Bread is the staple food across the world, rich in complex carbohydrates and a great source of energy. For generations, the wealthy preferred white bread while the poor lived on dark (whole grain) coarse bread. In the late 20th century, it came to light that whole grain bread has more nutritional benefits so the rich switched their choice from white to dark.
Whole wheat bread consists of flour made from the entire wheat kernel (grain) that is made up of the bran, germ and endosperm. The outer layer is the bran, high in fibre and nutrients. Embryo is the germ that sprouts and reproduces into a new plant, while the endosperm is the food reservoir for the germ forming a large part of the kernel. White flour is made from the endosperm after removing the bran and germ during the milling process.
Unlike white flour, whole wheat flour has more fibre requiring sufficient amount of moisture to produce a soft and even textured loaf. Hence, sugar is commonly replaced with honey, molasses, glucose syrup, maple syrup or other liquid sweeteners that also enhance the colour and flavour. Addition of oil instead of butter aids in further increasing the moisture content and improving the texture. Enriched with milk, the bread is pleasant and more palatable. Baking this tender, nutty whole wheat bread at home is so simple and incredibly delicious. A family favourite, soon it will be yours too!!!
Whole wheat bread consists of flour made from the entire wheat kernel (grain) that is made up of the bran, germ and endosperm. The outer layer is the bran, high in fibre and nutrients. Embryo is the germ that sprouts and reproduces into a new plant, while the endosperm is the food reservoir for the germ forming a large part of the kernel. White flour is made from the endosperm after removing the bran and germ during the milling process.
Unlike white flour, whole wheat flour has more fibre requiring sufficient amount of moisture to produce a soft and even textured loaf. Hence, sugar is commonly replaced with honey, molasses, glucose syrup, maple syrup or other liquid sweeteners that also enhance the colour and flavour. Addition of oil instead of butter aids in further increasing the moisture content and improving the texture. Enriched with milk, the bread is pleasant and more palatable. Baking this tender, nutty whole wheat bread at home is so simple and incredibly delicious. A family favourite, soon it will be yours too!!!
Whole Wheat Bread
(Yields 1 loaf)
Ingredients:
2 3/4 to 3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup lukewarm whole milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
Method:
Add the yeast to the lukewarm water along with honey, stir and set aside to foam and froth.
Note: The water should be slightly warm to the touch not hot or it will kill the yeast.
Sift the flour in a bowl. Let the small pieces of bran pass through the sieve reserving the larger pieces for another use (to make poee). By doing so, the end result is a soft, tender and well-risen loaf.
Transfer 2 3/4 cups of flour in a bowl. Mix in the lukewarm milk, salt, oil and yeast mixture. Form into a dough, adding extra flour if required. Transfer to a work surface and knead well for 5 minutes. It should be soft and spring back when pressed with two fingers.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to oil the top, preventing it from obtaining a dry layer. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
Grease a loaf pan 9" x 5" x 3" and dust with some wheat flour. The bran tends to stick to the side of the pan so do not skip this step.
Turn the dough onto a clean surface (no flour was used). Press gently to remove any air pockets. Weigh dough and divide into 6 equal balls. Take each ball and shape into a small cylinder, about the width of the pan. Pinch to seal and place seam side down in the loaf pan (see picture above). Continue with rest of the balls, cover pan with plastic wrap and leave to rise until 1-inch above the pan.
Position the rack in the oven at the centre for even distribution of heat. Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Brush with melted butter for a soft crust. Turn the loaf out of the pan onto a rack.
Cool loaf completely before slicing.
Note:
(Yields 1 loaf)
Ingredients:
2 3/4 to 3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup lukewarm whole milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
Method:
Add the yeast to the lukewarm water along with honey, stir and set aside to foam and froth.
Note: The water should be slightly warm to the touch not hot or it will kill the yeast.
Sift the flour in a bowl. Let the small pieces of bran pass through the sieve reserving the larger pieces for another use (to make poee). By doing so, the end result is a soft, tender and well-risen loaf.
Transfer 2 3/4 cups of flour in a bowl. Mix in the lukewarm milk, salt, oil and yeast mixture. Form into a dough, adding extra flour if required. Transfer to a work surface and knead well for 5 minutes. It should be soft and spring back when pressed with two fingers.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to oil the top, preventing it from obtaining a dry layer. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
Grease a loaf pan 9" x 5" x 3" and dust with some wheat flour. The bran tends to stick to the side of the pan so do not skip this step.
Turn the dough onto a clean surface (no flour was used). Press gently to remove any air pockets. Weigh dough and divide into 6 equal balls. Take each ball and shape into a small cylinder, about the width of the pan. Pinch to seal and place seam side down in the loaf pan (see picture above). Continue with rest of the balls, cover pan with plastic wrap and leave to rise until 1-inch above the pan.
Position the rack in the oven at the centre for even distribution of heat. Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Brush with melted butter for a soft crust. Turn the loaf out of the pan onto a rack.
Cool loaf completely before slicing.
Note:
- The dough was formed and kneaded by hand.
- Instead of shaping dough into 6 small cylinders, pat dough into a rectangle and fold into one big cylinder. Refer to white bread for detailed instructions, click here.
- On cooling, the top crust will have slight wrinkles indicating that is soft.
- For a crisp outer crust, heat a large metal pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Pour boiling water in the pan to create a steam bath. Then place the loaf in the oven to bake. The steam will give the loaf a crisp crust. In this case, do not brush with butter once the loaf is out of the oven to maintain the crusty top.