Whole Wheat Loaf

Well, we all learnt a lot in the Great COVID Lockdown, but I really want to say, of the many many many things I got out of it, I’m proudest of conquering bread-making. And not just any bread-making, 100% wholewheat loaf that is soft and delicious and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Now anyone who’s tried their hand at bread making, or tried working with whole wheat and yeast, knows it’s no easy task. However, I finally found the balance of ingredients that’s guaranteed to deliver you a finger-smacking loaf that’ll have you drooling at the oven as it bakes.

Disclaimer alert:

• Skip arms / shoulder day at the gym, you’ve got your work stored for you
• It’s super imperative that you use the same measuring cup for both flour and water
• Prepare big kitchen towels / big fluffy throws to wrap the dough when we leave it to raise, and it needs to be somewhere that’s not cold

So roll up your sleeves folks, it’s about to get messy here.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat flour (aka Chapatti Atta)
• 1 tsp instant yeast (not dry active yeast)
• 1 generous pinch of sea salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil / coconut oil
• 2.5 tbsp yogurt / buttermilk
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp honey

Directions:

• Mix all dry ingredients (including yeast), and create a well in the middle
• Add in honey, yogurt, and oil and start kneading and mixing with your hands
• Add in 1 cup water in quarters, and keep kneading the dough, it’s sticky, it’s messy, it’s sticking to all sides of the bowl, and to your fingers and the top of your hand, i know. But keep kneading, i promise most of the dough will end up as a round shaped object in the bottom of your bowl
• Remember that shoulder work out i told you about? yes, it’s now, keep kneading for around 7–9 minutes, dough should have stuck together by then, but still is very sticky. Make it into a round shape at the bottom of your bowl, and dip your hands in water and generously smother the top surface of your dough with your wet hands
• Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and wrap it in some more towels / throws and let it rise for 30 minutes
• Line a bread tin with wax paper and leave aside
• Revisit the dough after 30 minutes, it should have more than doubled in size by now, punch it a few times, and knead it some more for around 3–4 minutes, and yes, i know it’s a difficult and sticky mess, but shape it into a log in the bread tin
• Cover it again and let it rise this time for around 50–60 minutes
• Once that time is up, put your bread tin in the oven at 220C (ensure it’s been heated for around 5 min before you put the bread in
• Bake for 20 minutes, top should be browned by then, and then remove it and let it cool down outside the oven before you attempt to remove the wax paper or cut into the loaf
• After it’s cooled down, pour some olive oil into a small bowl, slice some bread, dip in olive oil, and enjoy!