I realized late one evening that I had nothing in the house for breakfast. No eggs, no bread, no cereal and no dosai maavu. I was low on flour too, whole wheat, all-purpose. What I did have was a Multigrain Flour that my friend had given me which she said she would never use. So I made a slow rise “Bloomer” Multigrain Bread that was ready to bake in the morning.

You are going, “Why did you just not step out and buy a loaf?” The reason is that there are days when you just want to get your hands dirty and wade elbow deep into flour and water. There is really nothing more satisfying than kneading dough for bread. The scintillating smell of bread baking in the oven just fills you with peace and a sense of accomplishment. Try your hand at making any type of bread and you will understand.

This recipe had been adapted from the one for white bread (Bloomer bread recipe by Paul Hollywood) which I tweaked. . .

• Replaced bread flour with multigrain flour equally
• Added 2 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten and 6 tablespoons extra water for every cup of flour to give the finished product a stronger structure and higher rise.

The resulting bread is lovely, dense with a tight crumb and texture. I think it will make an excellent sandwich bread.

What is Vital Wheat Gluten?

It is wheat flour that has been hydrated to concentrate and activate the gluten, then processed by removing everything but the gluten. In simple terms, Vital Wheat Gluten is “Pure Gluten”. Very useful for making bread with low protein flours like whole wheat and multigrain, rye to name a few which have low capacity to develop gluten.

I use it in making my pizza dough too with 00 flour for that delicious extra stretch and chewiness.

What should the finished “Bloomer” Multigrain Bread look like?

1. It should be a lovely dark brown color
2. When you lift the bread off the sheet pan from the oven and turn it upside down, tap on the bottom of the bread, it should sound hollow.

Things to remember when baking the “Bloomer” Multigrain Bread

1. Make sure the dough is wet and sticky before you knead it. Multigrain flour absorbs a lot of water. You will get a good texture with a wetter dough.
2. Keep kneading the dough till it is smooth. One way to ensure this especially if you are a beginner is to wash and dry your hands each time you think you are not able to handle the sticky dough. Rub some olive oil on your hands before you knead.
3. I like Paul Hollywoods advice to not dump salt and yeast on top of each other. The salt will slow down the action of the yeast. Put them on opposite ends of the bowl with the flour and then mix together with water.
4. When baking especially, I have discovered that using a measuring scale will give the closest to accurate results. The kitchen scale that I use is Ozeri ZK14-S Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale
5. Don’t open the oven door till the last 5-10 minutes to check or you will let out all that lovely steamy heat and the bread will deflate and become dry and hard.
6. Cool the bread all the way. The bread is still cooking even when you take it from the oven. You don’t want all your lovely effort to be a waste if you cut into it too quickly.

Where to find the ingredients?!!!

1. Multigrain Flour – You will find this at specialty stores Indian Grocery Stores or even at Costco and ofcourse on Amazon. I like to use the following brands
   • Organic Multigrain flour – Tattva brand (can’t find a link for this for some reason) – available at Indian specialty grocery stores and Bay Area Costco.
   • Mantra Organic Multigrain Flour – available at Indian Grocery Stores.
2. Vital Wheat Gluten – I currently use Bob’s Red Mill brand but I also like the King Arthur brand. It’s available most grocery stores like Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Wholefoods.

The links above show you what the product looks like. It is more economical to buy it off the shelf at stores than at Amazon.

Other Bread recipes to try from the Blog

• Focaccia – An Italian bread that is Chewy, Salty Deliciousness
• Traditional Challah – the Jewish Sabbath bread
• Whole Wheat Honey Bread – healthy, wholesome and simply awesome!

What to make with “Bloomer” Multigrain Bread?

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"Bloomer" Multigrain Bread

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Resting Time

3 hrs

Total Time

50 mins

 

A healthy and lovely, dense bread with a tight crumb and texture. I think it will make an excellent sandwich bread.

