Soft 100% WHOLE WHEAT Bread

                 For busy mommies bread is always a saver and if they are whole wheat then double blessing as its healthy and wholesome

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       I wanted a fluffy and soft bread with minimum handy ingredients.And I found one recipe online . But that used a little too much of yeast for our liking. But the bread was really soft and tasty. Home made breads always tastes much much better than store bought ones even though it's texture won't be that same. So I searched again to find a way to reduce the yeast but still keep the bread soft. Finally my search ended up in a different bread baking method  known as Water Roux our Thanzong method. Here we make a cooked paste of flour and add it to the dough to make it softer. If need more simplification its as simple as the 'Kappi Kachal '  we keralites do for their for Palappam. The texture of this bread reminded of the unsliced breads we used to buy from bakeries in Kerala which we used to call Rotis. Especially it reminds me of my grandmother who loved these Rotis and used to have them with tea.
   
                     To my blessings I could find an online blog also which will help you to change of your bread recipes to water roux method. Here is the link https://simplyafoodblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/revealing-the-ultimate-secret-to-softer-fluffier-bread-that-stays-fresh-for-days-part-1-my-universal-tangzhong-converting-formula/.I used this conversion method to convert my bread recipe.I am praying another link too which Will help to understand the tangzhong method. Here is thelinkhttp://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/16753/what-water-roux.


RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

For water roux

1.Water -  1 and 1/4 cup
2.Whole wheat Flour - 1/4 cup

For bread dough .(for 3 loaves)

1.WW flour- 7 1/4 cups
2.Water - 1 and 3/4 cup
3.vegetables oil - 1/3 cup
4.Honey- 1/3 cups+ 1 tablespoons
5.Instant yeast- 1 tablespoon
6.Salt - 1/2 tablespoons

METHOD

Preparing Water Roux

1.Take a small pan and cook 1/4 cup WWF in 1 1/4 cup water until its cooked in to a thick paste in low flame.Be care ful not to burn it and keep on stirring to avoid burning.
2.Allow it cool.

Preparing Bread dough

1.Mix 1/2 cup warm water,1 tbsp instant yeast,1 tbsp honey and allow it to stand for 10- 15 minutes.
2.Mix 11/4 cup water,11/4 cup WWF ,1/2 tabsp salt,1/3 cup Honey,1/3 cup oil,and cooled roux and yeast starter .Combine well either using  a mixer  fitted with mixing hooks or hand .
3.Now  add remaining flour slowly in to the above mixture and change to dough hook if using a mixer or knead with hands until all the flour is used up and keep kneading for 8 to 10 minutes in a mixer or 15 to 20 minutes by hand.

4.Flour  or oil a working surface and pop the dough in to the surface and knead a few minutes  and divide the dough in to three equal halves ,shape the log and place them in greased loaf pans.

5.Preheat the oven to 100 degrees .keep the loaf pans inside and switch off the oven and keep the pan inside for 20 to 30 minutes
For a quick rise.Then take them out.

6.Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes.

7.Take the bread out when the top is brown or when tapped on the bottom produces a hollow sound or an instant read food thermometer read 190 degrees Fahrenheit. brush the top with butter and cool and slice them.

Note: I usually freeze the left over bread after slicing and reheat by microwaving for few seconds.The bread isalways kept inside hot oven for a quick rise to reduce the rising time.if you want  can try normal rising and two rise method also ,which may result in better texture.I haven't tried but would like to do in future.

Happy Baking..

No knead 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD.

Home made breads always tastes much better than store bought ones.These breads are not only tasty but healthier than them too.But getting the perfect texture especially with 100% whole wheat bread is little difficult  and the perfect kneading and the two rising too needed for a good bread.But this one is a quite easier one regarding this as this is a no knead one rise bread.I adapted it from kingarthurflour.com.I always find it quite difficult to get a perfect texture for 100% whole wheat breads especially with less yeast but this one is having only 2 teaspoon yeast and have a good texture too .And the no knead ones are considered to be the best for a beginner in bread baking so I give it a go and it came out fine.In our home only healthy bakes and cent percent whole wheat ones are only welcomed so this one is a go to recipe.I have tried few kneaded ones too but this one really worked good regarding a better texture for me as a beginner in bread baking.Orange juice here helps to reduce the nutty flavour of whole wheat so its better not to avoid it.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup Orange juice
1/4 cup Vegetable oil
3 tablespoons  sugar/molasses
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup milk powder
11/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour

METHOD

1. Grease an 81/2 "x 41/2 inch loaf pan and grease it with oil thoroughly as the dough will be very sticky.

2. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.Beat the mixture vigorously for 3 minutes with an electric beater.you will get a very sticky dough which will neither be pourable nor kneadable.Scoop it in to the prepared pan.

