My Culinary Trial Room

Monday, April 28, 2014

Whole wheat bread with molasses | Molasses whole wheat bread

Last week was one of the most happiest days of my life. My sweet lil pappu turned '2'. It was extra special for us cos this is the fist time that we celebrated it together. Yes, Mr.A missed pappu's first birthday and so he was all high this time. And so I took that extra effort to make it special for him too.

I just can't believe that my chubby-cheeks is all grown up and naughty than ever. He is such a beauty to look at and he imitates everything that we say and you will need a thousand eyes to take in his face gestures and reactions. I can go on and on about my munchkins but lets keep that for another post. Since his birthday was on a weekday, we kept it simple by having a smash cake followed by a temple visit and then a baby's day out. We planned a small party with a few close friends on the same Friday and that took a toll on me. Lots of planning, loads of shopping and tons of prepping and not to forget the sleepless nights, planning a birthday party is really a backbreaking job... The weekend was spent in time to recover with hours of sleeping and having leftovers for lunch and dinner. I will do a detailed post on how I planned the party with pictures of pappu's cakes.

Coming back to routine life is really taking time for me. I have been idle for the past three days and kitchen visits are more for snacking. Baking is sure gonna take a backseat atleast for this month as the whole family is in a sugar coma after all that cakes, cupcakes and more cakes. I am thinking about more of bread baking and you are sure gonna see some in this space in the coming weeks. So lets talk bread, or wheat bread or 100% whole wheat bread. Its been my long time wish to try a 100% whole wheat bread and this recipe is a keeper. The whole wheat flour makes this bread wholesome and healthy and the molasses adds a subtle sweetness. This bread is perfect for sandwiches and makes great toasts too...

Adapted from Bread Machine manual by Breadman Pro
~*What U Need*~
Water - 1 1/4 cups (luke warm)
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Olive Oil - 2 1/2 tbsp
Molasses - 2 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
Whole Wheat Flour - 3 3/4 cups
Vital Wheat gluten - 2 1/2 tbsp
Instant dry yeast - 2 tsp

How I Made it:
In a saucepan, add the water and sugar, sprinkle the yeast and set aside for 10 mins. In your stand mixer, add the yeast water, olive oil, molasses and salt. Mix well. Add the whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten and knead till it comes together. Knead for 5-6 mins till it becomes smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl and place it in a warm place to double about 1 - 1.5 hours.

Once doubled, punch down and roll into a loaf and place in an oiled 9x5 inch loaf pan for second rise. After 30 -45 mins it would have doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 325 F and bake for additional 15 - 20 minutes or until nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely on the wire rack.