Easy Eggless Sandwich Bread

Only he can understand the joy of baking a bread, who has got his hands dirty in the bread dough! 

Bread making is therapeutic. From the day MIL and I baked our first bread, each bread that turns out great gives us a feel good factor which is difficult to understand, unless you get your hands dirty!

Let me make an honest confession. Till now it was always my MIL who was kneading the dough. In her words, kneading dough is an activity she loves soooo much that she can even wake up at 3am and knead a dough! Now, can there be a better thing than this for a lazy daughter in law like me? Yes, I am counting my blessings!

However, I wanted to do everything by myself this time around. We hadn't baked the sandwich bread so far. Mr. Hubby insisted we bake our own sandwich bread, since commercially available breads have chemicals. So, I got on to the task. 

Since I had to use the bread to prepare grilled sandwiches, I did keep a good share of all purpose flour, in addition to my favourite wholewheat chakki wala Punjabi Atta from Sion. The bread came out so well that I was beaming with pride!

Try it out and I am sure you too will stop buying bread from outside.

Ingredients

Wholewheat flour/Atta - 1 Cup

All purpose flour/Maida - 1 1/2 Cup

Instant dry yeast - 1 tbsp

Grain Sugar - 2 tbsp

Warm Milk - 1 Cup

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Water - 3-4 tbsp

Ghee/Butter - 1 tbsp for dough + 1 tbsp for greasing tin and brushing the bread

Method

1. In a clean bowl, take the sugar and instant dry yeast. Mix well.

2. Add 2-3 tbsp warm water. Mix well. Cover with a plate and keep aside undisturbed for 10 minutes. 

3. After 10 minutes, you will see that the yeast has risen beautifully.

4. In a bowl/Paraat take the wholewheat flour, all purpose flour and salt. Mix well while it is still dry.

5. Add the activated yeast mixture and knead well to form a smooth dough. After few minutes of kneading the dough will begin to stick to your hands but do not fret and continue kneading. The dough will automatically leave your hands. However, in total you will have to knead for a good 5-7 minutes to get a good dough. Also, stretch and knead the dough for good results.

6. Add 1 tbsp ghee/soft butter to the dough and knead well to form a soft dough. 

7. Shape the dough into a smooth ball with all the folds tucked below.

8. Transfer to a greased bowl. Cover with a dry cloth and keep for proving in a warm place (I use my switched off microwave oven) for about an hour or till the dough doubles.

This is how the dough looked after an hour.

9. Punch the dough in the middle to knock off the air.

10. Dust some plain flour on a clean kitchen platform/chopping board (I used the same Paraat I had used to knead the dough). Start kneading the dough by stretching and folding. 

11. After 2 minutes of kneading, spread the dough in an oval shape.

12. From one end, start rolling the dough, with soft hands but give a tight fold so as to avoid gaps in the bread. 

13. Pinch and seal the last fold and seal the sides as well.

14. Transfer to a 8" greased loaf tin. Spread the dough to cover the corners and lightly even the surface.

15. Cover with a dry cloth and keep at a warm place for proving for 30-40 minutes.

This is how the dough looked after 2nd proving.

16. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 200 degree centigrade for 10 minutes.  Then lower the heat and bake a 180 degree centigrade for 20 minutes.

17. Brush some ghee/butter on the bread as soon as it is out of the oven. Cool for few minutes and demould. Cool on a wire rack to avoid perspiration at the base. Once the bread is cooled, cut into slices and enjoy as a sandwich or just with a slice of butter. 

Few Tips

1. As soon as you are done with the yeast, wrap the packet really tight and store in refrigerator.

2. Do not disturb the yeast bowl when kept for activation.

3. Keep the warm milk handy before you start kneading the bread. I once got the milk few minutes late and my bread did not take the wait very well.

4. If you don't find a warm place to prove the bread, your oven is your saviour. No matter how the weather is, I always keep the dough bowl for proving in the empty oven (switched off, obviously!). It gives a wonderful rise plus saves accidental disturbance to the bread, in case there is space constraint or you have children at home.

5. Cool the bread completely before you cut the slices. You will get much neat slices. If you try to cut slices while the bread is still warm, there will be a lot many crumbles. If you notice my pics, you will notice few crumbles. This is because my overenthusiastic MIL couldn't resist the aroma of the bread and enjoyed a slice before the bread could cool completely. 

