Wheat Flax Sandwich Bread

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One of my most recent appliance purchase has been a bread machine. I had been wanting to buy one for a while and a couple of months back I picked up the bread machine when it was on sale. Usually I read reviews and make sure of the features of the appliances I buy, this time I made an impulse purchase. So far I haven't had any reason to regret my impulse :) Keeping my fingers crossed that it will remain the same in the future too:)

Since I got the machine I have been making bread almost once every week. One of the downsides of the machine that I noticed was it leaves a hole at the bottom of the bread because of the kneading paddle. That hole bugs me quite a bit,  so I end up using the dough cycle, and bake the bread in a conventional oven. This way I do not have to contend with the hole and it saves me time and effort of kneading and proofing the yeast etc. A win win in my book :)

Since I got the machine, I have used it to make this wheat flax sandwich bread most frequently. Initially I played around with the proportions of different flours and even experimented with using bread flour. But this recipe has worked out the best for us in terms of taste and texture. We just love this bread, whether I use it in sandwiches similar to this one, or even just toasted with some mixed fruit jam, this bread tastes very good and has become our new favorite :-)



Here is the close up view of the bread....



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Ingredients and Method to make Wheat Flax Sandwich bread
1 1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup powdered flax (alsi/ ali virai)
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta/godumai maavu)
3 tbsp oat bran (see notes)
1 1/2 tbsp bread machine yeast (see notes)

a few drops of oil to grease loaf pan (optional)(see notes)

Place all the contents in the bread machine pan in the order specified in your owners manual. Mine states all the liquid ingredients first, then the dry ingredients and lastly the yeast. (If you do not want to use the bread machine see notes)
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Set the bread machine to the dough cycle. When done, remove fold down gently and place in the prepared loaf pan. Allow to rise until it doubles.

Preheat oven to 375 deg
Place the loaf pan in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 mins or until the bread turns a golden brown color and when you tap it, makes a little hollow sound.
Remove, cool, slice and serve :)

Notes
If you do not have oat bran it can be substituted with equal quantity of whole wheat flour
If you do not have a bread machine and want to make this bread by hand, then substitute bread machine yeast with equal quantity of active dry yeast and use this post for the steps of making bread.Just follow the steps from this post with the proportions given in this recipe and proceed.

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Vegan Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

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Regular readers of this site have probably noticed that basic whole wheat sandwich bread has been in my upcoming posts for months. I am not quite sure why I procrastinated so long to post this. There always seemed to be just one other post that had to be posted first and somehow this bread had to wait this long :-(
Some of you expressed an interest in seeing this post soon, so I decided that I would not put it off any more and finally got to it.

Using flour with the right amount of protein is very important to give bread a good rise and good texture. That is why cake flours and some other type of flours cannot be used in bread making on its own because they lack protein content. Gluten is a substance made up of proteins that gives bread its structure, texture and strength. I was aware that vital wheat gluten was available in stores and could be added to bread to give it a good rise. This bread is the first one that I experimented with adding wheat gluten to it. It really does make a difference, the bread rose beautifully.

I have made this bread many times since the first time and even made it once with white wheat flour instead of whole wheat flour ( read more about white wheat flour in this post). If you have used white wheat flour, you know that it does not have much protein and tends to be light. Yet adding gluten to that bread helped so much that I got a really soft yet well risen bread with good texture. I have included a picture of the white wheat version below the whole wheat version picture, so you can compare and see how it worked out with each flour.

 


This is how the bread turned out when I tried it with white wheat flour.....



Click here for a printable view of this recipe 

Ingredients and Method to make Basic whole wheat bread
3 cups whole wheat flour ( I used regular whole wheat flour )
1/4 cup all purpose flour (maida)
3 tbsp vital wheat gluten (optional see notes)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water + 1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup oil + 1 tsp oil

In a large bowl, add whole wheat flour, salt, vital wheat gluten, all purpose flour and mix well.
Grease a loaf pan and keep aside. 

To half cup of warm water add sugar and active dry yeast and allow the yeast to rise for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add yeast water completely to the dry flour and then the other 1 cup of warm water a little at a time and knead to form a non sticky dough.Add oil and continue to knead for another few minutes. Knead the dough for at least 7 to 10 mins, as this helps to strengthen the gluten which gives the bread structure and texture.  Keep bowl covered and allow the dough to rise for about an hour.
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Gently flatten the dough, folding it down a few times and place in the loaf pan.Cover with tea towel or damp kitchen cloth or tissue and allow to rise for another hour. 

Pre heat oven to 375 deg F. Remove the tea towel/cloth and place the loaf pan in pre heated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until browned on top and sounds hollow when you tap it. I used a 5 X 9 size glass loaf pan.

