I think I just might have the “pracrastibaking”  affliction seriously. You know the kind, when you have to do a ton of work but actually end up miraculously baking .. Yep that very kind. I had a laundry list of things to do, along with the laundry. A1 was back from his trip, DH back from his . A2 had a ton of things that had to get sorted and washed and somehow ended up debating the merits of washing in cold water and electricity with me. Yes, I know we are like that. A3 could not find his one sock. Nope, we did put both for washing but somehow ended up having only one.Yikes ! We have a sock eating monster in the house. And it eats only one from each pair. Why not both? Beats me! I often thought I had only real live monsters that gobble up the food I put on the table. Actually 3 very much discerning ones ( Bitter gourd gets a bit of persuasion from me to eat)  and one with a tail that can eat anything. Plastic, paper, cloth and her food. I suppose puppy phase and all!

 

So while waiting for the  A/C repair man to show up and the stuff to finish up in the laundry, I was doodling around when some thing struck me. We had no bread in the house.Disaster.

Since, I was pretty much stuck at home and waiting for things to happen, ended up having a mental dialogue with my kitchen aid.. The shiny green thing seemed to speak to me. Either that or I was having caffeine withdrawal !

 Well whatever , but the urgent need for bread in the house cannot be dispensed with, especially since I having a talk with the Kitchen Aid!

 This is such a simple and basic recipe.. You can dress it up, pair it up with cheese , stuff it with potatoes , make a cream cheese swirl or so much more..

Ingredients:

Basic Bread Ingredients:

• White whole wheat flour : 2 cups
• Bread flour / All purpose flour : 1 + 0.5 cup added as needed
• Milk 1% or 2 % : 1 cup
• Butter / olive oil : 1/3 cup
• Brown Sugar : 1.5 Tbsp.
• Salt : 1 tsp.
• Instant Yeast : 1 packet /2.25 tsp.
• Fresh lime/lemon juice : 1 Tbsp.

Herbs and Spices:

• Fresh chopped cilantro : 1/4 cup
• Fresh chopped Mint : 1/4 cup
• Cumin seeds : 1 tsp.
• Ajwain/ Carrom seeds : 1 tsp.
• Red chili flakes : 1/2 tsp.

 Method:

• In the  mixing bowl of your stand mixer or any mixing bowl,  add the flours , sugar, yeast, salt and dry spices and whisk it very well until it is thoroughly distributed.
• Add the fresh herbs as well now and whisk it in .
• Add the chopped butter if using to the cup of milk and microwave till it is very warm. Usually a minute or so. The milk is very very warm but not boiling hot.
• Add the juice of fresh lime usually one half of it or about a tbsp. of it. And let it stand for a minute or two. Do not worry when the milk protein separates.
• Add the milk and knead it very well till the dough is smooth.
• Let it rise undisturbed for an hour until it doubles.
• Once it doubles in volume, take the dough out gently deflate it and roll it to form a log.
• Pinch the seams and place it seam side down in a greased 9 by 5 loaf pan.
• Cover and let it rise for another 20 minutes or so.
• Slash the top of the bread with  a very sharp knife or a pair of scissors. About an inch deep and 2 inches in length. This accomplishes 2 things – aesthetic is one and the other is these gashes will let the steam out while bread is being baked. It will prevent the loaf from splitting on the sides
• Pre heat the oven to 375 deg F.
• Bake for about 35 -39 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.
• Cool before slicing. You should have an awesome crust and a tender crumb.
• Toast or simply eat it warmed with a dollop of butter.