Whole Wheat Bread ~ Perfect, No-Fail recipe using Regular Flour

Sharing my love for homemade bread today -- my latest obsession. Baking a decent loaf of bread has been my biggest challenge for a long time. While I've been able to successfully bake buns and rolls, baking a loaf of bread has been an uphill task, until recently. This year, while embarking on the Sourdough Bread journey along with many across the globe during the nation-wide lockdown, I realise that most loaf recipes in cook books and what's available online calls for strong bread flour, something which is not easily available in India nor cheap (over 200 rupees in Amazon). While my sourdough bread journey hit a complete stop very quickly because my family members were completely unimpressed by the taste and texture (pictures below) 😅

Anyway, reading up about sourdough and watching hundreds of videos helped me to pick up few tips and tricks in bringing out a perfect loaf of bread from regular whole wheat or plain flour. So, today, I'm sharing a whole wheat bread recipe incorporating some of the sourdough bread techniques to get a no-fail whole wheat bread.

My husband says it's better than the store bought ones 😁💃 High praise from a bread lover who hates whole wheat bread. I hope this inspires you to try out baking bread at home. Happy Bread Making, friends!!!! Ingredients ~ This recipe is adapted from here and makes one loaf 3 + ½ Cup - Whole Wheat Flour ½ Tbsp - Dry yeast 1 1/2 Cup - Water ⅓ Cup - Sugar 2 ½ Tbsp - Sunflower Oil 1 Tsp - Salt A bowl of oil to moisten your hand Equipments Your raw muscle power ( this is my required 29 minute workout to keep fit😉) Bandana for your sweaty forehead ( maybe it's just me😬) Bread scrapper Method Grease a loaf pan (9×4×3.5 inches) and keep aside. Warm water in Microwave for 40 seconds. Add sugar to the warm water and stir to dissolve. Now, add the yeast, stir to dissolve and leave it aside for 4-5 minutes to proof or activate. Wait till it gets frothy/bubbly. In the meantime, measure the flour keeping ⅓ cup aside for dusting and adding as required. Add salt to the 3 cups flour and stir to incorporate. Once the yeast gets bubbly, pour the wet ingredient into the dry, add oil and start mixing the dough using a wooden spoon or chopsticks till the dough combines and comes off the side of bowl. Dust your work area lightly with the extra flour, Dip your fingers in oil, rub it over your palm and then start kneading the dough for about 15-20 minutes (it'll be a sticky dough), adding a little flour at a time till your dough reaches the window-pane state (where the dough stretches enough to become translucent without tearing). Shape it into a ball. Now, taking the bowl where the dough was mixed, coat the bowl with some oil and place the dough inside. Cover the bowl with a clean damp cloth and allow it to double in size, the first rise. This will take about 1 hour or more depending on your room temperature. Once the dough doubles in size, lightly flour your work area again. Grease your palm with oil and shape your bread.

Start by gently flattening your dough into a rough rectangle, then taking the top ends, fold the dough to the center and then all the way towards you. Seal the seam by pinching and twisting and then pasting it on to the dough. Now, place the dough into the bread pan, smooth side up and seam side down. Make sure the dough fills out the pan fully by gently nudging it with your palm and fingers into all the corners of the pan. Once done, cover it with the greased lid of the loaf pan or a damp cloth and let it sit for a second rise. Around 30 - 40 mins or till the dough rise halfway inside the loaf pan.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 210 degree C and bake the bread for 50 minutes or until it's golden brown. Once done, let it cool in the loaf pan for about 5 minute. Remove the loaf, cover it with a clean and dry kitchen towel and allow it to cool completely on top of a wire rack.

Store your loaf of bread in a bread box and enjoy your delicious labour of love.