Course: Bread

Cuisine: European

Keyword: #bread, muligrain bread

Servings: 1 Loaf

Calories: 2285 kcal

Ingredients

• 500 grams Muligrain Flour
• 8 teaspoon Vital Wheat Gluten
• 10 grams Kosher Salt
• 7 grams Active Yeast
• 40 ml Olive Oil
• 445 ml Water
• Extra oil for kneading

Instructions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients and oil taking care not to have the salt and yeast touching. Add 340 ml Water and slowly wet the dry ingredients with your fingers.

2. Add the remaining 95 ml gradually till you can gather it into a dough meaning when all the flour sticks together and leaves the sides of the bowl. 

3. Now comes the elbow grease where you get a good arm workout. Oil your hands and surface of the counter. Turn the dough out onto to the counter and knead for 10 minutes by turning the dough half onto itself and pressing with the heel of your palm. Shape it into a ball. The finished dough should be smooth. 

   

4. Now transfer the dough into an oiled bowl that is twice as big as the dough. Let it rise at room temperature for 2 hours or until it's doubled in size.  

5. Take it out of the bowl and place in on the counter. Knock out all the air with your knuckles and folding in half till all the air has been knocked out. Flatten it into a rectangle and bring both ends of the long sides to the middle and seal the seam.  Roll it gently to shape into a rectangular boule. 

6. Place the dough seam side down on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with the bowl and let it rise again for two hours or you can at this point leave it to rise in the refrigerator for a slow rise. It should again be double the size. 

7. Preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC. Place a baking tray (like a lasagna pan) filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven - this will create steam when the loaf is baking.

8. Lightly spray the shaped, risen dough with water and dust with a little flour covering the top and sides. Be gentle, don't deflate the dough. Make four diagonal slashes 1/4 inch thick using a sharp knife across the top.
   

9. Place the loaf on the middle shelf and bake for 25 minutes. Then lower the heat to 400ºF/200ºC and bake for a further 10 -15 minutes. 

10. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. 

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These delectable Corn Muffins are fluffy, a little sweet, a perfect canvas for a variety of relishes and a treat on their own.

I love corn muffins. They are like cornbread with a tender crumb and a firm, slightly crunchy top. And extremely versatile. I have added broccoli and cheddar cheese to completely transform them. If I make them for breakfast or afternoon tea though, I like to keep it simple for an assortment of sweet preserves and savory spreads.

Corn Muffins – Where are they from?

Corn muffins are a derivative of cornbread, made with usually yellow cornmeal. The making of cornbread dates back to the Native Americans thousands of years ago.

Corn Bread belongs to a category of bread called Quick Breads that don’t require proofing time. Instead, the Corn Bread uses a leavening agent like baking powder to give it the rise along with eggs to create the protein framework. They are easy, quick to prepare and therefore the name Quick Breads.

They are almost a staple in Southern cooking in the United States. Cornbread there is served baked, fried and sometimes even steamed. They are always at the Thanksgiving table in the South and are delicious to soak up the gravy.

This is a basic Corn Muffin recipe and is the sweeter, lighter version of the Southern cornbread, popular in the North of America. Beginning to end, these muffins take a maximum of 30 minutes.

Try my Strawberry Jam or my Spicy Tomato Relish to spread on these delectable corn muffins.

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Buttermilk Corn Muffins

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

These delectable Corn Muffins are fluffy, a little sweet, a perfect canvas for a variety of relishes and a treat on their own.

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: #appetizer, #breakfast, #buttermilk, #cornmuffins, #muffins

Servings: 12 Muffins

Calories: 183 kcal

Ingredients

• 50 grams Large Egg approx: 1 Egg
• 50 grams Vegetable Oil approx: 1/4 Cup liquid measure
• 240 grams Buttermilk approx: 1 Cup
• 85 grams Honey approx: 1/4 Cup
• 120 grams Cornmeal approx: 1 Cup
• 120 grams All Purpose Flour approx: 1 Cup
• 100 grams Granulated Sugar approx: 1/2 Cup
• 8 grams Baking Powder approx: 2 teaspoons
• 6 grams Kosher Salt approx: 1 teaspoon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 12 standard muffin pan with muffin liners.

