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. 

Golden Baked Coconut Macaroons

Coconut is a very versatile fruit and it adapts itself to any dish very skilfully. Be it sweet or savory, a dip or a complete maincourse dish, the coconut always lends a lingering flavor to the recipe and makes it distinct and memorable. These macaroons are no less. Not only they are a weight watcher's delight with no flour or butter in its making, they are also easy to make and require just three main ingredients and are incredibly light and delicious to eat that you won't even realize when you emptied an entire batch. 

P.S.: Recipe adapted from Once Upon A Chef with some changes

                                   

Ingredients

390 gms grated coconut (I used fresh coconut but you can use dried coconut as well available in the bakery section of grocery stores)

Scant 1 cup low fat condensed milk (or regular is fine too)

1 tsp vanila extract

2 large egg whites

1/2 tsp salt

Direction

Start by dry roasting the coconut on the stove top in a pan. You may skip this step if you are using dried grated/dessicated coconut. Freshly grated coconut has a lot of moisture and hence needs to be lightly roasted to avoid a liquid batter. Dry roast the coconut till the moisture has evaporated and the coconut feels dry to the touch. Take care not to burn the coconut. Remove from stove and let it cool completely before proceeding to the next step. 

                                     

Preheat the oven at 175 degree celsius and keep a baking tray ready lined with parchment paper. 

Now, mix the condensed milk (make sure you use a little less than 1 cup) and the cooled and roasted coconut. Add the vanilla and mix and keep aside.

Now whip the egg whites with the salt till stiff peaks form. Fold in this into the coconut mixture and mix. Ensure that you only do gentle folding without flattening out the foam. 

                                      

Now take heaped tablespoons of the batter and drop them into the prepared baking tray. You might notice some liquid releasing from the batter. Try and avoid adding the liquid as you might have a burnt base if you add that, like I have in my first batch. You do not have to squeeze out the liquid, but instead just avoid scooping it into the tablespoon. Scoop more solids than liquid! Place the scoops one inch apart.

                                     

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes till the base and top are deep and slightly golden respectively. I like mine to be nicely golden on the top and so kept a few minutes longer. You can bake as you like yours to be. The cookies will be soft and chewy from inside and while baking they will still be soft to the touch. That's the way they are supposed to be and so do not worry about uncooked cookies.

                                       

Once done, remove from the oven and let them cool in the tray for a minute before transferring them to a wire rack for cooling completely.

                                     

I baked in three batches and got a total of around 36 cookies or maybe more as I could not count properly due to my constant munching. :D You can also dip these cookies halfway through into melted chocolate and then chill them for a few minutes or drizzle melted chocolate on the entire batch for a more indulgent bite!

 

Vegetarian Strawberry Panna Cotta with Rosy Strawberry Compote

A very Happy Birthday to us!! Yes, on this day, two years back, I ventured into the world of blogging with a strong passion to explore and enjoy the art of cooking and serving people with love. Little did I know then how drastically my life would change and how far I have reached from being just a homemaker to being a Home Baker and now an instructor too!! That's a long journey that I have covered and there are still miles to go before I reach my destination. Your love and appreciation had brought me here so far and I hope to continue receiving the attention and encouragement in the future too. Keeping with my blog's theme of quick and easy recipes and delicious too, I celebrate this day with another such awesome dessert which is insanely easy to make and equally stunning to look at!! 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup full cream milk

1 1/2 cup whipping cream or heavy cream

1 1/2 cup strawberry pulp made from about 250 gms of stemmed and hulled strawberries (I used my stock of fresh and frozen strawberry pulp)

1/4-1/3 cup sugar depending on your taste

1 tsp vanila extract 

3 tsp agar agar powder (you can also use 3 tsp gelatin powder)

For strawberry compote 

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries washed, hulled and halved

1/4 cup water

3-5 tbsp sugar, depending on your taste 

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp rose water

Direction 

Mix the milk and sugar and sprinkle the agar agar on top. Let it stand for 5 minutes until dissolved. Now switch on the flame and while stirring constantly, put the pot of milk on medium flame. If using gelatin, be careful not to boil the mixture. It should be just hot with small bubbles just starting to appear on the sides. 

For gelatin users, make sure the gelatin has dissolved completely and no lumps remain. Check this by taking a bit of the milk mixture in your hands and checking the texture with your fingers. Grainy means a bit more of mixing and heating, but no boiling. 

If using agar agar, you will need to boil the mixture until the mixture is smooth and creamy and slightly thickened. Remember to bring it to boil for just once and that should be good enough to dissolve the powder. 

Now remove from flame and mix in the cream and vanilla. Whisk well. Next add the strawberry pulp and mix again. Check the taste and add more sugar if needed. If adding more sugar, bring the mixture back to the flame and stir constantly till the sugar dissolves. 

Cool the mixture slightly to being warm. Meanwhile, lightly grease the serving bowls, if you wish to unmould. If not, just keep them ready to pour in the cream. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins and chill till set. 

For the strawberry compote, mix strawberries, sugar, lemon juice  and water in a non stick pan and put it on stove top on a medium flame. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning. The mixture will thicken and will have a saucy consistency in about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the rose water. Stir and let cool. Pour this on top of the set panna cotta and chill or serve immediately!!