Whole Wheat Corn Bread | Whole Wheat Maize Bread

Whole Wheat Corn Bread is extremely spongy and mildly sweet. It has a very soft crumb. It toasts really well and tastes great with butter and homemade jam.

There are a lot of NGOs in the hills that are doing a magnificent job in encouraging local farmers in the interior of the hills to grow the crops by the old conventional methods. The NGOs are buying their products and marketing them. This gives the farmers their due and saves them from the rigmarole of selling their produce by physically getting their harvest to the mandi. Last week we bought water mill crushed Maize flour from the hills. The gritty texture of the flour makes it excellent for breads and biscuits.

Yesterday we made Whole Wheat and Maize Bread. I got back to my recipe of Multigrain bread and substituted some ingredients with a half cup of maize flour(corn meal)  and prepared whole-wheat sponge. The loaf was mildly sweet and soft. We had it for dinner with steamed vegetables and a slice with homemade cherry preserve in the end.

The dough can be shaped as a simple loaf or divide the dough into four pieces and make oblong rolls.

Whole Wheat Corn Bread | Whole Wheat Maize Bread

Ingredients

Whole Wheat sponge

• 1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour (atta)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 ¼ cup warm water

Dough

• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup maize flour/ cornmeal  (coarser the better)
• 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons of milk powder
• 2 tablespoons sunflower  oil (any neutral oil will do)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup warm water (depending on requirement while kneading)

Instructions

1. In a deep bowl, prepare the sponge by mixing wheat flour, honey, sugar, and water. Mix well, cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.
2. Sift together all-purpose flour, maize flour, and salt. Add oil, milk powder and yeast. Mix well.
3. Add whole wheat sponge and knead the dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until you get a smooth and soft dough. Add more water if the dough feels tight or dry.
4. Grease a bowl and keep the dough in it. Cover with a kitchen towel and keep it for 45 minutes to rise.
5. Remove from the bowl and knead for another 5 minutes.
6. Grease two loaf tins. (7.5 inches x 3.5 inches) or, one large loaf pan. Dust the bottom and sides with cornmeal. 
7. Divide the dough into two equal parts (if making two loaves). Make four oblong rolls from each part. Place the rolls in the loaf tins. 
8. For one large loaf, divide dough into four pieces. Roll each piece into oblong rolls. Place in the pan.
9. Cover and leave to rise for another one hour or until the rolls are doubled.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 30 to 35 minutes.
11. Remove from the loaf tins after 5 minutes. Cool in the rack.
12. Slice when cold.