Coriander Pesto Yogurt Bread

I finally managed to buy a lot of baking stuff I needed and I'm quite happy that for keeping to my New Year's Day resolution of increasing my baking proficiency! One of my buys was a loaf tin (I know, some baker I am, didn't even have a loaf tin for so long!) I a

I had to use it right away of course; suddenly I couldn't find all those loaf recipes which would haunt me when I didn't have a loaf tin- there were all kinds of free form breads but hardly any loaves. One can use the same recipe of course, but I didn't want to take a chance...

Finally, I gave up and decided to just tweak the recipes I have already tried out. A bit of coriander walnut pesto remaining from this dish went into the bread and also yoghurt I had seen so many recipes using buttermilk (different from our "mor" or "chaach").

I was quite worried when the liquid proportion seemed too much and the dough was much stickier than anything I had handled before. After almost 4 cups of flour totally, I finally stopped and just put it aside to rise. Good thing I had a loaf tin, since a free form bread would have been a small nightmare!

The dough rose beautifully both the times; I left it for almost 2 hours and 15 minutes the first time and the second time for about 50 minutes.

Hubby though, was a bit worried that he wouldn't get a "tall bread" and insisted we should have bought a taller tin - I was already a bit stressed about the dough being so sticky so I told him the comments section was closed at this time!!.

The bread was fine though, I needn't have worried; this is how I have always wanted my bread to be - those lovely holes and soft insides.
This is a nice bread - good crust and crumb and just the right texture - not too dry and crumbly and not too dense. The pesto wasn't enough to make a mark on the bread (though the bread did look greenish) but I could taste the faint hints of coriander. Next time I won't rely on leftovers and make the pesto for this dish itself!

We had the bread for breakfast - as many versions as the people at home - plain with cheese spread for my daughter, sandwich with green chutney, potato and tomato slices for the husband and toasted with home made butter and strawberry and mint conserve for me.

I don't think there's anything to compare with the aroma of freshly baked bread and the pleasure of cutting your own thick slices - I am definitely going to be baking more bread!

Coriander Pesto Yogurt Bread

Ingredients:
Active dried yeast - 2.5 tsp
Warm water - 1 cup ( I would cut this down to half a cup and then add more water to the dough later if needed.)
Sugar - 1tsp

Wheat Flour (atta) - 1 cup
Refined flour (AP/maida) - 2.5 -3 cups
Yogurt - 1/4 cup
Coriander Walnut Pesto - 1/4 cup (can increase it to 1/2 a cup)
Salt - 2 tsp
Veg oil - 3 tsp

Method:

1. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and set aside for 10-15 minutes till the mixture is foamy.

2. Take the wheat flour, salt, yoghurt, yeast mixture, pesto, oil and 2 cups of the refined flour in a bowl and mix till well combined. Add refined flour a tablespoon at a time till the dough comes together.

3. Knead the dough till smooth and springy (5 minutes), transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for about 1.5 hours till it doubles in volume.

4. Transfer the dought to a lightly floured bowl or surface and lightly flatten. Put into a lightly greased and floured loaf tin or shape into a free form loaf; cover with a damp kitchen towel and set aside for another 45 minutes to an hour for the second rise.

5. Pre heat the oven to 190C and bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes.