Soft and tender crumb, 100% wholegrain zucchini bread has all the goodness and health benefits of zucchini. 


Every baker who loves baking with whole grains keeps experimenting and adding ingredients that make the bread healthier. Zucchini, also known as courgette, is summer squash. Zucchini is rich in several vitamins and minerals and high in antioxidants.




Zucchini does not have a pronounced flavour. This makes it a very good addition to bakes.




Zucchini has high water content and in this recipe, I have pureed zucchini and used it in place of water since that’s mostly what zucchini is made of. And I have also used the autolyse technique to make the bread softer. Autolyse is the simple method of mixing flour with water followed by a period of rest. During this resting period, the flour hydrates fully. Bran moistens and softens reducing its negative effect on gluten formation. The dough becomes smoother and elastic and easier to handle.




Zucchini lends a faint green tint to the bread. The crumb is soft. It toasts well.

Enjoy it with your favourite spread or peanut butter or simply toast it and slather it with butter.




100% Whole Wheat Yeasted Zucchini Bread (Vegan)

Ingredients

  • 1 medium-size zucchini
  • 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons unrefined sugar (powdered)
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 2-3 teaspoons water
  • 2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

Instructions

  1. Wash and dice zucchini. Blend to get a smooth puree. Do not add water to puree zucchini.
  2. Measure 1 cup and reserve 3-4 tablespoon extra.
  3. Sift whole wheat flour with salt in a large bowl.
  4. Make a well in the center. Add sugar, zucchini puree. Add ¾ cup puree only. Mix together all the ingredients. Knead for 7-8 minutes.
  5. Whole wheat flour drinks a lot of water. If the dough feels dry or hard, add the remaining puree. The dough should be really soft and supple. Used 1 cup plus a little extra puree.
  6. Cover and let rest for 30-35 minutes.
  7. Dissolve yeast in 2-3 teaspoons of water. Stretch the dough and add yeast paste. Fold over and add more and repeat until all is used. Drizzle oil. Knead for another 4-5 minutes. The dough will feel sticky initially but will come together and become soft and supple.
  8. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Turn around once so that it is evenly coated with oil. Cover and keep in the warm corner of your kitchen for 1 hour or until double.
  9. Grease one 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan.
  10. Punch the risen dough and shape it into a loaf. Gently transfer the shaped dough into the loaf pan. Cover and keep to rise for 40-45 minutes or until it reaches the rim of the pan.
  11. During the last stages of rising, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  12. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top turns golden and the loaf pan sounds hollow when tapped at the bottom. Tent with a foil if the top is browning too fast.
  13. Transfer to the cooling rack. Slice when cold.

Note: it is my idiosyncrasy as a baker to add yeast and oil later. I feel that the dough rests, bran moistens and softens and it reduces the kneading time. Gluten strands form. This resting phase (autolyse) really helps to get a softer crumb.

 Scallion flatbreads are yeasty, delicately aromatic, flavourful and very soft. Flatbreads are best when served hot. Serve with a curry of choice or hot soup. You may cut them into wedges and serve with a dip.



Spring creates paradise on Earth. It is the season of rebirth and rejuvenation, it brings new life to Earth. The brownness of the forest floor has now transformed into a carpet of green. The bare branches wear new leaves and swing to the song of the winds. There are so many colours, shades and myriad hues all around. 



The peace of the morning has occasionally broken the song of the birds and buzz of the bees.




 The buzz and the hum all around is soul-soothing.

The vegetable patch is dominated by the green shoots of onions that have been peeping out from every inch of the ground. Juicy green shoots are aromatic flavourful and make a lovely addition to bakes, salads and bread. A bunch of fresh shoots went into flatbreads that were made yesterday.




Scallion flatbreads are yeasty, delicately aromatic, flavourful and very soft.




The dough gets sticky when you add scallions. Dust with flour when rolling out and brush off excess flour before cooking.




Flatbreads are best when served hot. Serve with a curry of choice or hot soup. You may cut them into wedges and serve with a dip.

Buttermilk Scallion Flatbreads

Ingredients

  • ½ cup warm water
  • 2 teaspoons unrefined sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
  • 3 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup finely sliced scallions (green leaves included)
  • Oil for cooking
  • Melted butter or ghee (clarified butter) for brushing

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together water, sugar and yeast. Cover. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
  2. Add flour, salt, buttermilk, and mix well. Knead for 5-6 minutes to form a soft and elastic dough that does not stick to the hands or to the bowl. Add more flour if the dough is very sticky.
  3. Knead scallions into the dough. Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 40-45 minutes, until doubled.
  4. Punch the dough and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and then roll out into 6 inches round about ¼  thick.  
  5. Preheat griddle on medium heat. Add one tablespoon oil and tilt to coat the surface of the griddle. Cook each round for 1  ½ minute or until golden. Flip and cook the other side pressing with a flat spoon.
  6. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.
  7. Serve hot. Brush with butter or ghee before serving.

 Linking to #BreadBakers 

Bread Bakers logo

#BreadBakers is a group of bread-loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month by choosing the theme/ingredient. This month the Bread Bakers are making Griddle Bread, a theme chosen by Sneha from Sneha's Recipe.