2. In a large bowl whisk egg, oil and buttermilk and honey.
   

3. Mix in cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Make sure there are no lumps.
   

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
   

5. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

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Challah Bread is an egg and butter-rich, sweet brioche-like bread, that is chewy in texture and delicious. You can eat it straight up, or make sandwiches. A day or two old Challah is a preferred bread for making that delectable, perfect French Toast.

Challah

Challah is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, served especially during Sabbath and Jewish holidays which start with the breaking of this bread. They are usually braided to signify truth, peace, and justice. However, they are also made in other shapes and sizes.

My First Taste of Challah

My first encounter with this beauty was at a small Jewish bakery in Pittsburgh, PA. I had just moved to the country and was still getting adjusted to the cold, snowy winter. At the same time, I was fascinated by all the new flavors and textures that I was discovering.

Back to the bakery. They were baking the bread in the back and the wafting smell was intoxicating. I had to ask them what they were making. It was Challah and the baker had these beautiful braided loaves that he had taken out that morning, two hours back. His word of advice, as I was leaving was, “Don’t forget to save a few slices for making French toast tomorrow or the day after!”

Now, I had to stop once more to ask him why??!! He said, “These beauties soak up the custard for making the French Toast much better, after a day old. And slice them thick”. So, I went home, eager to try a new flavor. Dinner, that night was hot soup and warm, thick chunks of Challah. It was delicious, no other word for it.

And, I made French Toast, two days later. They were incredible! The bread soaks up the batter so much better but does not dissolve. When you pan fry it, it crisps up a golden deliciousness. You have to try it!

Baking Challah

After that, I decided to try making my own. And over the years, have perfected it. Like all baking, this takes patience and understanding of the ingredients and how they behave in your kitchen. In baking, practice makes perfect. Don’t give up, if you don’t get it on the first try. Try again and again, and, you will get it.  And, believe me, the smell of Challah baking in your oven will make the neighbors want to come over for dinner. It’s worth it!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:16]

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Basic Whole Wheat Flour Dough for Indian Breads – the everyday rotis and parathas. No, Indians don’t eat Naan every day. In fact, they prefer going to restaurants to eat Naan. They do eat nutritious flatbread rolled out into thin discs and cooked on the skillet on a daily basis.

They can be made with or without filling. When they are not filled, they are either cooked on the skillet with a little oil called chapatis (popular in South India) or puffed up directly on the flame called Phulkas (popular in North India).

Different kinds of flour like garbanzo flour, ground millet flour, rajgira amaranth flour, rice flour, and nowadays soy flour, quinoa flour are added to this basic recipe to make different variations along with various spices.

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Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. The Persian word nān means bread. Nothing beats making Naan in a Tandoori oven (a cylindrical clay or metal oven, heated up by charcoal or wood burning fire, with temperatures reaching 900F)  but I don’t have one at home. So making it at home is challenging. I have tried making it in the regular oven but have not been satisfied with the results. My sister-in-law makes them by inverting a heavy stainless steel pressure cooker over open fire and sticking the naan on the inside till its done. I wanted an easier method.

Hence the skillet method. I am not the first to make it this way. The result is a surprisingly crisp and soft Naan. Comes pretty close to the one made traditionally. Pair it unusually with Spinach, and Goat Cheese Lentil Salad.

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The warm, crusty, smell, the tantalizing taste and oh! the sense of joy that fills you is nothing short of awesome. I know! I am waxing poetic but baking bread gives you a wholesome satisfaction that is indescribable. And Whole Wheat Honey Bread is awesome!

Baking takes immense patience, in fact, more than other methods of cooking and a lot, I mean a lot of practice. And baking Bread takes triple that effort. Dessert Chefs will tell you, “I bake cakes not bread, that’s an entirely different area.”

