake except that it is more dense, crumblier, and makes you full with a single slice and is in fact a complete meal in itself. You can also do small muffins instead of the loaf, which will make it easier for you to carry to office or elsewhere. 

Ingredients

2 cups wholewheat flour

1/2 cup light sour cream (18% fat; regular cream can also be used or homemade malai/cream is also a good option)

1/4 cup milk (either skimmed or full cream)

1 cup brown sugar (can be replaced with 1/3 cup honey and 2/3 cup artificial sweetener like Stevia) 

3 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanila essence

1 cup dried or fresh mango pieces chopped (I prefer the dried ones as the fresh ones will easily dissolve in the heat)

1 cup dried apricots chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup grated fresh coconut (in its absence, dessicated coconut can also be used)

Any nuts of your choice for topping. Can be added in the batter too (walnuts, almonds, pistachios are a good option)

Direction

Beat the sugar, cream, milk, vanila essence, and eggs till light and creamy. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Fold this into the egg mixture little at a time till all mixed well and no lumps remain. Add the fruits one at a time and mix. 

Pre heat the oven at 180 degree celsius and grease or line a loaf tin or line the muffin tray with paper liners. Pour the batter onto the prepared pan. The batter will be thick and so you will need to spread it out evenly with the help of a spatula. Tap the bottom a couple of times to prevent any air bubbles. Garnish the top with chopped nuts and let it sit for 5-10 minutes till your oven pre heats. 

Bake in the pre heated oven for 40-50 minutes till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do check in between as the oven temperatures may vary. If the top gets over browned and the bread still not done, as it happened with me, tent the top loosely with an aluminium foil to prevent burning. Once done, remove from  oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 min before transferring to a wire rack for cooling completely. Slice when cooled and store in air tight container. This bread also tastes wonderful if lightly toasted.

Healthier Optional Ingredients

Instead of the cream and milk, use buttermilk of the same quantity. That is 3/4 cup. Also, if you are vegetarian and do not eat eggs, replace it with another 1/3cup buttermilk. If the batter appears too thick (should be of drop consistency, add a little milk, 1 tbsp at a time). 

If you are not calorie conscious and want to enjoy this bread in its full glory, add 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup vegetable oil instead of the buttermilk/sour cream option. 

Caramalized Onions and Walnut Stuffed Wholemeal Buns

These days my bread baking spree has taken a back seat. For reasons unknown to me as well, I somehow do not get excited enough to bake a regular bread. Maybe because there aren't many eaters at home and so the idea of me eating the majority of it alone pulls me down. So I keep on thinking of new ideas of making the bread making process more interesting and be exciting enough to push me to bake. Today's recipe is one such interesting one which I totally loved. I made it as a very small batch since I did not want it lying on the kitchen counter for days. If you have a love for onions and  even more for caramalized onions, you will love this bread!

                                    

Ingredients

For the filling

4 big onions finely sliced

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)

5-6 walnuts toasted and finely chopped

1-2 tsp olive oil

For the buns

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup wholewheat flour

1/2 cup oats, any variety (you can either roast the oats and grind it or use as it is)

1/4 cup milk powder

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

80 ml warm water

1 egg at room temperature

1 tbsp butter softened

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp milk for milk wash

Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top (optional)

Direction

In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and add the yeast. Mix thoroughly and let it stand for 10 minutes until frothy.

                                      

In another bowl, mix all the dry ingredients except the sesame seeds. Pour the yeast mixture and mix. Now add the egg and the butter and start kneading a smooth and elastic dough. If you find the dough too sticky, add a wee bit of either wholewheat or plain flour. Continue kneading till you have a soft but moist dough. Lightly oil the dough from outside and tightly wrap with a clingwrap and keep it in a warm place to rise, about 1 hour or until doubled.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Coat the onions with the oil properly and spread it out on the pan evenly. Let it stay uncovered for 5-10 minutes on low heat, stirring once or twice in between. Now add salt and sugar and mix and continue the process till the onions start caramalizing and turn into a beautiful deep brown color. Be careful not to burn the onions at this stage. Add the balsamic vinegar, if using, and reduce the excess liquid. Using this, the onions will get a beautiful sweet and tangy taste and takes it to a higher level. Once the liquid dries up, remove from heat and transfer to a clean bowl and let it cool. The caramalized onions also serve as a amazing pizza topping!

                                     

Now, take the dough out and punch it down a few times till the trapped air releases. Now pinch out plum sized balls and spread it slightly on your palm. Make an indentation in the center and add some of the onions followed by the roasted and chopped walnuts. Seal the edges and form a smooth ball again.

                                    

Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

                                    

Arrange the filled balls in an oven safe greased dish and cover and keep aside in a warm place for the second proofing, about 1-2 hours or until doubled.

Towards the end of the proofing time, start pre heating the oven at 180 degree celsius. Take the dough dish out and gently brush with milk. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and bake in the pre heated oven for 20 minutes or until browned on top and a tap on the top sounds hollow. I added some  Parmesan cheese as well but you can skip that.  Remove from oven and let it cool on wire rack. Serve warm.