Cool, slice and serve. Tastes best fresh or within a day or two of baking.

Notes
If you have flour that is specially marked as bread flour then you can skip the gluten if you choose, since bread flour usually has higher content of protein and does not need the additional gluten. If you use half all purpose flour and half whole wheat bread flour, then you can use half the quantity of gluten specified above since all purpose flour has lesser protein content than whole wheat flour.

If you use white wheat flour or any other lighter flours with less protein content, than use the entire quantity of wheat gluten so that it gives you a good rise and good texture.

If you want to make this bread in the bread machine, you can follow the instructions of the bread machine manufacturer for the order, mine says liquids first, then flours, then salt, sugar and yeast. Just substitute bread machine yeast for active dry yeast. If you do not like the hole that the bread machine leaves at the bottom of your bread, just use the dough cycle and place in a pre greased loaf tin and bake in pre heated oven as mentioned above.

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Simple and Quick Whole Wheat Pizza

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The first time I made pizza from scratch including the crust was a long time back. In those halcyon college days when everything seemed adventurous and lack of ingredients or the long process involved did not faze me or my cousin who used to hang out with me and who joined me in my kitchen adventures.The first step in making the pizza involved a trip to various stores around our block armed with a long list of ingredients that included basics such as all purpose flour, yeast and marinara sauce, since all of these items were completely absent from my pantry in those days. My oven at that time was a tiny space ship shaped portable oven that had a small circular glass on the top that we would keep looking into to see how the baking was proceeding. Maybe it was beginners luck or maybe it was because we followed the recipe to the letter but our first attempt at pizza itself was a wonderful success.We thoroughly enjoyed both making and having it :-)



After that one time of making pizza from scratch, pizza has always meant either dine in or to go, until recently when I started making my own pizza base again.  After several attempts and experiments with varying  different quantities of flours, I now have a version that has become my go to version for whole wheat pizza.
Updated to add: I have now included bread machine instructions at the bottom of the recipe



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For the crust.
2 and 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
3/4 cup all purpose flour (maida) (see notes)
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour (optional, see notes)
2 heaped tbsp cornmeal (makkai ka atta)
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)
a little extra cornmeal for dusting.

For the toppings
Marinara sauce as required
choice of toppings (about 1 cup per pizza) (I have used any combination of onions, bell pepper (capsicum), mushrooms, jalapenos and pineapples during my various tries with this pizza and liked all versions)
Shredded Cheese as per choice
For cheese I tried a new type of grated cheese available in the grocery called pizza blend cheese which was a mixture of mozarella and cheddar, but you can use mozzarella cheese that is usually used in pizza too.
a little olive oil to apply on top (optional)
serve with a little crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Dissolve yeast + sugar in warm water and keep aside for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly frothy

In a large bowl mix together all the flours, salt and Italian seasoning

Add water with yeast and olive oil to the flour mixture and knead. Knead for a few minutes, apply a tsp of olive oil to it and keep aside in a warm place to rise for about an hour. (I placed it in my oven with the oven light on so that it would provide some warmth)

After the dough doubles, flatten it a little and divide into two or three balls. Let the divided dough rise again for about an hour.

Pre heat oven to 425 deg F. Roll one of the balls of dough into a thin crust or regular crust with a help of a little cornmeal if required.If you are adventurous you could try tossing the dough to stretch it or use your fists to stretch and shape the dough too, I just rolled it out normally this time :-)

Once rolled out, brush on a little olive oil on top, then spread marinara sauce as required.

Add cheese as required, then toppings as per choice.
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Bake in the oven for about 20 mins to 25 mins depending on thickness until the crust is crisp and the cheese is melted and slightly golden on the top. Sprinkle a few crushed red pepper flakes on top (optional) and enjoy the pizza while still hot.

If not using all the dough refrigerate the balance dough for a day or two and remove and use as required.

Yield will depend on thickness and size of crust. (I have gotten about 3 personal sized pizzas with this quantity or one extra large pizza base depending on how I rolled it out )

Notes: I have made this with all whole wheat flour too in the past, but find that a combination of whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and vital wheat gluten gives me the best results. If you get whole wheat bread flour that would be a good choice to use for this base, and you can skip the vital wheat gluten flour. Also you can reduce the all purpose flour to 1/2 cup and increase the quantity of whole wheat flour by the same quantity.

Bread machine instructions
Place all the ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order specified in the manual. Mine specifies, liquids first, then dry ingredients and lastly yeast. I used 1 tbsp bread machine yeast, and skipped the italian seasoning entirely. Set the bread machine to dough cycle, when completed, remove and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

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