And don’t forget to check out all the amazing bread baked by our talented bakers. Bread Baker's Event for this month is Griddle Breads.



 Scallion Star Bread is delicious bread with a crispy outer crust and soft fluffy layers with scallions inside. The bread has an amazing taste and flavour and makes a great accompaniment to hot soup.



Sunday is for catching up on the unfinished chores, some baking and a lot of relaxation. Baking is always calming and more so when you have ample time on hand, unlike on weekdays.

Our vegetable patch is beginning to show some green specks as we are heading towards spring. The first thing that has been coming up luxuriantly are the green shoots of onions. Fresh, vibrant and aromatic shoots have been popping out of the fields in abundance. And this gave us the idea of using them in our bread.

We baked two small Scallion star bread for dinner.

This is a vegan recipe and to make it a notch healthier, we used fine semolina flour for the dough.

The bread was delicious with the flavours of the green onion shoots. It pairs well with hot soup or just plain when served warm.



Shaping the bread is interesting. The dough is rolled out into 4 circles with the filling on top of each circle. This is then cut into sixteen parts. Two parts are then twisted away from each other. Press the ends to seal.

The collage on shaping Star Bread is from  Herb and Cheese Star Bread I baked a while ago.

Once the bread is shaped, cover it with a thick kitchen towel and keep it in a warm corner of the kitchen.




Brush the centre of the bread with water and sprinkle white sesame seeds.





Baked bread is a delicious amalgamation of yeasty aroma and the flavour of the scallions between the layers. Enjoy warm bread with soup or just plain.

 


Scallion Star Bread (Vegan)

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2 cups fine semolina
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 teaspoons unrefined sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds

Scallion Mixture

  • 8-10 stalks of spring onion
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Pulse semolina twice or thrice in the dry grinder (do not skip this. It really helps).
  2. Take it in a large bowl. Add salt and oil and mix well.
  3. In another deep bowl, take warm water. Add sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add yeast. Stir and cover for 7-8 minutes or until frothy.
  4. Use this mixture to knead semolina. Initially, the dough will be tight and hard. Keep adding water little by little until you get a very soft and supple dough. Semolina will keep absorbing water and swell.
  5. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl. Cover and keep in a warm spot for one hour or until double.
  6. While the dough is rising, chop spring onions finely.
  7. Heat oil in a wok. Add chopped onions and salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes. We just need to cook it lightly until the mixture becomes dry.
  8. To shape the dough, divide the dough into two pieces. Keep the second piece covered while working on the first piece.
  9. Divide the first piece into four equal parts.
  10. Roll out each piece of dough into an 8 inch round.
  11. Place the first round of dough onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Spread 1/3 of the scallion mixture over the round. Leaving 1-inch space around the edges.
  12. Place the second circle of dough on top of the filling. Repeat with scallion mixture. Top with the third circle of dough, repeat with filling, then top with the final round of dough.
  13. Make sure the edges are levelled. Else, trim the edges. Place a 2inch wide glass or a bowl in the centre of the top round of the dough. Press a little to get a round impression.
  14. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut through the dough from the outer edge to the edge of the glass or bowl kept in the centre. Cut sixteen equal slices ( refer to the pictures).
  15. Take two slices of dough and twist them away from each other twice. Press the ends to seal. Repeat around the entire circle. Take each pair of twisted slices and press the ends together to seal.
  16. Cover loosely with a cling film or a kitchen towel and leave to rise for 20-25 minutes or until puffy. 
  17. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C during the last stages of rising.
  18. Brush the centre of the bread with water. Sprinkle sesame seeds.
  19. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.
  20. Repeat the same with the other piece of dough.
  21. Remove from the oven. Serve warm.
Note: for a non-vegan version, replace oil with butter in the dough and use butter to cook green onions. You may use ½ cup grated cheddar cheese and sprinkle on top of the scallion mixture while shaping. Brush warm bread with butter. 

We made one-star bread with cheese for the kids. 
 

 

 

Making  sourdough starter at home is as easy as stirring together some flour and water and letting it rest. The key to sourdough starter is the wild yeast. 


To bake with sourdough, the most important ingredient is the starter. The starter is the heart and soul of sourdough baking. Making a fresh batch of starter is as easy as stirring together some flour and water and letting it sit. No mashed up grapes, no mysterious rituals. Just flour and water (we are keeping it simple).

The key to the sourdough starter is the wild yeast. Wild yeast is present everywhere. In the air, in the flour…everywhere.  Over the years, commercial yeast replaced wild yeast because commercial yeast is easier to mass-produce, easy to store and easier to use. Wild yeast on the other hand can be fussy. It needs a medium, a starter to be useful for baking. A starter has to be constantly maintained and monitored. A starter is known by different names in different parts of the world. Poolish, Biga, Levain, Mother, Sponge, Starter, Chef and Biga. These are all preferments.  Just a mixture of flour, water and yeast.

