I recently bought the Tassajara Bread Book and was going through it when I saw variations of their basic bread recipe using various flour combinations. So I got a little adventurous and decided to experiment with some wholegrain flours I had in my kitchen while following the basic recipe from the book. I was very pleasantly surprised with the results.
My bread was surprisingly soft and crumby with a soft crust. I say “surprisingly” because I thought the flours I used would give me a very dense bread. Here’s my recipe.
Multi-Wholegrain Flour Bread
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 1/4 cups water warm
- 2 1/2 cups wholewheat flour
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 tbsp amaranth flour (rajgire atta)
- 1 tbsp soya flour
- 2 tbsps milk skim powder
- 1 1/2 tsps salt
- sesame seeds seeds or nigella for topping (optional)
Instructions
- In a big vessel, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the honey and 1 cup (of the 2 xbd cups) of wholewheat flour and mix well to form a thick batter. Now beat the batter well, using a wooden spoon. The book says 100 strokes but I must have done about 40 or so. Cover this and allow it to rise for about 45 minutes.
- Now add the salt, oil, remaining wholewheat flour (keep aside 2 tbsps for dusting when kneading the dough), the other flours and milk powder. Add enough water to make a dough that is firm. I did this part in my food processor. Then tip out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand, adding a tsp of water at a time until the dough is smooth and just beginning to feel a little sticky.
- Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to this, cover and allow to rise till double. I had to go out at this point, so I kept it in the fridge and took it out after about 5 hours, by which time it had risen perfectly. It should take about an hour or so, if kept outside at room temperature. Of course, I live in a warmer climate!
- The book recommends two rises, but I did it only once. Please keep it for the second rise if you prefer, I shall the next time I bake this bread. After the rise, lightly press down the dough and shape into loaves and/ or rolls. I divided the dough into two halves (approximately) and made one small loaf and 6 rolls. YOu can make 1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves.
- Bake the loaf at 180C (350F) for about 50 minutes to an hour and the rolls for 30 to 35 minutes till theyu2019re golden brown. Remove and cool on a rack. This bread is very nice when warm and best eaten the same day. It tends to dry out and become a bit hard the next day.
Bharti says
That’s so lovely! I can almost smell the aroma of your bread!
Anonymous says
That was me, Nandita
N says
FUnny that you mention it…when my inlaws were here, FIL told me about his baking the Tassajara bread from a recipe in the LIFE magazine, with his mom, and we promptly did a google, found a recipe and decided to make it…it was a long process with over 3 rises and such, but enjoyed the whole process…somehow missed blogging about it…your recipe seems like fun, will try it out.
jayasree says
Thats one healthy bread recipe with variety of whole grains into it. It indeed looks very soft.
arundati says
the bread looks fabulous aparna…i am particularly respectful of bakers who can get whole wheat to look like this….i wonder if i have the courage to try!!
Srividya says
Wow. You sure are an expert baker now.
sra says
This bread looks great! I saw your Daring bakers post too, brings back a lot of memories, those eclairs!
she says
Hi,The bread and rolls look yummmmmmmmm. I’m a newbie to this food blogs, and am amazed at how u guys dish out such varieties. U must all be real pros at cooking. I always wanted to try out breads but not enough courage in me. Urs is really tempting.Do let me know one thing, can baking of breads be done in the Microwave with the convectional cooking mode.ThanksSheila
Pearlsofeast says
Wonderful recipe Aparna,I have bookmarked and let you know soon.I always love your bread varities.
Jude says
Love the kallonji seed variation. Glad that the bread came out soft and crumbly. Hope to try this recipe soon.
Divya Vikram says
Healthy bread recipe..Bookmarked..
Aparna says
Healthy bread, yes. And it was much, much tastier than I thought it would be. My husband and daughter (especially her) tend to prefer what they call my “unhealthier” ( regular all purpose flour) breads, but this loaf disappeared pretty fast! So do try it out.By the way, I’m far from an expert baker. I don’t post my failures, though they’re fewer these days.:DArundati,You should definitely have the courage. I keep saying this, that if I can do it, anyone can.Sra,I see an eclair lover.:)Sheila,Thank you for the compliment. We are all not pros at cooking, I’m definitely not. I just keep learning on the way. I do all my baking, including breads, in a Microwave Oven using the convection cooking mode.
culinarytravelsofakitchengodde says
Absolutely gorgeous bread, I especially love the muffin shaped bread though.
PG says
Oh! this bread looks so soft. And the rolls look too good!
Anonymous says
i wish people who actually try the recipe would post instead of just people saying how good the piture looks!!