Tuesday

Brown Bread



As a teen i hated brown bread....i always felt it was a little to dense for my palette. Now as an adult i have come to enjoy the earthiness of it and i love whole grain and other rustic bread...but honestly, i still love white bread :)

I was looking thru the blogs..my fav. pass time..and realized that world bread day was on Oct. 16th... and i have been dreaming paninis for a while, so i decided to bake some bread...so that i could make paninis. Actually after my experiments with baking, i have become a sort of snob if i must say so...i only love the bread baked super fresh and home-made.....which translates to....i like only what i bake (shameful!) I got this super easy recipe from the book called 'Bread' by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno and i decided to go ahead and give it a go. I did make a few changes and that is documented in brackets ().


Ballymaloe Brown Bread - adapted from 'Bread'

Ingredients:

Dry Yeast - 3 1/2 tsp. (i used 2 sachets - which is 4 tsp.)
Water - 1 2/3 cups. ( i needed 1/4 cup more than what was asked)
Mollases - 1 tsp.
Whole Wheat flour - 3 3/4 cup ( i used 2 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1 cup bread flour)
Salt - 2 tsp.

Method:

1. Grease a loaf pan and warm it in a 250 F oven for 10 mts. Remove and keep aside in a warm place.

2. In a bowl take 2/3 cup of warm water and add the yeast and let it sit for 5 mts. After 5 minutes give it a stir to dissolve the yeast completely and add the mollases. Let this mixture stay for 10 mts, till it is frothy on top.

3. In a big bowl,combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add the yeast and start kneading the dough. Slowly add the remaning 1 cup of water as needed and add more water if the dough is still dry 1 tbls at a time.

4. When the dough comes together knead it well till it leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a soft dough.

5. Place the dough in the preheated loaf pan, cover with a dish towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 450 F and bake the bread for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 400 F and bake for a further 15 minutes.

7. Take the bread out and place it in the oven bottom side up in a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes (i skipped this) . You will know the bread is done when a hollow sound comes when you tap underneath.

8. Cool the bread on a wire or metal rack.

Note:

I would not substitute the bread flour for the whole wheat flour next time, as the bread turned out great...not too grainy.

I love this bread as there is no double rising time...just one rise and done! but it tastes really good.




This is off to Zorra who is hosting the World Bread Day.

43 comments:

Kribha said...

That looks flawless. Nice recipe and pic. It took some years for me to appreciate brown bread. Now I like this better than than the white ones.

TBC said...

Rajitha, that loaf looks perfect.
I've never tried my hand at baking bread. It seems like such a daunting task for me.
Such things are better left to my husband.
The second pic is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I adore brown bread - my favourite way is to microwave for 11/2 minutes till they become crisp and rusk like and have with fresh cream and sugar. :)

FH said...

We love brown bread and Buttermilk bread too. Looks great girl, perfectly sliced.Great entry:)

Padma said...

It is sheer goodness, Rajitha you baked it so perfectly... Good job, even I used to hate it as a before coming to US, but now I am totally into whole grains n stuff..

sra said...

Your bread looks perfect. Almost like cake.

Siri said...

The bread looks perfect dear.. Awesome job...

Bong Mom said...

so perfect...you should gloat in your own glory that you bake such wonderful bread

Anonymous said...

The bread is looking so good rajitha. Lovely.

Laavanya said...

What a perfect loaf that is Rajitha. If you bake so beautifully then why on earth will you ever want to buy it! :) I love paninis.. how did they turn out?

Rina said...

Thanks for the beautiful brown bread recipe. I have a bread maker, to try this soon. I luv brown bread.. more if it has bran in it.

remya said...

perfect n healthy bread rajitha...i havent tried making bread yet...urs looks simply grt...

Rohini's kitchen said...

Bread looks perfect!

Namratha said...

That's a perfect loaf Rajitha, pass me those slices! Will slather them with Peanut butter and jam, my evening snack is done..hehe! :)

Mansi said...

YOu could easily sell it under Raji's Brand!!:) it looks beautiful, and just as the ones we get from outside..great job Rajitha!

btw, hope you have some time to make something for the AFAM-Peach event that I'm hosting this month:)

bee said...

that is a sexy bread. it talks to me. can you tell, i love bread?

Sreelu said...

Rajitha, perfectly baked bread, so where is the panini ?

Suganya said...

I love the texture. Its dense and chewy...

Anonymous said...

That seems to be a neat bread for a panini...i dont know when i wud be able to bake something like that

Raaga said...

lovely... send a loaf over please :-)

Shella said...

Your bread looks amazing Rajitha. Lovely colour & texture. Just ready welcome some wonderful spread on it.!!