When you make a starter, do not use it until day  7. Because before that it has good bacteria, bad bacteria and yeast all fighting for the common food – flour. After day 7 bad bacteria die off, leaving behind a harmonious colony of good bacteria and yeast. A stable starter is a SCOOBYSymbiotic Colony of Good Bacteria and Yeast. The by-products of their activities bring complex flavours and aroma to the starter dough and the resultant loaves.



Sourdough Starter

Things Required

A large-mouthed glass bottle

An electronic weighing scale (with tare function)

Flour 

Water  

Day 1

25g all-purpose flour`

25g whole wheat flour

50g water.

Mix well so that no dry pockets of flour remain. Cover loosely with the lid so that the gases escape. Leave in a warm place for 24 hours.

Day 2

Add 50 g of all-purpose flour and 50 g of water. Mix well. Cover and keep in a warm place for 24 hours.

Day 3

Discard half of the starter (100 grams). Add 50 g of all-purpose flour and 50 g of water. Mix well. Cover and keep in a warm place for 24 hours.

By the end of Day3, there should be bubbles on the surface of the starter and it should look visibly larger in volume. It should feel batter like when you stir it. If you are in a warm climate, you might hear the bubbles popping when you stir it. It should smell a little sour.

Day  4

Same as Day 3. Discard half of the starter (100 grams). Add 50 g of all-purpose flour and 50 g of water. Mix well. Cover and keep in a warm place for 24 hours.

By the end of day 4, the starter should look very bubbly. It should have doubled in volume. It should smell quite sour and pungent.

Day 5 to Day 6

Same as day 3

Repeat this step 3 each day until day 6 or until the starter smells fruity, yeasty and is full of bubbles. You may test the starter. If you are in a warm place, the starter after feeding should double up in 6-8 hours.

If you feel that the starter is yet not active and ready, repeat the same feeding schedule (day 3) for day 7, day 8 and if required day 9.

A starter that is ready will become bulky, frothy, loose and will be full of bubbles. It will double in volume within 6-8 hours of feeding. It will smell sour and pungent. You can taste it too. It will taste sour and vinegary.

The feeding process works well when the ratio of starter-to-flour-to-water is 1:1:1 — equal parts, by weight, existing starter, added flour, and added water. Some bakers prefer different ratios, but this works well for me.




Storing and Feeding the Ripe Starter

Once the starter is ready, refrigerate it after fresh feeding. This is called Mother Culture. Now feed it weekly. Feeding ratios will remain the same.  1:1:1. The same quantity of starter by weight, add the same quantity of flour by weight, the same quantity of water by weight. Stir and refrigerate.

However, if you are busy and feel that for some reason you will not be able to feed the starter weekly, you may follow the fortnightly feeding schedule. In this case, the feeding ratio will be 1:4:4. That means one part of the starter, four parts of flour and four parts of water. Stir and refrigerate. 

If you are planning to bake bread, take the starter out of the fridge the night before. Then feed it every 24 hours twice or thrice until it becomes very vigorous and doubles up in 6-8 hours. Now you are ready to bake sourdough bread with your homemade starter.

An Important point here is that it is always a good practice to prepare LEVAIN to bake bread. Levain is the copy of the mother culture made specifically to bake bread. 

Take a fresh jar to prepare Levain. The ideal ratio to build levain is 1:2:2. That is one part of the mother starter, two parts of flour and two parts of water. Mix well. Levain should double up in 6-8 hours to be used for baking.




Some Tips:

Feeding the starter regularly is important to keep the culture healthy and active and to be able to leaven the dough. Weekly feeding is good practice. Set a weekly alarm for feeding.

Before baking bread, ensure that your mother culture is active and vigorous. For this take it out of the refrigerator and feed it twice or thrice once every 24 hours. Now prepare Levain. Use levain for baking bread.

 

Before going ahead with the starter recipe, weigh the bottle. Note it somewhere or with a marker, write the weight on the cap of the bottle.

After day 1 and onwards during feeding,  we will discard half of the starter keeping in mind the weight of the bottle. Let me explain. Suppose our bottle weighs 200 grams.

  Weight of the bottle - 200 grams

   Starter                        - 100 grams (after discarding 100 grams, that is half of the starter)

   Total                            - 200 +100 = 300 grams

  After discarding 100 grams starter, press tare and then add 50 grams flour. Press tare, add 50 grams of water.

Or, to simplify, discard all except 300 grams. Add 50 grams flour, 50 grams water, stir and refrigerate.

There are many variables in sourdough baking and there is no possibility to control all of them all the time. Initially, stick to a tried and tested recipe. Bake with the same recipe again and again. After you get it right and gain confidence, go ahead with your technique.

Sourdough Discard

If you are baking regularly with sourdough, you are likely to end up with a lot of discard. Sourdough discard is the portion of your starter that is removed and discarded before feeding. Keep storing discard in a large jar in the refrigerator. It can be used to make a lot of sweet and savoury bakes and pancakes.

You may check out some of my discard recipes.

Vegan Sourdough Discard Chocolate Cake

Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Crackers

Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread

Whole Wheat Sourdough Discard Naan


 

 

 

 

NewerStories OlderStories Home