Monday, April 23, 2012

Spicy Whole Wheat Onion batter bread / Easy Khara Bread

I have many friends who love the spicy khara bread I make. But, they are scared of baking with yeast and the entire process. So, here is a batter bread I converted to make the khara bread that does not involve any kneading. Just mixing, letting it sit for a while, mixing one more time, scooping to the loaf pan and baking after it has raised. Simple, isn't it? I used whole wheat flour since most of my friends love only whole wheat bread.

From today, I will be posting bread recipes for one week as part of the Blogging Marathon. Yes, with more than 100 bread recipes on the blog, I had to chose the bread baking as a theme. That's what is called Passion for 'bread baking' (I am just guessing. What do I know?). If you are one of those who do not like yeast breads, don't lose heart. There will be muffins, there will be quick breads and there definitely will be another version of banana bread. For some reason, I cannot tire myself from baking banana bread.
One Year Back - Apricot Chutney
Two Years Back - Whole Wheat Savory Tomato Scallion Bread
Ingredients: (Makes 1 9X5 loaf)
Whole wheat flour - 3 cups
Active yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
Warm water - 1 1/2 cups
Oil - 1/2 cup (Yes, no typo here - See Notes)
Sugar - 2 TBSP
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp (divided use)
Onion - 1 medium chopped (about 1 cup chopped bits)
Green chillies - 12 or per taste finely chopped
Cilantro - 1/3 cup chopped
Method:
In a bowl, whisk together oil, warm water, 1 tsp of salt, sugar, yeast. Add flour and beat with an electric mixer until a soft dough is formed. This is too sticky to knead, but too thick to pour. You can scoop this by a spatula or hand. Cover and let it rest for an hour or two or until puffy. When the batter becomes puffy, Stir it down and add chopped onions, green chillies, cilantro and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Stir with a strong spoon so that it is incorporated through out the batter. Grease a 9 X 5 pan with oil. It is better to line the bottom with parchment paper since this bread sticks. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Cover with an oiled plastic wrap and let it double in bulk. Approximately an hour or so. Preheat the oven to 375 F towards the end of rise time. When the batter has reached the rim of the pan, place it in the preheated oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the top and sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped. If it is browning too fast, tent with an aluminum foil and continue to bake. Turn it on to the wire rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing.

Notes:
Next time, I would probably replace 1/2 the oil with sour cream or yogurt. 

This is my entry for the Blogging Marathon started by Srivalli. Also sending this to Yeastspotting.
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42 comments:

  1. Feel like having few slices with cream cheese, my kind of bread..

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  2. what a healthy and flavorful bread and easy methodology

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  3. This sounds very wonderful, khara bread always welcome at our place. I was wondering why this bread doesn't have the typical 'dome'.

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    1. Harini,
      Batter breads don't usually get a nice dome since they are pretty wet and there is no leavening agent to raise the batter. Also, when I had kept it for final rise, the batter raised high and touched the aluminum foil. When I removed it, it ripped some of the dough spoiling the raised batter.

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  4. Wow!!!the bread looks so soft and spongy,you made this bread healthy with whole wheat flour...Khara buns are my fav...will try this bread soon.Bookmarked dear.

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  5. book marked..and yes in time I will come back and check the other bread recipes..love u r passion for baking breads..pass on some to me...:))oh..ya the bread looks absolutely gorgeous!!

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  6. That is an easy bread. Looks good

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  7. This is fabulous Champa! May your passion for baking breads only grow, we will get more and more awesome recipes from you! This bread sure is very tempting, I shall try this with half the oil replaced with yogurt.. With my hand mixer, normally, unless the dough is really loose, I cant mix with it. If I use part of the flour and mix it with the hand mixer, How long do I need to mix it say on high speed?

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  8. Very tasty and wholesome looking bread. Lovely preparation.

    Deepa

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  9. I am definitely going to give this a try, with yogurt as you suggested. And really looking forward to your marathon :)

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  10. That looks really wonderful Champa, will want to try this..:)..looking fwd to your breads..

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  11. Hi Champa,

    100 bread recipes and you are still baking more bread. Awesome! have you tried baking bread that is gluten free, egg free, dairy free, soy free, nut free. Well that is a true challenge . I am not kidding I know of kids who cannot have any of the above and I struggle to make them something other than traditional south indian food. Right now tapioca bread is what they buy for bread sometimes because they target the allergy free customers. Can you try baking something if you can to make a difference to these kids. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Srimathi,
      Thank you for the comment. Dairy free, nut free, egg free is easy to do. Gluten free is the hard one. I will definitely try to come up with something.

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  12. The bread looks fantastic...baking is my passion too. Would love to learn more of your recipes. I like the rustic look of the board...nice one Champa.

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  13. That bread looks spicy and delicious. Yeast bread with no kneading sounds perfect.

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  14. 100 breads and yet you have chosen baking bread as your theme? Yeah, I think that's what they call as passion :).

    The bread looks great, with a beautiful crust.

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  15. Champa......this looks so good...I can bake one more bread one....:-)

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  16. So glad to have a savoury bread here... will try this as this looks easy... only one thing, do I need to saute the onions before adding it to the batter...


    Kalyani
    Sizzling Tastebuds
    Event : Pickles & Preserves Fest + Giveaway
    Event : CWS - Oats

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    1. Kalyani,
      No, no need to do that. You could and it won't harm either.

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  17. Bread looks perfect Champa. For some reason I am also into bread making recently and loving it.

    Vardhini
    CooksJoy

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  18. 100 breads! That's really great. I am still not into yeasted bread it kinda scares me. Hope I come out of this phase soon coz this bread looks too good for words.Waiting for your other bread recipes :)

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  19. Could you please tell me what brand of whole wheat flour you used so that I can get it correct. The whole wheat flour sold in the Indian shops are different from the American shops. I really want to try out this one.

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    Replies
    1. Seema, For this bread, I have used the one from Indian store. I do get King Arthur flour whole wheat bread and when I do, you will notice it is darker in color. It shouldn't matter what you use in this recipe.

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  20. Very interesting bread! Preparing batter surely makes bread baking easy!

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  21. Kaara bread looks good. I appreciate your baking enthusiasm.

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  22. lovely nice bread, love khara bread always...

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  23. Me too Champa, I love banana bread both baking and eating. :)
    I am bookmarking this one for my husband. :)

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  24. Thanks for the recipe, the bread came out very well. Except I had to divide into 2 pans otherwise it rose too much.

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  25. Thanks for the lovely recipe. It was very tasty.

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  26. Can I replace 1/2 of the oil with yogurt? have you tried it?

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    Replies
    1. Kavi,
      Yes. You can replace half the oil with yogurt without any problems. I have done it.

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    2. Thanks champa,
      It was super good but it's little watery around the onions inside the bread.

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