Truly, baking your own bread gives you a satisfaction that is quite unmatched. But it’s a pain to bake when I have more fun things to do, like reading depressing forwards on Corona instead 😀 But I tore myself away from the screen because the family was tearing their hair out and demanding something to eat.

Bread baking –

Breads can be made in a countless number of ways. At times I obediently follow a process and at other times I do my own thing. I believe that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to pleasing yourself and one should boldly adopt or create methods that work for them.

To bake this bread, it would be helpful if you have had some prior experience. However, you can go ahead and give it a try nevertheless. Your audience at home is presently captive and hungry and might just gratefully accept the outcome, regardless  😀 I will try my best to make the recipe easy to follow though.

Tomato Bread – 

Tomato bread has been my easy go to recipe that I have put together over time. This recipe does follow some basic rules of baking but I have made it simpler for myself by using quicker methods. Also it is a quite a forgiving and flexible recipe where you can choose your own flavoring, additions, toppings etc to suit your palate. I call it tomato bread because I usually add sun dried tomato, pasta sauce/tomato puree and tomato powder.

My fridge has been springing quite a few surprises (and shocks) ever since I have started delving into its insides 😀 and since I discovered a box of sumac that was lying long forgotten in the freezer, I decided to use it. I thought it would match well with another prehistoric pasta sauce that was lurking around and hence the twain were wed in my bread. I also usually add sun dried tomato bits but this time I skipped those for no particular reason. Or maybe I left them for another day’s exploration.

Recipe –

In this recipe I create a pre-ferment and then use that to continue making the final dough. Since I am using whole wheat, I find that this method helps in improved flavor and stronger gluten formation (which makes the bread less crumbly). I also allow for only one rise of the dough, since I find that it gives an airier loaf, especially when I use the stand mixer for kneading.

Time –

Overnight pre-ferment plus 1 hr 30 min, from start to finish

(you can also pre-ferment for a minimum of 1 hour in case you need to bake urgently)

Makes – One 9x5x3 inch loaf

INGREDIENTS –

For the dough –

1 – All-purpose flour (maida) – 200 gm

2 – Whole Wheat flour (any brand atta) – 200 gm

3 – Instant Yeast –  2  teaspoon (see notes)

4 –  Salt – 1 teaspoon

6 –  Oil/Ghee  – 40 gm

7 –  Egg – 1 (OR use 1/4 cup milk/water/curds)

8 –  Raw sugar (or any sugar) – 1 tablespoon

9 –  Water – 200 gm (approx. 1 cup) either lukewarm or room temperature

10 – Pizza/Pasta sauce – 40 gm

11 – Sumac powder – 1 tablespoon

12 – Oil for coating the dough – 2 teaspoons

You can also use 1/2 cup of Sun dried tomato finely chopped or any other herb/spice that you like. Sometimes I also add 50 gm of sourdough discard if available, while making the dough.

Ingredients for greasing the pan and topping –

Oil (any neutral type. I used Sunflower oil) – 2 teaspoon

Egg (lightly beaten) – 1/2 (OR milk 2 tbs if you do not use egg)

Black and White sesame seeds – total of 1 tablespoon

You can use any other topping of choice like Sun dried tomato bits, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds etc.

Equipment that I used – 

Kitchen Aid Bowl Lift Stand Mixer

Kitchen Aid Professional Grade Loaf Pan 9x5x3 inches

You can hand knead it just as easily and use any shape of pan or even bake a free form bread.

METHOD :

– In the bowl of the  Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer or any large glass or metal bowl, add 100 gm maida, 1 tbs raw sugar, 200 gm water and 2 tsp yeast. Mix well and keep aside for 30 min. Close with its lid or cling wrap the mouth and place in the fridge overnight.

–  In the morning add in the remaining ingredients from 4-12. Mix well with a spoon.

– Add the remaining maida and all the wheat flour.

– Use the dough hook and run the mixer for around 2 minutes starting from speed 1 for a minute and ending with speed 2 till the wet and dry ingredients come together.

– Continue running the mixer for a total of 10 minutes or till you get a cohesive, pliable dough. Stop 3-4 times to scrape down the sides with a scraper or spoon.

– If using any other ingredient like sun dried tomato bits, add them after the dough comes together into a smooth mass and run the mixer for another minute at a slow speed.

– If you are kneading by hand, follow the same process till the mixing and then knead till you obtain a smooth, supple, soft and non sticky dough.

You can add flour or moisture accordingly if needed.

– Gather the dough out of the bowl and place it on a clean, lightly greased counter. Flatten it with your hands or roll gently into a rectangle whose length is equal to the length of your loaf pan.

– Roll up the dough gently into a cylinder.

(You can also braid the dough or make any other shape that you wish and then bake it in the appropriate pan)

– Grease the Loaf pan with 2 teaspoons of oil and place the dough log into it, seam side down. I also prefer using a parchment paper inside the base of the pan.

– Cover the pan loosely with cling film. Keep in a warm place until the dough rises to an inch above the rim of the pan (approx. 30 min)

– Pre-heat the oven to 230 degrees Celsius (or 250 if your oven permits)

– Brush the top of the dough lightly and evenly with the beaten egg (or milk or water/oil for vegan), using a silicon brush.

– Sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly

– Place the loaf pan in the pre heated oven.

– Reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C after 10 minutes or after the top of the loaf gets brownish

– Bake for another 25 – 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

(Always remember that exact baking temperatures and times are dependent on your oven)

– Remove and loosen the sides with a blunt knife and invert immediately onto a wire rack to cool.

– Slice only after it cools completely to room temperature.

Notes – 

Instant or rapid rise yeast can be used directly along with the other ingredients as mentioned above.

If using granular active dry yeast, the you have to proof the yeast before using it.

Proofing – Add the yeast to a medium sized bowl and mix in 50 gms of lukewarm water (from the 200 gm). Add 1 teaspoon of sugar (from the 1 tablespoon). Cover the bowl and let it sit for around 5 min. It should now appear frothy and well risen. You can now continue as per the recipe. If the mixture remains flat and does not bubble, that means your yeast is dead and will not help your bread to rise. This yeast should be discarded.