Olive Focaccia Bread

          Focaccia Bread has been on my to-bake list for a long time, finally I made it when a can of black olives that I had was getting close to the expiry date. It's actually a very simple recipe, even beginners can do it, if you have good quality yeast and follow the steps carefully, the bread will turn out really good. There are different varieties of Focaccia, depending upon the added ingredients, I have added some black olives to make Olive Focaccia Bread, we can add sun dried tomatoes, different herbs or even without of any of these, just simple plain Focaccia Bread. The bread has a crispy crust and a soft interior and is very flavorful from the olive oil and other herbs added to it..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour/Maida - 11/4 cup
• Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 11/4 cup
• Instant Yeast - 1 teaspoon
• Sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Roughly Chopped Olives - 3/4 cup
• Fresh Rosemary - 2 teaspoons, chopped
• Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
• Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons

Original Recipe here

Method

          Add the yeast and sugar to 2 tablespoons of 1/2 cup of hottish water and leave it to bubble up. Now take both the flours, add salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, yeast, olives and rosemary.

          Add the remaining of the 1/2 cup water and another 3 tablespoons of water and bring everything together to make a soft dough and knead it for 5 to 7 minutes. Cover and leave it for an hour till it doubles up. Punch it down and put it in an 8x8 greased baking pan and leave it to rise for another 25 minutes.

Then dimple the dough all over and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil into all the dimples and leave for another 20 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 215 C and bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes till the top turns golden. Remove, cool it a little, then remove from the pan, cool it completely, slice and serve.

Note
Rosemary and olive oil gives a unique flavor to the bread, if you can't find fresh rosemary, use a teaspoon of the dried one.
Since I used canned olives, there's some salt in it, so if you are using fresh olives, then add a little more salt to the bread or sprinkle some coarse sea salt on the top of the bread and then bake.
I have used equal proportions of plain flour and whole wheat flour, you can use just plain flour too.

Eggless Basil Pesto And Cheese Rolls

          Basil is one of my favorite herbs, everybody at home loves the flavor, we love it in the classic Basil Pesto, in our pasta, sandwiches, risotto or in even a simple fried rice. I have been thinking of baking with it too, especially these rolls and braided bread with Basil Pesto had been on my list for a long time now. Most of the time, I'll be able to get only a small packet of basil which would not be enough for making the rolls, and even if I have more of it in hand, it usually ends up in a pasta or risotto. This time, I bought them specifically for these rolls, made the pesto and finally made them. I am not going to say how delicious and flavorful these rolls were, anybody who knows and likes basil will surely love this. I have used homemade Basil Pesto, but you can make your own or buy the Pesto. So the next time you buy Basil or Pesto, do try these rolls and for those ( in India ) who are not able to find basil, don't lose heart, you can try the rolls with coriander chutney, of course the flavor will be different but it'll still taste delicious..

Need To Have

• Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1/2 cup
• Instant Yeast - 11/2 teaspoons
• Sugar - 3 teaspoons
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Oil - 1 tablespoon
• Basil Pesto - 6 tablespoons
• Grated Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 2 tablespoons

Original Recipe here.

Method

          Take the yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar and add 1/4 cup of hottish, wait till it the yeast bubbles up, then add the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar, salt, oil, another 1/4 cup water followed by both the flours. Bring them together and make a soft dough, knead for about 10 minutes, apply some oil, cover and leave it for an hour till the dough has doubled.

          Once the dough has doubled, roll it out into a rectangle ( about 1/4" to 1/2" thick). Spread the pesto all over and then sprinkle the cheese. Now roll it tightly from one end to other as shown in the picture.

          Slice the roll into 16 equal pieces and arrange them in a greased baking dish, cover it and leave it to rise for another 20 to 30 minutes till the rolls puff up as shown. Then bake them in a preheated oven at 180 C for 25 to 30 minutes till the top turns golden. Remove, brush the top with some warm milk and serve them warm.

Note
Oven timings may vary, so keep an eye after 20 to 22 minutes.
If you want, you can use only all purpose flour, it's totally up to you.
Depending on the flour and the humidity, the amount of water needed to make the dough will be a little more or less.

