Whole Wheat Bread

I love baking! i absolutely love everything about baking..i love the way my house smells when i bake..i love to use all those fancy cute kitchen equipments..and most of all i love the glee on my kids face :)

And bread making is something i enjoy the most..my kids love sandwiches and pizzas just like any other kids and i make it a point to feed them fresh home made bread. I have been baking white bread at home for quite sometime now and always wanted to try whole wheat one for obvious health reasons, but was equally hesitant as i had heard it comes out dense and not as tasty as the bread  made with maida...but finally gave it a try when i came across this wonderful recipe  by dassana of veg recipes of india...and it did taste as good as white bread if not better :)

Ingredients:

1.  3 cups 100% whole wheat flour/atta
2.  1.25 cups water
3.  1 tsp instant yeast
4.  1 tsp  salt
5.  1 tbsp  sugar
6.  2 tbsp ghee
7.  2 tbsp yogurt/curd  or 1.5 tbsp vinegar ( i used curd)
8.  some milk  for brushing the top of the bread

Method:

1. sieve the flour with salt or just mix the flour with the salt
2. add the 1 tsp instant yeast and just lightly mix.
3. then add sugar, ghee, curd
4. first just mix everything lightly and then slowly adding water in intervals knead to a smooth, soft dough.(i used my stand mixer with dough attachment to knead the dough)
5. add more water if required. the dough should be slightly sticky.
6. brush some water all over the dough and keep in a deep wide bowl covered with a lid or kitchen towel for 45-60 minutes.
7. remove and then lightly punch & knead the dough again.
8. make a log of the dough and seam the edges.
9. place it in a greased loaf pan for 40-45 minutes.
10. cover and let it rise.
11. preheat the oven at 220 degrees C for atleast 20 minutes.
12. once the bread has risen in the loaf pan, keep in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
13. if the bread begins to brown from the top, then cover with butter paper or aluminium foil.
14. when the bread is still lightly hot, remove from the loaf pan and keep it on a wired tray to cool.