It is science and magic all rolled into one. Flour, yeast, salt, and water combine to make this chewy, crunchy, hypnotic and orgasmic delight. A marvel and one of the oldest and treasured food from across the world.

Baking bread is one of the techniques I learned from my Rambles in the United States, well all baking really.

How to know your dough has proofed right.

I am not an intuitive baker. Sure, I know all the basics, have read the science behind it and I bake decent enough (I can see my friends rolling their eyes at my modesty), but, baking is one area that I always feel inadequate. There are simply too many factors involved in it. Proper temperature, the right amount of liquid to flour ratio, altitude, humidity, type and quality of oven etc…

So what do you do when the recipe says, proof your dough for 30 minutes but your bread still turns out undercooked or hard or just not like bread? You learn the essential signs.

When to bake the loaves?  

1. It should proof up, more than almost double the volume of the dough you mixed. This can take from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more depending on the temperature and humidity in your kitchen. 
2. Second, if you think the dough had more than doubled in size, with a floured hand, press the center gently, there should be slight resistance. if there too much resistance, the dough has over-proofed, and you should bake immediately. 
3. Third, when you press your index finger gently on the dough, it should make an impression that will slowly disappear.

Now you are ready to bake.

Whole Wheat Honey Loaf

This recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Loaf (the basic recipe is Duff Goldman’s from Charm City Cakes, to which I have added my two cents), is something that I have made five times with additions and deletions before I learned all its tricks. And I have tried various other recipes numerous times before I landed on this one. 

The recipe calls for a combination of Whole Wheat flour with Bread flour (flour made from hard wheat) or high protein flour like soy, garbanzo or buckwheat flour (I like Bread flour the best, the other flours will give you a more dense loaf). High protein in the flour increases the capacity of the dough to form gluten that gives the bread its chewy goodness.

What should the perfect baked Whole Wheat Honey Bread look like?

A perfect loaf is when you have a

1. dark golden, hard exterior,
2. a hollow sound when tapped
3. a chewy interior with irregular holes (the holes won’t be large like a sourdough bread, this is a denser bread).

Patience, patience, and more patience is the key. Do not give up if you don’t get it right the first time. My chef instructor at Culinary school once told me once that, he went through an entire 10LB bag of flour before he baked that perfect loaf. 

Print

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Rising Time

3 hrs

Total Time

50 mins

 

The warm, crusty, smell, the tantalizing taste and oh! the sense of joy that fills you is nothing short of ecstatic. Whole Wheat Honey Bread is simply awesome.

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: #bread, #dailybread, #morningbread, #wholewheatbread

Servings: 3 loaves

Calories: 1953 kcal

Ingredients

Equipment needed

• Essential – a working Oven
• Nice to have but not needed – Kitchen Aid mixer or similar
• Kitchen Scale for accurate results
• A large bowl
• 3 Buttered Bread Pans or Baking Sheets

For the Bread

• 21 grams Active Dry Yeast approx 3 sachets of 1/4 ounce each
• 170 grams Honey approx : 1/2 Cup
• 21 grams Malt Extract (Optional) approx: 1 Tablespoon
• 480 grams Water (lukewarm, not more than 90°F) approx: 2 Cups liquid measure
• 230 grams Milk (lukewarm, not more than 90°F) approx: 1 Cup liquid measure
• 36 grams Kosher Salt (not Table salt) approx: 2 Tablespoons
• a pinch Sugar
• 60 grams Butter (melted, cooled) or 100 grams approx: 1/4 Cup Butter or 1/2 Cup liquid measure vegetable oil
• 675 grams Bread Flour approx: 5 Cups
• 512 grams Whole Wheat Flour approx: 4 Cups

For Surface dusting

• 60 grams All Purpose Flour approx: 1/2 Cup

Butter and Sugar Wash

• 3 Tablespoon Butter (melted)
• 1/2 teaspoon Sugar

Instructions

1. in a large bowl or bowl of the heavy-duty mixer (like Kitchen Aid), whisk to combine together, yeast, honey (and malt if using), a pinch of sugar, 2 cups of warm water (lukewarm, not more than 90F or it will kill the yeast) and 1 cup lukewarm milk  

   Allow the mixture to rest, about 7 to 10 minutes till it is bubbly and creamy on top. 