Finla said...

The bread looks really superb.
I also love the white bread, but hardly buy them. As the brown bread is healthier.
About the snobery here in mt house it my husband and daugher who are snobs as they only want to have home made stuff

Rajitha said...

kribha - thnks :) i was a bit surprized myself!!

tbc- i would have said the same 6 months back..not the hubby part tho...it does get to you when you start.....eventually ;)

lakshmi - i should try ur way next time....

asha - i was pretty happy with the slices...they are the real test u know :)

padma- i know..the perils of growing up!! start eating what is good for you voluntarily ;)

sra - i wish it tasted like one tho!!

siri - thnks girl

sandeepa - now i will hon! i have back-up...

hima - thnks :)

laavanya - that i what i keep telling myself!! and panini...wellllll..i just made sandwiches ;)

rina - do try...really easy..

remya - u could start with this one or the no-knead bread..it is fun..

rohini - thnks :)

namratha - my my PBJ...will send over with the neighbourhood kids ;)

mansi - see..see that is what i am talking..i should open a bakery..and as for peach..i have already made something...just have to post :)

bee - yep! it is one total hottie ....it was getting some pretty pretty wierd looks from me too ;)

sreelu - the beauty of it is i settled for sandwiches!! no mood to go elaborate he he

suganya - it was exactly the texture u described :)

bhags - right here and right now..it is very easy..honest

raaga- for you...always hon:)

shella- i was happy with the texture too :)

happy cook - it shows that you are a fantastic cook.....

Swaruchy said...

Rajitha....U rock.......The bread looks Perrrrrrrrrrfect dear :-)

Seena said...

Love it, Rajitha!
Really great to make it, me haven't tried one yet..And home made bread is too good..

Kumudha said...

I always buy the bread. I'm so inspired to make bread after seeing your bread picture.

The color is so soothing.

Pdk said...

Dear Rajitha, since i liked the look of the bread, im going to make this loaf today... thanks dear.. and will let u know..

Rajitha said...

sirisha- thanks girl :)

seena- it is really very easy..once u star to make..u do get hooked :)

kumudha - thnks:) it is pretty easy if i say so myself

priya - hey! you are back :) thanks hon...do lemme know how it comes

Sig said...

You are quite a baker aren't you? Nice work girl :)

Sia said...

thats a very impressive loaf of bread u baked. no wonder u like what u bake:)

sdf said...

Now, that is some perfect looking bread, rajitha. Very very temping. wish I could make one like yours...

Lissie said...

awesome pictures! the bread looks perfect. i like sugarless brown bread.

Sivani said...

Lovely warm fragrant bread - yum!

Yes, as a child I too disliked brown bread. Now my favorite bread is "Dave's Killer Seed Bread" - a local baker here - which is dark and dense and moist and packed with something like nine different seeds and grains.

Thank goodness our taste buds grow up when we do :-)

Shobana senthilkumar said...

Hi rajitha,

ur bread looks perfect...
doesnt seems like u made it in home it so perfect.Gr8 job.

Pdk said...

Hi rajitha.. i did try it... turned out very nice.. At first it looked crusty.. today morning, the Bread was perfect as the store bought one.. i might just post the pic sometime..... loved it and thnanks for the recipe.. i love eggless baking.. do post a lot of these dear.. Neat, short easy kinda breads... I dont have cookbooks(yet to start collecting).. So u see, im here with a begging bowl for recipes.. hehehe....
Thanks dear...

Rajitha said...

sig- :)...actually..i am currently obsessed with it...will wear off in a few ;)

sia - thnks..i am in love with the fresh bread smell currently

ani - this bread is really easy..u should try it

lissie - thnks..it took me a while to like, but i like it too

sivani - i like the nine-grain bread too...i thin i will make something like that next time ..

priar - thnks :)..i was a bit surprized too...happy tho

priya - sure girl.., i have made an easy cake..will post it..and thanks for trying out..you are so sweet!!

Cynthia said...

Rajitha, that is perfect bread, look at the exquisite crumb and uniform slices. I'd love to have a slice with some butter and tea, thank you :)

Rachel said...

The loaf looks so perfectly done..the softness is evident too

Viji said...

Nice recipe Rajitha. It is perfect. Viji

Pooja Na(i)rayan said...

Your loaf looks so purfect. I attempted making bread long time ago. Turned to be tough and quit since then. I think i should follow this recipe and look what will happen

Anonymous said...

no double rising time and yet so colorful and good

Chandrika said...

Good gracious! Wow! That is one helluva bread! It looks perfeccccttttttt!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, am in rural Tanzania where the only bread that can be bought is a terrible plasticy white. Am trying to perfect my brown bread baking!