I'mma Been Baking Breads From Scratch Yo!

Modern Bazar, I love thee so much.

Last to last time I went there, I found stacks of cupcake cups in More colours and patterns! So I promptly bought a stack of each type. These weren't the imported, Rs. 4 apiece cups, so you don't feel bad buying so many of them. And once you've bought so many of them, you obviously will use them up. You will spend time carefully thinking over what kind of cupcake will go with which cup and what frosting should be put on it. You will, hence, bake more cupcakes! 

So this time, it was motivation in the form of buying a packet of active dry yeast.

I wanted to try out a few different recipes, so I made one basic white bread dough and divided that up for the different types of breads. 

Things You Need For Basic White Bread (Courtesy: The Purple Foodie)

1.5 tbsp active dry yeast

1 3/4th cup warm milk

6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
5 1/2 tsp sugar (eeps, I just saw: the recipe says 5 1/2 TABLEspoon sugar!)
1 egg

The ingredients above differ a bit from the recipe on that link because I didn't strictly stick to it. For example, I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. So follow my recipe at your peril.

Here's how I proofed the yeast:

I warmed the milk up in a cup and divided it into two. I dissolved the yeast in one and dissolved all the sugar in the other portion. Then I combined the two and let it be. After about 5 minutes, a layer of foam covered the top of the milk. I used only half of the milk to dissolve the yeast because they are mule-headed bitches. It takes a bit of patience to get it all to dissolve. The yeast then feeds on the sugar in the milk and starts producing the bubbles of carbon dioxide.

Sieve together the flour and salt and mix the egg in.

Add the milk and start kneading it until it forms a slightly sticky ball of dough. I wanted to keep my dough a little sticky so I added some water afterwards. Don't knead too hard, all it needs is a bit of love.

Cover the bowl and leave the dough in a warm place (such as inside an oven --but make sure it's turned off!) for about an hour. It should've doubled in size. I started with that ball of dough above, and by the time it was almost 45 minutes, the dough was touching the cover. The instructions said to butter the bowl you leave it in, but I had been kneading in that buttered bowl so I don't think much of that butter remained by then.

Next, you punch the dough.

It makes a little, muted whoop sound and it deflates as you push on it. Don't punch too hard, just push on the dough firmly. The general idea is, you can now use the dough in whatever you want, to make whatever shapes and rolls. Then you again leave it to rise for about 30-40 minutes before popping it into the oven. So this is where the interesting part comes. 

Divide the punched dough into two. I have two fillings for each of these two halves.

*drumroll*

Bread #1: Garlic Herb Bread Twists (courtesy: The Purple Foodie)

A good sprinkling of dried herbs that come in little plastic bottles and you use in pasta

1 sachet oregano from any pizza company

2 tbsp sliced olives chopped up into teeny bits

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves chopped up nicely

As much of Mozarella cheese as you'd like

Preheat oven at 200 degree Celsius.

In a pan, heat the olive oil and stir in the garlic, olives, salt, pepper, oregano and dry herbs until the oil begins to sizzle. Turn off the heat immediately.

Flatten the portion of punched dough into a rough rectangle with a rolling pin. Using a spatula, slather the herby galicky oil all over the surface of the dough. Then grate some cheese over it.

Fold the long edges of the rectangle towards each other so that they meet in the middle. Slice it width wise and twist each length.

Take any oil that remains and spread it over the top once. 

Then you can pop it into the oven until it turns golden-brown in colour and develops a crust on top.

Bread #2: Onion Pull-Apart Rolls (Courtesy: marthastewart.com)

Salt

4 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp melted butter

2 onions (but you probably need a lot more. I'd suggest about 5 onions)

1 tbsp olives

A pinch of grated nutmeg

A pinch of grated cinnamon

First you need to caramelize the onions. That means, you melt 4 tbsp of butter in a pan and fry the onions in them until they turn golden-brown. On the site, it says it should take you about 30 minutes. Add the nutmeg, olives, cinnamon and salt. Cook for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Butter the pan in which you'll be baking.

Take the punched dough and flatten it with a rolling pin. It should be a rough rectangle. Spread some melted butter all over the surface. Add the caramelized onions and roll it up into one tight roll.

Preheat the oven to 190 degree Celsius.

Slice off pinwheels and sit them in the buttered pan for about 20 minutes. Leave space between them for them to expand.

 When the dough rises, you will have a pan full of fat, squat rolls sitting snug and cozily. Put it in the oven until the top turns slightly brown and becomes crusty in places.

I wasn't sure if it was done when I took it out (it was only slightly golden) so I turned it over.

Look, beautifully browned and crusty!

And it had a nice bread-y texture too. I doubt much can be seen in the photo. I took these pics with my crappy phone camera because my much beloved is khao-ing some bhav after that post I wrote on it.

The fruits of my toil. They tasted great btw. But I didn't much fancy the smell that yeast gives off once it starts fermenting. It's tolerable, but I'd like to do without it. Now I understand what Purple Foodie meant when she said instant yeast isn't as stinky as active dry.

I loved that part of bread-baking where the dough increases in size :D

Then I get to punch its daylights out!