Weekly Challenge #12 - Baking Bread - Done.

Thanks Revathi. I couldn't have done this without your blog. 

This bread thing was one of my most difficult challenges. The constant power cuts delayed the project. Apart from the scheduled power cuts, i had to deal with the unannounced ones. And then there was work... plenty of it.

But i did it finally.

I managed to bake bread yesterday.

I had initially wanted to bake something from Saee's blog but i couldn't decide which one to make and then when i finally wanted to bake yesterday, her site was down :(

So what do i do? I google and when that fails, i look through my bookmarks.

I don't read too many blogs but i have been blog-stalking Revathi's blogs Haathi and Hungry and Excited since a couple of years now. When i came across her masala bread recipe, i knew i wanted to make it. It was simple, used whole wheat, did not need eggs, and had Indian spices in it. Perfect. The icing on the cake was the step-by-step pictures. A baking novice like me needs any extra help she can get.

And i made not one, but two different masala breads - 3 loafs in all!! Talk about getting excited!!

Mint and coriander masala loaf. I followed the recipe to the T. Well, almost... i didn't have any mint so i just added more coriander. And baked it for a little bit longer.

Verdict: The bread is delicious. I thought the bread hadn't been baked enough so i baked it for another ten minutes - i shouldn't have done that... it made my bread crumbly and difficult to slice.

Fenugreek and Sundried Tomatoes: I wanted to bake some more. So i kneaded more dough. But this time i omitted the onions and the coriander. Instead i threw in some sesame, dried fenugreek leaves and sundried tomatoes. And made two mini-loafs instead of one so i could send over to mummy.

Verdict: This one turned out even better. I didn't over bake the bread so it sliced perfectly. The tomato added a lovely tang and the fenugreek a mild bitterness that's quite lovely.

Both the breads can be eaten just so. The bread was moist and bursting with flavor. It's 100% wheat so it is very healthy.

A word of warning: Don't bake bread at home unless you can make it often. It's going to be impossible to like the store-brought variety after this. Unless you want to toast it and eat it with mangoes. Or make bread upma.

I am still running behind on the challenges. I have one for last week, and another one for this week. But i am going to catch up. 

PS: The sundried tomatoes are home-made... i made them last week.