3. Cover the pan with a lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rise for 60 or 90 minutes.it should just rise to the rim of the pan.while the dough is rising preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

4. Uncover the bread and bake it for about40 to  45 minutes.Tent or cover it with aluminum foil after 20 minutes.The bread is done when the top is golden brown and when tapped on the bottom a hollow sound can be heard.Another exact way is an instant read thermometer will read190° F - 195°F.when inserted in to the center.

5. Remove it from oven as its done and remove to a rack after 5 minutes and brush the top with butter to keep the crust soft.Cool completely before cutting.

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One pot Spicy & Quick Vegetable Pulao

       As a busy mommy of two little ones I always like quick and wholesome one pot meals which can be cooked with less time.
Vegetable pulao is one such wholesome meal which doesn't need a side dish and can be taken with any raita ,pappad or pickles.And my husband likes it with a boiled egg so its becomes a totally wholesome meal then with cereals,veggies,fat and protein..When I prepare it always prepare a little more and keeps the rest refrigerated for next day.You can reheat it and use it again.Its possible to halve the recipe also.

INGREDIENTS

Basmati rice -3 cups
Ghee/oil/butter -1 tablespoon
Salt- as per taste
Water-5 & 1/ 4 cups

WHOLE SPICES NEEDED

Cardamom - 4
Cloves- 4
Star anise- 1
Cinnamon-1 inch
Black pepper- 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds- 1/ 2 tsp
Bay leaf- 1

VEGETABLES

cauliflower- 1/2 a cauliflower cut in to florets
Carrots- 2 cut in to cubes
Potatoes- 2 cut in to cubes
Green peas- 1/2 cup
Onions- 2 thinly sliced
Tomatoes- 2 cut in to cubes
Ginger - 1/ 2 inch crushed
Garlic - 4 crushed
Green chilly- 3 slit
Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoons chopped
Mint leaves -  1 tablespoons chopped

METHOD

1.wash and soak rice for 30 minutes in water.( amount of water to be used is 13/4 cup water for 1 cup of basmati rice for cooking)

2.Take a heavy bottomed vessel , I used pressure cooker and a tablespoon of ghee and crack whole spices and saute green chilly,ginger garlic crushed ,onions and chopped leaves

3.Then add the spice powders and saute  for few seconds and pour 1 cup of water to avoid burning then add all veggies and rice add salt and rest of water (4  1/4 cups in this recipe) as required and mix well.

4.Close the pressure cooker and cook for  10 minutes on SIM after first whistle.

5.After 10 minutes turn off the flame and after the air   escapes ,open  and fluff the rice with a fork and have it with raita,salad,pickles or pappad.

Home made Whole Wheat OREO Cookies


                    Nowadays everybody likes OREO Cookies and kids are the biggest fan of it .Here in this recipe a healthier twist have been added to it using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.OREO is nothing but chocolate sandwich cookies.

INGREDIENTS

Butter - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1/2

Vanilla - 1/2 tsp
Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
Cocoa- 70 gm
Baking pdr- 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp


METHOD


1.Cream butter and sugar then add egg and vanilla ,combine well.Now add the sieved dry ingredients and mix well make cookie dough.(its good to refrigerate the cookie dough for 1 hour to make the dough more firm while rolling and cutting out the cookies)

2.Roll out the cookie dough and cut out cookies using a cookie cutter.

3.Bake at 180 degree celsius for 10 to 13 minutes.Baking time may vary according to ovens.

VANILLA ICING/CREAM

INGREDIENTS

Butter- 1/4 cup
Half &Half- 1 tablespoons
( Can be made by  mixing 40 ml milk+ 1 tsp Butter)
Vanilla- 1/2 tsp
Salt- a pinch
Sugar- 11/2 cup

METHOD

Cream butter and sugar and add the rest and mix well.

Take the cooled cookies and spread the cream between two( can either use a spatula or a an icing bag for filling the cream) and enjoy the healthy whole wheat Oreo sandwich cookies.

SIMPLE VANNILA CUPCAKE.



This is a very easy and Simple  vanilla  cup  cake  recipe.I  got  this  recipe  from  just  easy  recipes.com. Made some  slight  changes  to suit  my  little ones  sweet  tooth  craving. It's a  super  easy  and fail  proof recipe.I  have  even  used  this  recipe to make a   pressure  cooker vanilla  cake too  and  it  came  out  so well  and  everybody  liked  it  too. So it's a  good  recipe  for   baking  beginners  to  try. My  son  just  loved  it .

