Baked homemade bread is yummy, tasty, healthy and most importantly preservative free. I want to try my hands on baking different types of bread with different ingredients.
Masoor Dal (whole red lentil)is a very important part of the vegetarian diet in Indian Cuisine.
Masoor Dal contains a high level of protein. It also contains fiber, folate, vitamin B1, and minerals. It helps to lower the cholesterol and helps in managing blood sugar. It is a good source of calcium, potassium, and iron. It is rich in antioxidants.
I love cooking masoor dal and enjoy it with jowar roti. But children are fussy eaters. They cannot eat some veggies, fruits or pulses like we eat. This happens with my son. He will not enjoy the masoor dal cooked regularly at home. But being a mom, I want him to have nutritive masoor (whole red lentil). So I try making different variations with masoor so that he can have it happily. I try making masoor sheekh kebab, Tikki, idli, dosa and dhokla with it. I understand this requires extra effort but I feel rewarded and happy when he enjoys the different variations and innovations.
My son loves bread and so this time I thought of making a bread with masoor.
I have used all purpose flour. The bread came out super moist, soft and had nice nets formed in it. After this success, I am planning of making this bread using whole wheat flour to make it event more healthy.
I have followed the same steps as for making normail bread such as activating the yeast, kneading the dough with activated yeast for 10 minutes, keep the kneaded dough for the 1st rise (1st proving) for 1 hour and 2nd rise (2nd proving) for 45 minutes and then baking.
Here I wanted to make a braided bread. After the first rise, you can directly roll the dough into a log and keep it in a greased loaf tin. Keep it for 2nd proving to rise for 45 minutes and then bake. The other way is that you can shape your bread and make different designs and patterns. I decided to make the braided bread. I made braids from the dough and then kept it in the loaf tin. That was my mistake – I should not have kept the braided bread in the greased loaf tin. After the 2nd proving, the bread rises and it will stick to the edges of the tin. So the shape of the braided bread got distorted and it became more like a loaf.
I baked the bread and it came out perfect and could be cut into nice slices. I was happy with the outcome. I will try making braided bread again and will keep it outside the tin.
To learn to make braided bread check my recipe for Whole Wheat Braided Bread.
Serve the Masoor bread with hot tea or coffee or with a hot soup for a nice dinner. I also made butter sandwich with it for my son’s lunch box the next day and a peanut butter veggie sandwich for my husband’s mid-day snack at the office. I enjoyed it toasted with little butter.
So friends do try this variation of baking a regular bread by using whole red lentil (masoor) and please do share your reviews and comments below.
Masoor Bread/Whole Red Lentil Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole red lentil masoor (boiled and mashed)
- 2 cup all purpose flour maida
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp milk powder
- 2 tsp dry instant yeast (a sachet of 7 gm) if using active dry yeast then use 1 tbsp and fresh yeast 2 tbsp
- 1/2 cup luke warm water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil or any flavorless refined oil or butter
- 1 tbsp flax seeds to sprinkle on top of bread while baking
- 1 tbsp milk for brushing the bread
- 1/2 tsp oil for greasing the bowl
- 1 tsp butter for applying on top of bread after baking
Instructions
- Heat water to lukewarm. Add sugar and mix well. Empty the packet of instant dry yeast. Mix well. Cover and keep it in a warm place for the yeast to activate for 10 minutes. I kept it in the microwave.
- In a big mixing dish, add all purpose flour (maida), boiled and mashed whole red lentil (masoor), milk powder, oil (add 1 tbsp and save the other), parsley, salt, red chili powder, and black pepper powder. Mix them well.
- After 10 minutes the yeast is activated and is risen and become frothy.
- Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the activated yeast mixture.
- Get the dough together. It will be sticky.
- Now start kneading the dough. Knead it in a vertical direction with help of your palms and then bring it together and knead again in the vertical direction for 10 min. The dough should be sticky. ( If it becomes too sticky add the extra flour gradually till all the dough comes together.)
- After 10 min the dough will all come together and will look as shown.
- Smoothen the dough by applying the remaining oil.
- Grease a big bowl with oil. Put the kneaded dough in it. Cover it with a cling wrap and put it for rising in a warm place. (I kept it in a microwave). Keep it for one hour. This is the first proving of dough.
- After one hour the dough will double in size. Remove the cling wrap.
- Lightly punch the dough down with your fist. (This process will remove the air and bubbles from the dough.)
- Get together the dough on a work surface and roll it in a circle. Then start folding the edge inward and make a roll. Put this rolled log in the greased loaf tin. Cover and let it rise for 45 minutes. This is 2nd proving. I wanted to make a braided loaf and so I divided the dough into three parts as shown.
- Rolled thin into three logs. Start making braids. Pinch one end together. Now first overlap the left side roll on the middle dough. Then the place the right roll over the left overlapped roll. Now take the middle roll on left side and bring it up for overlapping the right roll. take the left roll and overlap on the middle roll and continue further this way making the braids.
- The braided log is ready.
- Put the log in the greased loaf tin. Cover and keep it for 2nd proving i.e. for rising for 45 minutes in a warm place.
- After 45 minutes the dough rises. (I should have kept the braided dough out and not in the loaf tin to retain the shape of the braids).
- Brush with milk over the top surface. Sprinkle the flax seeds.
- Now preheat the oven to 200 C. Bake the loaf in the tin for 25 min or till golden. Remove the tin and let it cool. Apply butter on the top edge while still hot. It gives a nice glaze to the bread.
- After the tin is cooled, unmould the baked bread. (Since I kept the braided bread in the tin, it lost its shape and after rising became like a loaf).
- Cut into slices and enjoy with butter, hot tea, coffee or soup. I also made butter sandwich and gave my son for his lunch box the next day. Andy my husband a peanut butter veggie sandwich.
Can you replace maida with wheat
Hi Karishma,
Yes, we can replace maida with wheat. You will need an additional 1/8th to 1/4th cup of water for kneading. I have to make the masoor bread with wheat flour. I will share the recipe of it soon. Thank you so much.
Regards
Swapna
Good variation in making bread with pulses. A very innovative way to give to kids.