100% WHOLEWHEAT YOGURT BREAD (with no added gluten!)

Ihad some free time yesterday and was wondering what to do with it.Ian was in his best mood and was busy with his train set. So I set out to trying something new. It was soup supper last night,so why not bake a new bread. We were out of bread anyway and I was planning on baking our staple white bread.So a new bread it was. A 100% wholewheat bread made with the addition of whole milk yogurt. There was no added gluten to the recipe which gave me the extra kick I needed to get started.

The dough was made in a jiffy according to Dassana's recipe and was kept aside to prove. While the dough doubled in size, Ian took a nap. Then I took the dough out,punched it down, shaped it into a loaf and set it aside to double in size again. If you have never baked a bread before,be warned that it does involve a few steps and quite a bit of time for the dough to double up .It's mostly inactive time and you can utilize that time for something else,maybe crochet a scarf or read a book? I did nothing. I just sat on our blue armchair and checked Pinterest ;-)

While the bread was baking, Ian woke up and started asking for food. I cannot blame him for that. The house was smelling really good because there was a huge pot of Cream of Asparagus soup simmering away and a bread baking in the oven. You cannot even imagine how good they can smell together! I had to pacify him with some cookies instead. Later in the evening,we all had a fat share of the freshly baked bread along with the creamy soup. We are a soup loving family so our last night's dinner was a total winner!

100% WHOLEWHEAT YOGURT BREAD
Makes one 9 X 5 inch loaf

Ingredients:
3 cups wholewheat flour / atta
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ghee/butter/oil
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
About 1 tablespoon heavycream for brushing on top

Method: In a small bowl, stir together warm water,yeast and sugar and set aside for 10 minutes till it turns frothy.
Meanwhile, mix together flour and salt.Once the yeast has been activated,add it to the flour along with ghee,yogurt and mix well to form a dough. Dump it onto your work surface and knead till it stretches without breaking apart,about 2-3 minutes. Dump the dough back into the bowl,brush some water over it,cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled,about 1.5 hours.
Once doubled,punch the dough down and form a log. Tuck the sides in and transfer it to an oiled loaf tin,cover with a clean towel and let it  rise for 45 minutes. Once risen,make a few slits over the top,brush with heavy cream and bake in a preheated oven at 220C / 425 F for 22-25 minutes or till the top is brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Let it cool in the tin till warm to touch, then take it out of the tin and cool completely. Use as desired.

This is a very good wholewheat bread which you can make with the staples in your pantry. It does taste a bit of ghee and yogurt which gives it a very homemade taste. Usually wholewheat breads can be a bit dense,whereas this is a fluffy,soft bread. When I told Jobin that it was a 100% wholewheat bread, he really couldn't  believe it. Nobody will,unless you tell them.

The bread has a slight golden hue to it from the wheat flour. I used 'Golden Temple' brand of atta/flour for the bread. It has added bran in it so this one was a total winner! I am sure this is going to be a staple in our house from now on. Ian never really bothers if the bread is made with plain flour or wholewheat. So, I will be baking this again to satisfy my 'healthy' cravings :)
 

NO KNEAD ARTISAN BREAD

There was a time in my life when I thought I would never find a liking for artisan breads. I always loved the soft,supple bread loaves we used to get from our local bakeries in Kannur. If you go there are around noon or by 3 pm-ish, you will get hot breads which you will be juggling between your two palms because it is really that hot...straight from the 'borma'. I've never,tasted any bread which tastes as good as that bread in the US.I don't think I ever will. The breads we get in the supermarkets here have some sort of an artificial taste...all the brands,some more,some less.

Now, the story is different. I absolutely love artisan breads. They are firm and crackly on the outside but soft and full of holes inside.The holes help in mopping up any sauce that you want to.I love to dip a chunky slice in some good olive oil with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and finally topped with some Parmesan. When I bake these breads at home,I can hardly wait for it to cool down. So does little Ian. He loves these kind of breads.He eats it as is but I like my first slice with butter or some good berry jam.

I knew about Zoe and Jeff  when I was in India. That's when their book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day was released.I was even more excited to learn that they both lived in the area I was about to move into...Minneapolis.This is the Master recipe from that book. So,after getting here,I enrolled for a baking class with them and learnt to bake bread from the best! You can read about that here.

NO KNEAD ARTISAN BREAD

Ingredients:
3 cups of lukewarm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoon salt
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Method: In a large 6 quart  plastic bowl / container with lid, mix together the flour, yeast and salt. Add in the water all at once and stir to form a dough.It will be a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a lid,but not tightly shut, and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours.DO NOT punch down the dough,it will would have risen but flat on top. After that, refrigerate the dough overnight. You will notice that the dough has collapsed which is normal.It will not rise again. Sprinkle some flour over the surface of the dough,pull and cut off a 1 pound chunk of it. Shape it and let it rest on a parchment for 40  minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450 F along with the baking stone and a metal tray in the lowest shelf. Slide the shaped dough onto the baking stone and pour one cup of hot water into the metal tray .Bake for 30-35 mins or until deep brown in colour. Remove the parchment after 20 minutes of baking so that the bottom gets a chance to crisp up. Once baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely before slicing in.Enjoy!

The leftover dough can be refrigerated and will remain fresh for 2 weeks. It will develop sourdough characteristics during the course of 2 weeks.
If you have any leftover bread, put the cut side down on a plate and leave it. You don't have to cover it.

Like I mentioned before, we really enjoy artisan breads. I am so glad that Little Ian also shares the love for this carb heaven! He was running around when I was photographing the bread and every once in a while he would stop by and point at the bread asking for me to cut and share a slice with him. So the slice with the jam, that you just saw above, was shared by the two of us later!

This wonderful loaf is Yeastspotted!