Truth Personified

Wish you all a wonderful Onam…

And a fantastic Onam Sadhya… Coming up later in the week…

A toast to me and my baking skills ;). Well i’d been badgering my roomie to buy me all the stuff needed to bake and so finally he gave way and this was the result. After going to Panera breads and Olive Gardens, i decided to make my own bread the way i like it. I’m not gonna advise you to try it out but if you do, i promise, you will NOT be disappointed! You’ll find the clues to another bread in the pics which i call Honey Lemon Zest bread loaf but not many like the sweet-sour-bitter taste it gives out and so i’ll spare you the torture.

• 2 cups - All purpose flour - i used bleached.
• 1 small cube - melted unsalted butter
• 1 packet -  Active dry Yeast
• 1 Cup - Warm milk or just enough to make the dough stick right ;)
• 1/4 tsp - Salt
• 1-2  tsp - Sugar

For the Filling:

• 1 - Jalapeno, finely minced
• 3 cloves - Garlic minced
• Very little cheese - i used mozzarella but feel free to use whatever type you like and how much ever you want :)
• 1/2 Tbsp - Olive oil
• Italian seasoning
• Tiny squeeze of lemon juice - i didn’t use this

Method:

1. Depending on the type of yeast you use, mix it in the dry ingredients or soak it in a little milk and set aside. I used the first type. So mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, melted butter and warm milk to make the dough. In a well-oiled bowl, turn the dough to coat it entirely with oil/butter. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm spot to allow it to rise. I simply put it in the oven and turned the light on. Leave this for an hour - It should double in size.
2. Keep the baking pan with an aluminum foil with a buttered layer ready. Some use parchment paper. I didn’t have any sooo aluminum foil it was.
3. Take the dough and flatten it. Spread it out into any shape you want and put the mixture for the filling. Mine was shaped like a slug. Close up the dough and make sure that the filling doesn’t escape/spill. It is better to do this on the baking pan as transferring it into the baking pan after the filling might be a little difficult. Trust me i tried!
4. Make sure that the top surface of the dough is well buttered else when its rising it dries up and the bread doesn’t bake too well. Leave it in the oven with the light on for another hour.
5. After an hour check your dough to see its risen to double the size. If it has, take it out of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 F. Then slide the baking pan with the dough and set a timer for 15 minutes. After 15 min check to see if the baking is done the old fashioned way. the toothpick :). If not set it for another few minutes till the top is golden brown.
6. Tip : For a glazed look on the top, before putting it in the oven brush the top of the bread with the beaten egg white.
7. Take it out when the bread is all baked and ready and wait for it to cool for a while. When cooled slice it with a bread knife to enjoy some gooey, spicy Jalapeno cheese garlic bread loaf.
8. Finally if possible get surprised with tickets to a late night movie with and by your (R)oomie ;)