   Note: Add a tablespoon of extra water if using oil in the next step
   

2. Whisk in salt and butter or oil.

Kneading the Dough

1. With a Heavy Duty Mixer – fitted with a dough hook, speed on low, add the flours and mix till you get a sticky dough. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough starts to become somewhat smooth and elastic for about 7 minutes. Increase it to high and knead for 2 minutes. The dough will still be a little sticky even after proper and sufficient kneading.

2. By Hand – add the flours and mix till you get a sticky dough. Turn out the dough on to a floured surface (use all-purpose flour for flouring the surface, you can use your clean wooden cutting board too if its large enough or your counter). Knead the dough until somewhat smooth and elastic. The dough will still be a little sticky even after proper and sufficient kneading. The mixer is easier but this method is a lot of fun, a lot of arm exercise and so rustic!

1st and 2nd Rise

1. First Rise – Oil a big bowl (use the same bowl you used if you mixed the dough by hand) and place the dough in it. The bowl should be big enough for the dough to double in size. Tightly wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and place it on top of the refrigerator for the first rise.

2. Second Rise – After 1.5 to 2 hours, after the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, wrap the bowl again tightly and allow it to rise again, till it doubles in size. The time for this rise will be shorter than the first rise as dough when you punch it down won't deflate completely.

Shaping and Final Rise

1. After the dough has doubled in size again, you can divide it and shape it. I divided it into 3 equal parts using a kitchen scale to weigh it or you can eyeball it. Shape each part into a round or elongated boule. Prep 3 sheet pans with parchment paper and dust with flour or cornmeal. Place one loaf on each sheet. Let it rise again on top of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes till doubled in size.

2. Let it rise again on top of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes till doubled in size.

Baking the loaves

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you are using the pizza stone, preheat it to 375F. The pizza stone gives the bottom of the loaf a nice dark color.
   

2. Brush the loaves generously and gently with the butter and sugar wash. If you are using the pizza stone in the regular sized oven, it will hold only two loaves at a time, so prep only what you slide into the oven. Keep the other loaves covered with a kitchen cloth so that the top does not dry out.

3. With a sharp knife, score the loaves with two 3/4 inch deep slashes. You can even make an “X”.

4. Slide the three pans into the oven. if you are using a pizza stone, slide the parchment onto the stone.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until dark brown and sounds hollow when you tap the top. The bottom will be dark brown too. The time to bake will vary according to the oven. 

   Start checking after 20 minutes. It might take longer than for other ovens. And if you eyeballed the size, then cooking time for the loaves will differ. 

6. Take them out and brush with the more butter-sugar mixture while they are still warm to give it a glaze.

Cool before Slicing

1. Important Step – Let them cool completely. Completely means over several hours till it reaches room temperature. Do not give into temptation and cut a slice. Patiencenjoye again. After it sufficiently cools, slice and enjoy.

Storage

1. Once cool, the bread can be kept in a brown paper bag wrapped in plastic wrap for a day or two. The Don’t store it in the refrigerator, the bread will become stale quickly and lose its characteristic taste. The loaves freeze well though, wrapped airtight for about a month. Bring it to room temperature before cutting in slices.
   

Recipe Notes

Be patient and let the bread cool. Don’t slice into it immediately. The bread is still cooking even after you take it out of the oven. The cooling process lets the starch settle and the water molecules move outward, evenly, toward the crust.

Slice into it before it cools and the bread will be gummy and the edges undercooked. All your hard work will go to waste. I have done that and its not a good experience. That's why, now I bake them at night before going to sleep, to avoid that temptation.

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