Masala Bread
A spicy, aromatic bread flavored with green chillies, cilantro and onions. This bread tastes best toasted on a tava with a little butter or ghee. Goes really well with spicy chutneys, ketchup and Amul Cheese.
Ingredients
- 15 g Active dry yeast 1.5 Tbsp
- 15 g Sugar 1 Tbsp
- 18 g Salt 1.5 Tbsp
- 300 ml Water 2 Cups
- 650 – 700 g All Purpose Flour 5-6 Cups
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil/Vegetable Oil
- 8-10 Green chillies
- 1 small bunch Cilantro
- 1 medium Yellow or white onion or 1 bunch of scallions
- 1 tsp Milk, melted butter, or olive oil Optional
- 1 tsp Black sesame seeds Optional
Instructions
- Chop the green chillies and cilantro finely.
- Chop the scallions(or Onion) into small pieces, not too finely.
- Heat water until it is between 90 and 100 F, it should feel lukewarm, not hot.
- Dissolve the sugar and yeast in this mixture completely. Set aside until the liquid becomes frothy.
- Measure 5 cups of flour into a large bowl and mix in the salt. Reserve the last cup of flour.
- Add the onion mixture to the flour and mix well.
- Drizzle 2 Tbsp of the oil into the flour and mix well.
- (At this point you can knead the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook, or by hand.)
- Add the water mixture to the flour and mix well into a soft dough. Add the last cup of flour in stages if the dough is still sticky. You might have to add more flour depending on the moisture in the onion mixture.
- Knead the dough well for about 5 minutes until it is soft and gathers easily into a ball. The dough will initially feel too sticky, but resist adding too much flour to the stand mixer. Let the mixer run longer than 5 minutes until the dough begins to gather itself into a ball and starts slapping around the sides of the bowl. If your dough still feels sticky to the touch after 10 minutes, add a little flour, scrape the sides of the bowl and knead some more.
- Oil another large bowl with the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil.
- Transfer the ball of dough into this bowl. Cover and let rest for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down and shape into 2 loaves.
- If the dough is too sticky, add some more flour before forming the loaves.
- Transfer each loaf into a loaf pan coated with non-stick spray. If you are using the sesame seeds, sprinkle them on top of the loaves now. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap sprayed with a small amount of non-stick spray and allow to rise for another 30 minutes to an hour. Watch the loaves carefully at this point and start preheating your oven once the dough has risen slightly above the top of the loaf pans. If you are using a tall pullman loaf pan, the bread is done proofing when it is an inch below the rim of the pan.
- Bake in a 375F oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is brown and lightly tapping the bottom or sides of the bread produces a hollow sound. If the top browns too quickly, you can lower the temp to 350F after the first half hour and gently cover with tinfoil.
- Optional – Brush the tops with the milk, melted butter, or 1 tsp olive oil mixed with 1 tsp water after 20 minutes of baking. This will make the top crust a bit shinier and crispier.
- Remove from the loaf pans immediately and cool on a cooling rack. This is when you should check the bread by tapping the bottom or sides. If it feels soft or doesn’t sound hollow, carefully put the loaves back directly on the oven rack and bake them for another few minutes.
- Cool completely before slicing.