healthy living
Wholemeal Bread
During my brother's recent short stay in Singapore, he would frequently complain about the bread available in Singapore. Once, he was offered a sandwich made using white bread from sunshine. After taking his first bite, he was utterly disgusted. I suppose it is his accustomisation to the bread served up in Australia that has cause his evolution of taste buds for 'artisian bread'. Whether it is bread for sandwiches or the muffin tops for your eggs benedict down under, good bread is always used. Sour dough, foccacia, rye bread, wholemeal, ciabatta; all these are found in every nook and cranny within the sprawling cities. Cafes thrive on businesses based on catering sandwiches for the working class. Steak sandwiches with gravy, even these are served on a toasted wholemeal slice with leafy greens sprouting the sides of the plate. Here in singapore, it's a totally different market altogether. White bread commonly available in the market are filled with commercial ingredients, additives and a whole load of bread softeners to keep the loaf soft for a longer period of time.
Personally, I haven't been eating white bread for a long long time. Sustaining myself on wholemeal loaves and multigrain bread most of the time. So when i took my own bite (out of disbelief that it could garner such a cinematic reaction from my brother), i too was revolted by the artificial taste of the bread. What exactly are we feeding our children?!
saying so.. it would then be a crime not to bake my own loaf of bread to appease my appetite which was currently suffering from the betrayal of authenticity of the white bread. In a moment.. HEY PRESTO! here's your fresh wholemeal bread... and as good as it was on its own with it's crusty edges and chewy yet tender centre, it was even better with a generous spread of butter and a slot of blueberry jam. This.. is what i called real bread.
Now.. if only i can get my leaven to start working its magic.. it's been almost 24hours and nothing is happening!!!
Wholemeal Bread
recipe adapted from happyhomebaking
Ingredients
(makes a 20cm round bread)
150g bread flour
150g wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
10g butter
170ml water
Method:
- Place bread flour and wholemeal flour in a mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to combine.
- Place all ingredients in the mixing bowl (except the butter) and using your mixer's hook attachment, allow the machine to knead the dough until it passes the window pane test.(about 10mins). Round up the dough on your oiled counter top and cover it with cling wrap and leave to proof at room temperature. The dough will rise till it's about double in bulk, about 1hr.
- Knock out the dough, making sure to get the air out, then give a few light kneading. Gently flatten the dough and shape into a smooth ball. Place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a damp towel or plastic bag and let it proof for another 30mins. Note that this time round, instead of cling wrap, you should cover the dough with plastic bag, as the cling wrap may stick onto the dough and prevent it from rising properly.
- Preheat oven to 180 degC. Dust with some wholemeal flour and make 2 long slits on the dough with a sharp knife. Bake for 30mins until the crust turns golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.
6 comments:
I can't believe you make your own bread! This looks straight out of the bakery! wonderful job!
I love homemade bread. This looks very good! I would eat it with a thick slab of butter on top!
food librarian: haha. it is a very therepeutic experience. Just what you need after a stressful day. THanks for the compliments lady!
flourchild: me too. nothing beats the smell of fresh bread whiffing from the oven. buttered bread. of course! that's good to!
Your loaf looks great and sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!
wah yr bro is so choosy haha. must be glad to hv food on the table!! i actually like the commercial bread coz its so soft. and when i eat i never really think about the bread conditioners n all :p but i do wanna try my hands on a rustic loaf (vicki's focaccia looks good). need to utilize my kitchenaid!
Pinkstripes: no problemo!
evan: haha. he's a little spoilt. yeh.. i guess singaporeans have gotten just a little too accustomed to the softness of the bread here that we find european bread not to our taste. focaccia. That's nice. good for utilising the KA. I'm thinking or wholemeal rye breads and onion and bay loaf though. some reallie traditional european styled breads. hehe.
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