INGREDIENTS

All  purpose  flour/Maida - 1 1/2  cup
Sugar - 1  cup
Baking  powder - 2  tsp
Salt -1/2  tsp
Milk - 1/2  cup
Any flavorless  oil- 1/2cup
Eggs - 2
Vanilla  essence - 1 tsp



METHOD

1. Sift  dry ingredients  together  and  mix .

2. Add wet   Ingredients  to  dry  ingredients  and beat  well  until  smooth  and  creamy.

3.  Keep  muffin  tins  ready  lined  with  muffin   liners .

4.   Fill  up  to 3/4  th  of  each  cup .

5. Bake  for 15  minutes  at the  180  degrees.
The  baking  time  may  vary  according  to  various  ovens.

    WHOLE WHEAT PUMPKIN MUFFINS.

This is a very tasty   savoury  muffins. These too  is an  adaptation  from  the  blog cookieandkate. The  main change I  have  made is  that  of the sweetner .The original recipe uses honey but according to our knowledge honey cant be heated so  I used sugar.Here i used home made pumpkin puree.I made it by pureeing pressure cooked  pumpkin.To make the pumpkin puree I used almost 250 grams ripe pumpkin.Peel it and dice it.Pressure cook with little water for 3 or 4 whistles.Cool it,puree in a blender and use it.

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓  cup coconut oil 
• 1  cup sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1  cup pumpkin purée
• ¼  cup milk 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves
• 1¾ cups whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top

Method

1. Preheat oven to  180 degree C...and keep muffin tins ready lined with muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and sugar together with a whisk. Add eggs, and beat well. Mix in the pumpkin purée and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice or cloves.
3. Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined. If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, fold them in now.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. For these muffins, it’s ok to fill the cups a little higher than you normally would. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a small amount of oats, followed by a sprinkle of cinnamon. Bake muffins for 20 to 23 minutes until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.Baking time may vary according to ovens.
5. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack. These muffins are delicate until they cool down . so it’s best to wait until they have cooled down to remove them from the tin. You might need to run a knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them.

    EASIEST  WHOLE  WHEAT  VEGGIE  PIZZA.

  Pizza  is always a favourite  among  kids  as well as  grown  ups  so I  wanted  to try a healthy  version   of  it . I had a very nice cook book which I got as a compliment with my LG oven which is written by the wonderful  cooking expert Nita Mehta. This book is a great help for beginner bakers like me.In this book she had a recipe for pizza , but the base is store bought. But I wanted a whole wheat base.So I started searching on the biggest and easily available cook book Google..lol...My  search lead  me  again  to  cookieandkate. com.So  my  recipe here is a  fusion of  these two.

Ingredients
water  - 1 cup(very warm, almost too hot for comfort)

Sugar  - 1 tablespoon

Olive oil - 1 tablespoons

Instant yeast - 2¼ teaspoons

Salt - 1 teaspoon

whole wheat flour- 2  3/4cup

Parmesan cheese - 1/4cup

Green bel lpepper - 1/2  (sliced or  cubed ).

Pizza sauce( home made or store bought) -2/3 cup

Mozerella cheese shredded -2cups

Onion cubed - 1

Tomatoes cubed or  sliced thinly - 1 

Oregano-for sprinkling

Pepper powder- for sprinkling

Salt-for sprinkling

Fresh basil - for garnishing.


Method

1. Preheat oven to 220degrees Celsius .Keep two greased baking pans ready.
2. Whisk water, sugar, oil and yeast in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Allow yeast to proof for 5 minutes. 
3.    Mix wheat  flour, Parmesan, and salt  until combined,then  slowly pour in the water mixture and combine well until a shaggy ball forms.
4. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and quickly knead dough a few times until it comes together. Halve the dough.
5. On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll dough into two rounds about 11 inches in diameter. For best results, roll the dough out about as thin as reasonably possible. Aim for even thickness rather than a perfectly round shape. Transfer dough to a baking pan .  Brush the outer 1-inch of the dough with a light coating of olive oil.
6. Add pizza sauce of your choice on top of the base leaving the edges.Arrange some vegetables and sprinkle some salt and pepper over it. Sprinkle with cheese and some oregano.Arrange a few more veggies on top.
7. Bake  until the crust and cheese are lightly golden, rotating halfway, about 10 minutes for cheese only pizza and 12 minutes for pizza with additional toppings. Sprinkle with smoked sea salt and/or fresh basil and serve.

Note:we can  either  use  raw or  sauteed  veggie  toppings .We  can  lightly  brush  the  base  with  olive  oil  before spreading  pizza  sauce.I  used home made pizza sauce.Will share it later.My  veggie  pizza  took 13  minutes  to  get  done,baking  time  may  vary  according  to  ovens.

Home made pizza sauce

Cook 4  tomatoes with little water and cool it  and puree it.
Microwave tomato puree,1 tablespoon olive oil,1 teaspoon garlic paste,2 tablespoon tomato kech up,1 tsp  oregano,1/2 tsp salt and pepper for 2 1/2 minutes.OR you can saute all these except tomato puree and mix it with puree  later.