Whole Wheat Ruby Bread - Beetroot Bread

Whole Wheat Ruby Bread

Why I decided to call this humble beetroot studded bread ,the most noble of  the jewels is no mystery  ...the lovely pink color is self explanatory.  But there is another reason to it and a very valid one too.I am not taking this too far and believe you me, this bread was made for a little girl who is lovingly called Ruby at home and loves all things pink. Not only pink dresses and tiff ins and bottles..the love extends to pink tooth brush to hair brush to strawberries and to the frustrating 'I will only eat pink things today.' 
After her exasperated mother confided in me about this picky eater, we hit upon this grand idea of beetroot bread...After ten days and three loaves of beetroot bread, I was told about how wonderful mealtimes have been all this while.
Beetroot toast with garlic butter and milk
Beetroot bread sandwich with paneer stuffing
Beetroot Bread pakoras
Beetroot Bread with cucumber
and...what not...

It is a baker's delight to discover a loyal customer...the humble baker ,in turn can at least show the love back by naming the invention after that cute customer..
Here goes my Ruby Bread  

Ingredients

· 3 cup wholewheat flour
. 4 tsp sugar
. 1 tsp salt
. 1/4 tsp baking powder

·  1 cup grated beetroot
. 2tsp ghee
. 2 tsp active dry yeast
. 1 cup luke warm milk

Instructions

1. Take a big bowl,put sugar ,flour ,baking powder,and yeast together and give a good stir. Add the grated beetroot and mix. I was aiming for a nice pink color and did not squeeze the juice out. Also I feel the good nutrition would come down if you remove the juice.However if you are looking for a bread with regular color and studded with ruby flakes of beetroot, go ahead and squeeze out the juice,before adding to the flour.

2. Add the milk in batches and give everything a good mix. Place the dough on your working platform and knead for ten minutes.

3. Towards the end of kneading, mix the ghee and salt and knead it into the dough. You can use any shortening of your choice..butter, oil..anything.

4.Cover the dough and leave in a warm spot to prove. Once the dough has doubled in volume(generally forty minutes to an hour) ,gently deflate with your hands and form a loaf by folding the sides like an envelope.

5. Grease a tin loaf(I use 8 x 4 inch) and place the loaf in the tin with seam side down. Keep aside for half an hour to rise till the edge of the tin.

6.Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Now this is optional but worth trying - Just before you place the bread in the oven, gently spray some water on the top of the loaf. Do not use force to apply water ,otherwise the loaf will deflate. This is done to have a moist loaf.

7.Bake for 30-35 minutes..The bread is done when you get a hollow sound on knocking the top of the loaf. 

8.Once you remove the bread from the oven, Immediately brush it with  butter and remove it from the tin. If you leave it in the tin, the steam gets trapped making the bottom of the bread all soggy.

9.Cool completely before you slice the bread. 

 

 

Another Chocolate muffin..Ground oats and Wheat Bran

Ground Oats and Wheat Bran Chocolate muffin

 I can't get enough of chocolate. It is my son's favourite flavour and for me ..the second favourite, coffee being my first love. But hey..who cares what the adults love, it is the toddler who rules the roost. So chocolate it is. I keep trying various ways to make it healthy and wholesome. Here is another winner of a recipe.

The recipe took shape out of sheer necessity. My microwave is broken and I had to use the stove to melt chocolate and butter. One thing led to another and I landed up with another luscious recipe to pack for my little one's snacks for school
The recipe makes six decent sized muffins. 

 Ingredients

 

• 50 gms dark chocolate(I use Amul)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp coffee powder
• 2/3 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup ground oats(give a quick pulse in the grinder to the quaker oats)
• 1/3 cup Whole wheat
• 2 tsp wheat bran (ordered from Amazon)
• 2 tsp cocoa powder(used Hersheys)
•  1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• chocolate chunks/chips to top

Instructions

1. In a saucepan,heat the milk. When the milk starts boiling, tip in the butter.Once the butter has melted(in a matter of a moment) switch off the gas. Add the chocolate and whisk to a homogenous mixture.Mix the instant coffee granules.
2. Add sugar and mix nicely. The mixture should have cooled by now. If not wait for it cool before you break  in the egg.
3.Break in the egg and give a nice stir to the entire mixture.
4. In a separate bowl,Sieve in the dry ingredients together ie whole wheat flour, ground oats, wheat bran ,cocoa powder,baking powder and baking soda together.
5. Add the dry mix to the chocolate batter in batches and mix gently.

     Scoop out the batter in a greased muffin tray and top it with chocolate chunks. I use chocolate chips generally but when I run out of it ,I conveniently break the amul dark chocolate bars with my rolling pin and use the resulting chocolate chunks.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Whole Wheat Chocolate muffins

Whole wheat Chocolate Muffins

  

This is my go to recipe for packing a snack for my son for his tiffin or for his any time cake request.I make this pretty often and I am really wondering what took me so long to get around posting about this. It is a healthy one bowl recipe that is so simple to stir up in a jiffy, and it is a very forgiving recipe too. You cant go wrong with this..

I have used brown sugar and date syrup here and it is just sweet and not super sweet. Feel free to increase the sugar if you like more sweeter muffins.
Also I have used coffee to give more depth to the chocolate flavour, feel free to omit it if coffee is not your thing. I have not used any vanilla here as I do not like adding artificial flavours when the goodies are meant for children.
If you have a vanilla bean or a good vanilla extract(not essence), go ahead and use it ..it will add a lovely flavour.
This recipe is so fast that you ought to start by first switching the oven for preheating and your batter will be ready in the muffin cups within five minutes to pop in the oven..

Ingredients

 

·   80 gms dark chocolate(I use Amul)
. 1/4 cup butter
. 1/2 cup sour curd

. 1 tsp baking powder
. 1/4 tsp baking soda

. 1/4 cup sugar
. 1/4 cup date syrup
. 2 eggs
. 3/4 cup whole wheat
. 1/4 cup ragi flour
. 1 tsp instant coffee 
chocolate chunks/chips to top

 

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Instructions

1. Melt chocolate and butter together in a mixing bowl in the microwave.
    This should take roughly a minute in the microwave. Stir to ensure that there are no lumps.Mix the instant coffee granules.
2. Add sugar and date syrup. Mix nicely
3.Break in the two eggs and give a nice stir to the entire mixture.
4. Sieve in the dry ingredients ie atta, ragi,baking powder and baking soda together.Mix gently.
5. The mixture will be very dry. Add the curd and mix. This is not a very flowy batter and has to be scooped out into the muffin cups.It is not of pourable consistency. Scoop out the batter in a greased muffin tray and top it with chocolate chunks. I use chocolate chips generally but when I run out of it ,I conveniently break the amul dark chocolate bars with my rolling pin and use the resulting chocolate chunks.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.