6. The water used to activate the yeast should neither be too hot nor too cold else the yeast won't rise. It should just be warm enough so that your fingers can tolerate the warmth. 

7. Always use good quality yeast.

8. Never ever leave the bread in the loaf tin for cooling else the bread will have perspiration at the base. Always cool on a wire rack. 

Pahadi Style Urad Dal Khichdi

Few days ago, my MIL was remembering her days in Kullu. My FIL was posted there for a few years and lived in a cute little house on the banks of Beas river. She was telling me about the warmth of the neighbours and how they used to exchange dishes they prepared everyday. Since I am a big foodie, any mention of food gets my antennae active. So, I requested her to prepare one of the special dishes she had there. MIL went inside the kitchen and while I made the little one eat and sleep, she came up with the one of most delicious versions of the Khichdi I ever had! I was so hooked on to the Khichdi that I requested her to prepare one more time so that I can post the recipe on my blog. 

Sharing the recipe of Pahadi style Urad Dal Khichdi. This is an easier version by my MIL as she knows I am a lazy chef and a complicated recipe will scare me out!

Ingredients

Khichdi Rice (we used Basmati tukda that we generally use for baby food) - 1 Cup soaked for an hour

Urad Dal with skin - 1/2 Cup, soaked for an hour

Desi Ghee - 2 tbsp

Curry leaves - 4-5

Black peppercorns - 3-4 no.

Cloves - 2-3 no.

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Bayleaf - 1 no.

Asafoetida - 1 tsp

Green Chillies - 2-3 no. 

Ginger - a small piece

Garlic - 4-5 pods

Onion - 1 small

Salt - to taste

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Water - 2 Cups

Method

1. Grind together the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies. The mixture should be chopped, not blended. I used my electric chopper. Remember, we do not want a paste.

2. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pressure handi.

3. Add the bayleaf, asafoetida, cumin seeds, black peppercorns and cloves.

4. When they begin to splutter, add the chopped onion - garlic - ginger - curry leaves - green chillies mixture.

5. Saute on medium flame for 3-4 minutes. 

6. Add the soaked dal and rice and saute on medium flame for another 2-3 minutes.

7. Add turmeric powder and salt and mix well.

8. Add enough water to cover the mixture 1/2" above. Mix well.

9. Cover and cook for one whistle. Let the steam escape on its own from the pressure handi.

Serve piping hot with salad.

My second innings in baking

No matter how awesome breads I may bake in the future, this bread will always be the closest to my heart! Because with this bread, I resumed baking after 14 long years. Curious? 

Well, let me kill the curiosity..

I am a Hotel Management graduate. Obviously, as part of the curriculum, I learnt to bake so many cakes, breads and cookies. However, it was total "egg" cooking. Those days we were so much obsessed with having a good career that we just focussed on the destination, not the journey. As a result baking was a very procedural thing to get the right grades. Of course, those who wanted to be professional chefs did have a different approach towards the classes. But since those days I was more keen on pursuing MBA after college and wanted to make a career in marketing and communication, baking was a mere task for me which I had to complete perfectly just to get good grades. How foolish of me na! Yes, after 14 years even I think so. But there is a saying that experience is like a comb that life gives when you go bald! So no point hind sighting.

So, what is it that has suddenly transformed me into a crazy baker? 

Well, motherhood is the answer. I once wrote a post on the things motherhood taught me that nothing else did and today I proudly add baking to that list. I wanted to introduce breads to my toddler son. However, I was skeptical about the ingredients used in the commercially available bread. Finally, my chef apron and the baking journals came to my rescue! The Microwave is all smiles as it is finally getting the attention it has deserved all these years. 

Since I have long stopped eating eggs, this second innings in baking is going to be completely eggless! Therefore, I feel like a First year student again, as I research on the ways to get the best results without using eggs.

Sometimes, small initiatives give us so much joy that even money can't buy! The joy of seeing my little one cherish the breads/cakes baked by me is something words cannot explain. 

Such is the magic of motherhood!

Easy wholewheat flour & ghee biscuits (eggless)

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself baking biscuits! But, as someone wise once said, "necessity is the mother of invention." Well, I can't really call this an invention. But necessity is what turned me into a good cook and now I am experimenting with baking.

