Gathering the ingredients
1/2 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon salt
Few crystals of white sugar
1/2 cup jaggery powder
2 to 3 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1-2 table spoons pumpkin seeds(optional)
2.5 cups whole wheat flour
Little water for kneading the dough
Getting Started on the process
Pour the 1/2 cup warm water in a big bowl.
Add in a few crystals of white sugar and dissolve.
Then add active dry yeast. Slowly stir in the dry yeast and continue to stir until yeast is softened or dissolved. Cover the bowl with cling wrap or anything that doesn't allow air to go in further. Bubbles will start forming in the water and the solution will start to rise. Uncover the bowl as soon as the solution starts rising fast. It is now ready to be mixed in flour.
Take wheat flour in a bowl. Add in the salt, jaggery, ghee, ginger powder, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder and pumpkin seeds. Stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
Now add the yeast solution and start making dough using little water.
Simple Steps for Kneading the dough..
Kneading only takes a few minutes, requires just your hands, a flat surface, and a bit of flour to keep the dough from sticking.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead.
Add small spoonfuls of flour as needed, until the dough is soft and smooth (not sticky to the touch).
Begin kneading the dough, pushing it down and then outward, only using the heels of your hands.
Fold the dough in half towards you and bash it down on the flat surface. Then use the heels of your hands again to push down and outward, lengthening and stretching the strands of gluten and dough fibers.
If it is getting sticky, add a little more flour. Bash the dough repeatedly on board. (Great for letting out some pent up frustration!:)
Put the dough in a greased or buttered bowl, turn the dough over so that the top of dough is greased.
Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour. You may put it covered inside your OTG. It will poof up and double in size.
Take out the poofed dough again on the flat surface. Flatten the dough with rolling pin to remove air.
Start rolling it up, while pinching or pressing the edge into the dough as seen above.
Keeping rolling and pinching as you go. All the seams of the dough should be on one side, while the other side should be smooth and tightly stretched (with no wrinkles). Make sure your bread dough log has an even thickness too.
Then carefully place this in a greased bread loaf pan, and gently press it into the corners and bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and let it poof for a second time.
Once poofed up second time, brush the top of bread with milk & bake in preheated oven T- 180 degree celcius for 30-45 mins. When the bread is done, turn off the oven and let it cool down inside, with the oven door half open.
Slice the bread once it cools down completely.
Poofing is very important: The first poof is important to allow the yeast and gluten to develop. This plays a huge role in the flavor of the final product as well. The second poof is important to get a beautifully risen, airy and light bread loaf.
HOW TO CHECK WHEN YOUR BREAD LOAF IS READY TO BE BAKED:
The second poofing time can vary greatly depending on the ambient temperature and weather. It can take much longer in the winter to poof, than in the summer. So it is important to know what signs to look for to know when your bread loaf has proofed properly and is ready to be baked.
The bread dough will rise about 1 inches above the rim of your bread loaf pan in the center. It will form a dome, so just look at the pan from the side to see how much it has risen above the rim.
When you gently press into the dough with your index finger, an indentation will form and it will remain, if the dough is perfectly poofed. If the dough bounces back without leaving an indentation, then the dough is under-proofed. If the indentation causes the dough to collapse, then the dough has over-poofed, and you may need to re-knead and re-form the dough and poof it once again.
HOW TO CHECK WHEN YOUR BREAD LOAF IS READY TO BE BAKED:
The second proofing time can vary greatly depending on the ambient temperature and weather. It can take much longer in the winter to proof, than in the summer.So it is important to know what signs to look for to know when your bread loaf has proofed properly and is ready to be baked.
The bread dough will rise about 1 inches above the rim of your bread loaf pan in the center. It will form a dome, so just look at the pan from the side to see how much it has risen above the rim. When you gently press into the dough with your index finger, an indentation will form and it will remain, if the dough is perfectly proofed. If the dough bounces back without leaving an indentation, then the dough is under-proofed. If the indentation causes the dough to collapse, then the dough has over-proofed, and you may need to re-knead and re-form the dough and proof it once again.
NOTE: To avoid a soggy bread bottom, make sure not to leave the bread in the pan to cool completely.
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