Walnut-Fig Honey Wheat Loaf

Another variation to the humble loaf. Walnut and figs are match made in heaven.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 2 cup

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 cup

Water - ¾ cup, Luke warm
Milk - ½ cup, Luke warm
Vegetable oil - ¼ cup

Dried active yeast - 2 tsp

Honey - ½ cup
Salt - 1 tsp

Walnuts - 80 gms, chopped

Figs - 80 gms, chopped

Semolina to sprinkle on baking tray

 

Method:

In a bowl, add milk and water, honey and yeast in it. Leave the yeast mixture for around 15 mins. Whisk in the oil, add salt. Take flour in a large bowl, form a well in the middle, add the yeast mixture little by little, keep mixing the flour with the help of a fork. Dust a flat surface with flour and knead the dough thoroughly on the surface to activate the gluten. Do this for around 4-5 minutes. Leave the dough in a bowl, cover it with a damp cloth for 2 - 3 hours (depending on the weather; yeast requires warm and humid surrounding conditions to do its thing and rise the dough).

 

Your dough would have now doubled (or even more) in size. Dust a flat surface and knock out all the air from the risen dough. Incorporate the walnuts and figs and shape the dough into the desired shape. Leave the dough to rise for around 2 more hours. Take a baking tray and sprinkle some semolina. Gently transfer the risen loaf into the baking tray. Pre-heat the oven @ 180º C. Bake the bread for about 40 minutes.

Once done, take it off the oven, brush some oil on the top to avoid a hard crust. Transfer the loaf onto a wire rack for cooling. This bread needs no accompaniments, but my personal favorite is peanut butter (gives it a nice nutty flavour).

Honey Wheat Bread

I didn't want this year to end without posting any recipe on this blog and bring bad luck. Before the new year begins and I go back to making new year resolutions like all the previous years (which by the way don't even last a week) I have decided to do a Pre-New Year resolution - to be more active with the blog and post more and more of my delicious encounters in the culinary world.

Here's a simple and healthy wheat bread recipe that I enjoyed making. Its quite easy and needs no special skills.

Ingredients:
Wheat (Atta) - 3 ½ cup
Active Yeast - 1 ½ tsp
Honey - ¼ cup
Milk - ⅓ cup
Salt - 1 ¼ tsp
Oil - ¼ cup
Water (luke warm) - 1 cup

Method:

Take a large mixing bowl. Add water and the yeast, mix thoroughly. To this, add honey, mix again and leave it for around 15-20 mins. Now add, oil, milk and salt, mix thoroughly with a whisk. Add atta to the mixture and knead it well to form a dough. Dust a flat surface with atta and then knead the dough thoroughly on the surface to incorporate some air into the dough. Do this for around 10 minutes. Leave the dough in a bowl, cover it with a wet cloth for 3 - 4 hours (depending on the weather; yeast requires warm and humid environment to do its thing and rise the dough). Your dough would have now doubled (or even more) in size. Roll the dough with your hands, form a cylinder roughly the lenght of your bread tray. Lightly grease the tray before putting the dough. Cover the tray with cling wrap and leave it to further rise for around 2 hours. The dough would have nicely risen by now.

Bake the bread in the oven (pre heated to 180º C) @ 180º C for 40 mins (After the first 20 mins of cooking, loosely cover the tray with aluminium foil and cook for the rest 20 mins). Once done, take it out of the oven, lightly brush the top of the bread with oil to avoid hard crust top. Allow the bread to cool.

Enjoy your home made honey wheat bread. Please try the recipe. Do leave your comments  and tell me how it turned out for you.

Also some inspiration for me to continue blogging :)