Eggless Cherry Clafoutis

          I first tasted fresh cherries only in the US, the dark ones, they tasted so good and from then on, I always bought bags of them during the season. In India, it's difficult to find fresh cherries, and even when you get them, you'll find the red ones which are not that sweet. But nowadays, you can find them in bigger cities, at least I found them in Bangalore. So then, when I got this big box of cherries, apart from eating them as such, I wanted to try out some dishes with it and the first one that came to my mind was this Cherry Clafoutis. I have not tasted Clafoutis, but when browsing randomly, I saw it and for some reason it stuck to my mind. I made it with eggs first to know the taste, then I used custard powder as a replacement for eggs and it turned out good. Since I am not a big fan of eggs in baking especially in puddings and in these kind of dishes, I liked the eggless version better. If you can't find cherries, try it with other berries like strawberries and enjoy..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1/4 cup
• Pitted Cherries - 1 cup
• Granulated Sugar - 8 teaspoons
• Vanilla Custard Powder - 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla Extract - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon
• Milk - 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
• Butter to grease the pan
• Powdered sugar to dust on the top

Original recipe here.

Method

          Add the flour, custard powder, salt, sugar, vanilla extract and milk and blend everything and keep. We have to pre-heat the oven to 175 C.

          Grease a oven-safe pie dish, I have used a cast iron pan, so I heated it on stove top, melted some butter and spread it all over. Now pour a thin layer of batter, place the dish or cast iron pan in the oven for about 4 to 5 minutes, till the layer is set. We should place it in the oven just when it's still getting pre-heated ( half-way through ).

          Now remove the dish, place the cherries all over, then pour the remaining batter and put it back in the pre-heated oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, till the top is completely set and the sides start to turn golden brown. Let it cool a little, slice it, dust the top with the sugar and serve it warm.

Note
If you are using eggs, then use 1 for the above recipe.
Depending upon the sweetness of the cherries, you can add more or less sugar.
8 teaspoons of sugar was just right for us.
Depending upon the dish that we are using for baking, the baking time might vary, just check whether the top is cooked and set and the sides turn golden.

100% Whole Wheat Bread, Atta Bread ( No Maida )

         
          It's been months since I bought bread, I have been baking my own 100% Whole Wheat Bread or Atta Bread. I tried this and that and finally settled down with this recipe, even then, I had some flops and then found my mistakes and corrected them. I have given a list of errors that we have a chance to make and end up with a dense and flat bread in the 'Note' section, do read it before baking. Since I have used Atta for baking the bread and no added gluten, the bread might be a little crumbly when compared to White Bread, but otherwise it came out soft and had the porous texture..

Need To Have

• Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 3 cups
• Instant Yeast - 1 teaspoon
• Sugar - 3 teaspoons
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Oil - 2 tablespoons plus some for greasing the pan 
• Curd/Yogurt - 2 tablespoons
• Hottish Water - 1 cup + 2 tablespoons

Method

          Add the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar to a bowl, add 1/2 cup of hottish water. Wait till the yeast bubbles up, then add the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons of water and 1 cup of the flour. Whisk it to a smooth mixture, cover and leave it in a warm place for an hour.

          After and hour, you'll see the mixture has frothed up. Now add the salt, 2 tablespoons of oil, curd and the remaining 2 cups of flour. Bring everything together to form a sticky dough, then knead the dough well for about 10 minutes. The dough should be manageable now but at the same time soft and not totally without moisture. Apply some oil and make a ball with the dough.

          Roll out the dough into a rectangle, fold a little on both sides like shown in the picture. Then fold it one more time and pinch the edges. Place it in a greased loaf pan and flatten it gently with your hand.

          Cover and leave it for an hour till the dough has risen a little above the edges of the pan ( about an inch and no more, measuring at the center of the loaf ). Now the loaf is ready to be baked, bake it in a preheated oven at 200 C for 30 minutes. Remove, let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and cool it completely on a wire rack and then slice it.

Note
When making the dough, if after kneading for 2 to 3 minutes, the dough is still very sticky, then add some more flour but don't add too much. Usually, if you measure your flour properly, you'll not need it.
The dough shouldn't be dry like we do for rotis, it should still be soft but not sticky and not a wobbly dough.
If after applying a little oil on the dough after kneading, if the dough is not sticky but very soft and wobbly, then the dough will rise and fall flat once you put it in the oven for baking.
If the dough is very stiff and dry, then the bread will be very crumbly.
I have used a 81/2" x 41/2" pan, if you are using a bigger pan, then increase the amount of flour accordingly.
The timing given for the dough to rise is just a guideline, it might rise faster or slower depending on the temperature of the surroundings.
Likewise, the water quantity that I have given will be correct, but sometimes depending on the humidity, it might be a little more or less.
When I say hottish water, I mean the water should be slightly hotter than warm.
Always wait for your yeast to bubble up, that way you'll know whether the yeast is working or not.
If you fail the first time, don't give up, just find out your mistake and fix it, you'll get the hang of it after a couple of times.