Bread has been my bane for some years. It was the last baked item I tried my hands on. I could happily jump into creating recipes using all kind of alternative flours for cakes, cookies, crackers. But when it came to bread I would be worried to even try out a refined flour one. What was stopping me?

Fear. I guess, all the healthy bakes I had created recipes for and tried out were working well. I was worried about failing with this particular baked item. So for quite a while after shifting to healthy baking, I remained wary and kept off from baking breads.

Then I decided to jump right in and not make a ‘gradual’ shift – I baked immediately with wholewheat flour. Predictably it was a disaster. Not because I was using wholewheat. But because I had not learnt enough before I decided to bake the bread. Learning sets us free, from fear. So my quest to observe, read and learn continued.

But then baking is all about practice – so unless I use the learning, it won’t truly help me overcome the fear of failure. So again I put my thoughts together. Tried a recipe that I had seen online and well, it was moderately successful. The family ate it, as it does all my baking experiments. But I wasn’t too happy.

This process that you are reading about above – has been over years. Not a matter of months or weeks.

Finally, I know how to bake bread. Got better at it a couple of years ago. Or rather, getting better at understanding dough and how its going to ‘behave’ , every day.

One of my recent experiments has been with baking a Wholewheat Focaccia. So that’s the recipe I am sharing today.

Recipe –

2 cups Wholewheat Flour ( I used Flour X from TWF Flours)

1 tsp organic jaggery powder

1 tsp Zaa’tar spice , 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 paprika powder

1 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1 tbsp butter

3 tbsp warm milk

Chopped cherry tomatoes and coriander

{If you decide to order the wheat flours from TWF Flours, you can use the code Ovenderful to get a Rs 500 cashback}

Method-

1. Take half the quantity of warm water in a glass bowl and add the entire quantity of milk . A
2. Then add the jaggery powder and stir well.
3. Add the yeast, mix lightly and allow the mixture to rest for 10-12 minutes until it starts bubbling and the yeast is activated.
4. Meanwhile take the flour and add the spice, salt and paprika. Whisk nicely.
5. Add the yeast mixture slowly into the flour and start kneading. Add the remaining quantity of warm water to make the dough.
6. Add the butter and continue to knead for about 12-15 minutes, to form a soft dough.
7. Place this in a greased container and cover the container with wet cloth. Keep it aside for proofing for 1 1/2 hours. If the weather is cold it might take longer to prove.
8. Once the dough has become double in size, punch the dough and knead for a couple of minutes more.
9. Flatten it with your hands and place it into a greased baking tin.
10. Brush the top slightly and press the chopped tomatoes and coriander onto it gently but firmly.
11. Leave to rest for another 20 minutes
12. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C, for 10 minutes.
13. Place the focaccia bread into the oven and allow it to bake for 30 minutes.