Hemp and Honey Whole Wheat Bread / #BreadBakers

Hemp and Honey bread has a beautiful nutty taste and sweetness of honey. Slices are soft and delicate. Slather the slices with butter or cheese spread and you’ll love the amalgamation of sweet, nutty, and salty tastes.

 Rains in the hills are charming. The sky becomes a canvas for the clouds to play with colours. It is about dripping leaves, the smell of the Earth, muddy puddles, earthworms, mist rolling down the hills, croaking of the frogs, screeching of the cicadas, soggy biscuits, warm quilts, and endless cups of steaming ginger tea.

In the middle of all the drama, when the Sun manages to sneak out of the clouds, we run and place our dough on the rock slab to make it rise. The dough is heavy with hemp seeds but nevertheless, it does rise. Heavenly aroma suffuses the air as the loaf rises and turns golden. We thank the skies while slicing the bread.

 

A baker must experiment. Experiments give birth to new recipes. Baking is such an engaging activity. It knocks the creative faculty of the mind, making one think out of the box,  bringing together all the ingredients to create new edible goodness.

A packet of hemp seeds at home spurred me on to try using them in our bread. Hemp grows in the hills and hemp seeds are the seeds of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. Hemp seeds are small brown seeds rich in protein, fiber, and healthy fatty acids including omega-3s. Hemp seeds are rich in an array of vitamins and minerals.

Roast the hemp seeds until they splutter and crackle and a lovely aroma emanate. Let them cool. Grind to a fine powder. Sift to remove the hard shells. Remember, we are adding these to our whole wheat bread. Hard shells will cut the gluten network and not let the loaf rise high. Add to the dry flour.

Hemp and Honey bread has a beautiful nutty taste and sweetness of honey. Slices are soft and delicate. Slather the slices with butter or cheese spread and you’ll love the amalgamation of sweet, nutty, and salty tastes.

 

 

Hemp and Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon hemp seeds / ¼ cup hemp flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 ½- ¼ cup warm water
• 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast
• ¼ cup oil

Instructions

1. Roast hemp seeds on low flame until they crackle and splutter. Keep the roasted seeds on a plate to cool. Grind into a fine powder. Sift the powder. Throw the hard shell. Measure ¼ cup.
2. If using store-bought hemp flour, there is no need to sift as it is a fine flour.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, hemp flour, and salt.
4. Add honey to 1 cup warm water. Stir. Add to flour mixture. Mix with hands to get a slightly wet dough. Add additional ¼ - ½ cup water if the dough is dry. By the end of mixing, there should be no dry pockets.
5. Cover and keep for 1-3 hours.  The dough will become smooth and soft.
6.  Sprinkle yeast and add few drops of water and knead for 8 to 10 minutes till dough becomes soft and gluten is well developed. You may take a break in between kneading. It is very important that all the ingredients are uniformly incorporated and dough becomes smooth.
7. Drizzle oil and knead further. Stretch the sides and pull it to the center. Repeat the stretch and fold method for another 5-6 minutes. By the end of kneading the dough should feel wet, sticky, and elastic.
8. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Cover and keep in the warm corner of the kitchen to rise for 1-2 hours (depending upon the warmth of the kitchen) until double in volume, puffy, and light.
9. Grease one 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan. Dust with flour.
10. Punch the risen dough. Transfer the dough onto the kitchen counter generously dusted with flour. Roll out the dough into a rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you are using. Roll the dough towards you tightly. Pinch seams and sides to seal.
11. Transfer the shaped loaf into the prepared pan. Cover and let it rise until double. Poke with finger, if the dough is firm and springs back immediately, it needs more time to rise. If the shallow impression remains, the dough is ready.
12. By the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
13. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped at the bottom.
14. Remove from the oven after 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on the rack.
15. Slice when cold.

Linking to #BreadBakers

Welcome to this month's Bread Bakers. Our host this month is Kelly, of A Messy Kitchen. 

She chose the theme, Favorite Breads.

Be sure to check out all the favourites baked this week!

• Blueberry Pistachio Chocolate Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

• Cinnamon-Honey Raisin Bagels from What Smells So Good?
• Cranberry Yeast Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Garlic Rolls from Passion Kneaded 
• Hemp and Honey Whole Wheat Bread from Ambrosia
• Lemon Zucchini Loaf from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Boule from Sneha's Recipe