The culprit...err...the credit for this transformation goes to the overprotective father in my house - Mr. Hubby. Ever since he became a dad, he surprises me with his awareness levels regarding food safety and health. One of the first things toddlers begin to snack on is biscuits. But, when I enthusiastically bought packets of various Glucose and milk biscuits Mr. Hubby said little S won't be given all this. As I grumbled in frustration, Mr. Hubby asked me to have a look at the ingredients. I couldn't argue with him on this one as I did notice the amount of vegetable oil and maida. "If you are so keen on feeding him biscuits, why don't you bake at home?"

This awakened the Mother India inside me. So, last weekend I did debut on the biscuit front. I did keep it simple though, for I didn't want little S to outrightly reject my labour of love. When little S did savour them with pleasure, the Mother India was elated, for the biscuits had the goodness of wholewheat flour and desi ghee! This is how I made these yummy biscuits.

Ingredients

Wholewheat flour (Atta) - 1 cup

Vanilla Custard Powder - 2 tbsp

Clarified Butter (Desi Ghee) - 1/2 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup

Salt - a pinch

Milk - 1/4 cup 

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, take wholewheat flour and desi ghee and mix well to form a crumble. 

2. Add the powdered sugar, cardamom powder and mix well.

3. Add the custard powder and mix well.

4. Slowly add milk and bind the mixture together to form a soft dough. 

Note : Do not over knead the mixture else the biscuits will come out hard. Use only as much milk as the dough requires. There is no compulsion to use all the milk. 

5. Roll the dough into a thick roti. Using a cookie cutter (I used the lid of my baking powder!) cut discs in shape of your choice.

6. Line the discs in a greased baking tray. Keep some distance between the discs.

7. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees. Bake the biscuits for 20-22 minutes at 180 degrees at convection mode. Remove once the biscuits become golden brown and let them cool on cooling rack for 15-20 minutes. If you press the biscuits, they will appear tender. However, don't be tempted to over bake. Once the biscuits cool down, the texture will be just fine. 

Next on my wish list is Good Day biscuits. Let's see when that happens...

Wholewheat flour eggless pancakes - healthy recipe

When we were newly married, my hubby used to make impromptu demands for something sweet post dinner. Let me tell you, he isn't the types who you can please with cakes and mithai stored in fridge. He is very picky about food, which has been a blessing in disguise for me. For, had it not been his tantrums, I wouldn't have focussed so much on getting my dishes right.

Well, coming to pancakes. Pancakes in my life reinforce the saying "practice makes a man woman perfect!"I love pancakes so much that I can prepare them anytime of the day. These wholewheat pancakes in particular are my hubby's favourite. Each time he would demand for them post dinner, my MIL and I would give him dirty looks but eventually, he would have his way!

Now my son too loves them. I am posting the basic recipe here. You can add mashed banana, nuts etc as per your choice.

The saunf and jaggery are very good for digestion and wholewheat flour too is easy on the tummy!

Ingredients (Makes 3-4 pancakes)

Wholewheat flour - 2tbsp

Jaggery - 1 1/2 tbsp or to taste

Water - 1 Cup or as required

Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 2tsp

Oil - 1tbsp

Method

1. Dissolve jaggery in water. 

2. In a bowl, take flour. 

3. Slowly add the jaggery water and mix well to form a slightly thick batter. The batter is slightly thicker than the pancake batter else the pancakes will stick on the tawa.

4. Add the saunf and mix well. 

5. Heat a tawa and grease well with oil.

6. Pour the batter in circular motion. 

7. Pour oil from sides. Flip only when one side is cooked well and cook from the other side as well.

8. Serve hot. You can sprinkle some castor sugar or honey or syrup on top but I didn't as my son loves these pancakes just like that. 

Few Tips and tricks

1. I am used to preparing this on an iron tawa however, if you are a beginner, I suggest play safe with non stick pan.

2. Many a times my pancake used to stubbornly stick to the tawa despite the temperature being right. I then discovered that excess sugar led to this. So, ensure the sugar quantity is not too much.

3. The key to a good pancake on iron tawa is the right temperature. Too much or too less can lead to a broken pancake. Heat the tawa adequately before pouring the batter and then reduce the flame to medium. Then once one side is done, flip and cook on medium to low flame. 

4. You can add mashed banana, nuts, cardamom powder and many other variations as per your choice.