Masala Bread

I have been making masala bread for a long time now. It is basically the bread dough combined with sauteed onions, green chillies, cilantro and baked either as loaf or as bun. But, this recipe is making masala bread using a sourdough starter. My Sourdough starter's recipe can be found here. I make bread using this starter every week. We all like it since it has the sourness compared to regular yeast breads. However, this doesn't work well for sweet or raisin breads. So, here is how to make use of this starter and make masala bread. I have given the ingredients for making the same with just yeast without sourdough starter in the end.



Ingredients:
For the Bread part:

1. 1 1/4 cups of sourdough starter
2. 3/4 cup warm water
3. 4 cups + 1 1/2 cups bread flour divided use
4. 2 tsp salt
5. 2 TBSP sugar
6. 2 tsp active dry yeast

For the masala part:

1. 2 Big onions diced - I prefer red since they are less watery compared to other kinds.
   
2. 10 - 12 green chillies chopped finely
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1/2 a bunch cilantro chopped finely.
5. 2 TBSP oil.

Additional:

1. Milk - 2 -3 TBSP.
2. Butter - 1 TBSP

Method:
Even though I make bread all the time, I kind of cheat and use bread machine to mix the dough and knead the dough. It actually saves a ton of time. You might say what is the fun in making bread then, but with the busy schedule I have, if I want to eat home made fresh bread, this is the option I have. You are welcome to try it by hand. It works fine that way too. Place all the ingredients (use just 4 cups of flour) for the bread in the bread machine as per manufacturer's recommendation of the order of ingredients and select the dough cycle. In the meantime, heat oil in a pan and saute green chillies, onions till the onions wilt. Add salt and adjust if needed. Add the chopped cilantro and turn off the heat. Let it come to room temperature.

When the bread machine beeps (for adding the nuts or herbs), add this mixture. It'll start getting watery. This is the time to add the extra flour you had kept aside to get the perfect bread dough consistency. Check for the salt and add if needed and work it in. To check if it is the correct consistency, try to pinch some dough and it should not stick to your fingers, but should be soft. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn it so that the whole ball is coated with oil. Cover and let it rise till double about an hour. (If you live in a very cold place, turn on the oven to warm and turn it off after 5 minutes. Keep this bowl with the dough and leave it in there for an hour.)

After the dough has doubled in size, punch down and deflate. Divide into to two equal portions and shape into loaves. Spray two standard loaf pans with vegetable oil spray and place the dough. Cover with aluminum foil which has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray and let it rise for another hour or till it is double in size.

Warm couple the milk and using pastry brush give both the loaves a nice coat. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes until they sound hollow when tapped or the instant read thermometer when inserted registers 200 degrees and it is nice and golden brown. Remember to rotate the pans half way to ensure even baking. Once they are done, remove the pans and after 10 minutes, remove them from the pan and place on the cooling rack and brush with melted butter to keep them soft. Cut when they are completely cool.

For making the same without using the sourdough starter, ingredients for the bread goes:

1. 1 1/2 cups water
2. 2 TBSP oil or butter
   
3. 1 3/4 tsp salt
4. 4 cups + 1 1/2 cups bread flour
5. 2 TBSP dry milk powder
6. 2 TBSP granulated sugar
7. 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Method goes the same way.


Happy Baking!!

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