Thursday, April 22, 2010

Whole Wheat Savory Tomato Scallion Bread

Have you ever wondered how much food we waste? There are people who throw away food and it is a waste, and there are people who eat expired or spoilt food because they don't want to waste it. To be honest, I prefer wasting the first way rather than the second. But I belong to neither of the categories. I go through the pantry, refrigerator and freezer and use up the things before they get spoilt or expire. I had opened a tomato sauce can to make pasta sauce. When I open a can, I try to finish off the product within 3 days. That is my rules. Good or bad, it gives me peace of mind to do so. I used some and made curry yesterday and the rest is used up in this bread. I also had a bunch of scallions to be used up. So, came Tomato Scallion Bread. I really wanted to call it 'Spicy bread'. I changed my mind after eating it since it was not really 'spicy', just savory. You could make them spicy if you add some more of the chillies and your preferred spice/herb combination.

Ingredients:
  • Warm water - 1/3 cup
  • Tomato Sauce - 1 cup
  • Olive oil - 1/4 cup
  • Whole wheat flour - 3 - 3 1/4 cups
  • Vital Wheat gluten - 3 TBSP
  • Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
  • Red Chilli flakes - 1 TBSP
  • Sugar - 2 TBSP
  • Yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
  • Scallions - 5 - 6 chopped
  • Garlic - 2 pods chopped finely

Method:
In a large bowl, take warm water, add sugar and yeast to it. Let it froth. Add tomato sauce, olive oil, salt, chilli flakes, chopped garlic and mix. Now slowly add vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour till you can make a smooth dough. You might not need all of the flour. Knead for 10 - 15 minutes. Add scallions and knead incorporating scallion uniformly into the dough. Let it rest and rise in an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat all over and let it double in volume for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. I did all these steps in bread machine.
When it has doubled in bulk, punch down and deflate. Shape into the loaf. You'll get a better loaf if you use 9 X 5 pan. I had 10 X 5 1/2 pan on the counter and I just grabbed it. Spray the pan with vegetable oil spray. Place the dough in the pan and cover with an oiled aluminum foil. Let it rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or till double in bulk.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake for 15 minutes. Cover the loaf loosely with aluminum foil and bake for another 25 minutes at 350 F. Remember to use 25 degrees lower temperature if you are baking in a dark coated pan or glass pan. Bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Brush with some olive oil or butter when the bread comes out of the oven. (Make sure the bread is baked well before doing this) Cool on the wire rack and slice after completely cooled. The taste of this bread was awesome. Since it is made of whole wheat flour, pretty healthy too I should say. It was great as is, great with some dal and equally good with a cup of tea or coffee.

This loaf of bread is on its way to Susan's 'Yeast Spotting' hosted here.

Happy Baking!!

19 comments:

  1. nice idea of using leftover thing dear. I always love savory bread.. Your bread looks tempting.

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  2. I think we Indians are never less than Germans in making different varity breads :) Looks very gud :)

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  3. This is a nice recipe..healthy and thx for sharing...looks perfect

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  4. A savory bread with tomato and scallions sounds really yummy.

    I have a question for you.......I am looking to buy a bread machine.I have no clue what are the things I need to look for.Can you please suggest me and give me some info about the bread machine.Is bread maker and machine different.Please let me know.
    Sorry for too many questions.Thank you.

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  5. Kiran, Thanks for taking time to leave a comment. Bread machine is the one which can knead the dough, let it rise in itself and bake in the same pan. That being said, there are various bread machines and what I have is a 'Breadman Pro'. You can get it in target or any other store. There are other company bread machines too like hamilton beach, black and decor. It is not expensive and mine was a gift (about 100 dollars). You can get a nice one for about 50 dollars too. If you do not mind buying it from the thrift stores, you can get it for less than 20 dollars and I have seen almost new ones for that price there. Hope this helps.

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  6. Champa,Thank you for answering my questions about bread machine.It's very helpful.

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  7. Love the flavours that went into making this gorgeous loaf,

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  8. looks so good. what a creative way to use leftovers in the pantry :)

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  9. Champa, I am amazed at how many breads you bake on a weekly basis. Love this one as its savory.

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  10. Wat a gorgeous bread, love the addition of tomatoe sauce and scallions, bread sounds interesting..

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  11. Mmmmm the bread looks perfect!

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  12. Lovely looking bread!! Must have been so fragrant too.

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  13. HI , Im Char ,. Ive just started reading blogs, hope someday i at least have a little to contribute... Im just loving all that youve written. Whats even better is that most of your recipes do not use egg (my mom in law is strictly against them, wont allow them in the kitchen).. Can i know the few times egg is used in bread , is there a universal easy to find substitute which i can just use in all breads and cakes?

    Also...what is the sustitute to wheat gluten in this recipe? I dont think ill get it easily in India
    keep up the great work :)

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  14. Char,
    Welcome and thanks for leaving a comment. You can leave out eggs and use yogurt or curds in its place for an yeast bread. 1/4 cup (standard measuring cup not drinking cup) of yogurt can be used in place of 1 egg. But in case of quick breads, if there are nuts in the bread, it is best to use flax seed egg. 1 EGG = 1 TBSP of ground flax seed mixed with 3 TBSP of warm water. If you can get ener-G, it works great when the recipe calls for less than 3 eggs. Hope this helps.

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  15. I would like to make this bread. But I am only able to get vital gluten flour from HEB or Target. Will that work, what amount should I use? Is Vital Gluten av. In any shop that you can recommend? Are they different products?
    Thanks, Seema Prasad.

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    1. Yes you may use it from those stores. Vital wheat gluten is made by only two brands as far as I know. Bob's red mill and another one that I can't remember the name of. Use 1 1/2 tsp to 1 TBSP per every cup of whole wheat flour.

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If you have a question and you leave it as a comment, I'll surely answer the question to the best of my knowledge. Thanks for visiting.