Whole wheat and wheat bran bread rolls – comfort cooking

As a child, I always eat home cooked meals, 3 times a day and even the snacks. There is nothing that is store-bought involved in our diet. No spreads, sauce or ketchup. There has been rule laid out on the eating patterns. A fixed  menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, that would ensure all the required nutrition has been taken care and the taste buds are tickled.

As we grown up and started exploring wider world possibilities, these obvious truths of food has almost forgotten, I ate out day in and day out, if not ate readily available food that’s available in the supermarkets. I believe there comes a point, where in you realise, the traditional food wisdom has to get back into the life, without really making anyone (including yourself) feel that cooking is a difficult science including lots of calculations of carbohydrates, proteins and fibers etc.

There is always a difference in the brought out food and home cooked meal. The basic ingredients are not striped, taste & texture enhancers are not used in home cooked meal. Also they perish quickly, with all these, home-made food is the ultimate comfort, you can very well infer this statement. This also provides an answer to why  sweat over these easy buns/breads rolls, that one can pick at lower price and less time from the local groceries.

note – these bread rolls are no way close to the store bought pav or bun. They are heavy dense and filling.

Recipe

• 2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
• 3/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp granulated white sugar
• 2 tsp sesame seeds (some more for sprinkling on top- optional)
• 1 1/2 cups of warm water
• 2 tbsp flavorless vegetable oil / light olive oil
• 2 tbsp of milk (optional)

Method  –  In  a large mixing bowl mix all ingredients together. With the electric mixer, on a medium speed, knead it for 5 minutes. (Dough starts leaving the sides of the bowl and looks silky). Stop the electric mixer and knead the dough with well oiled hands for a minute more.

Put this dough for fermenting in a covered bowl for an hour (until the dough is almost double. But don’t leave it for more than two hours) in a warm place.

Divide the dough in 20 equal portions. Keep the each portions in between your palms and prepare smooth balls. Place them in a greased baking dish with 1/4 inch gap between the two portions of dough.

Cover the baking dish with a cotton cloth and leave it for the second rise for another hour.

Optional – Brush some milk on these rolls and sprinkle the sesame seeds.

Bake them at 215 °C or 420 °F  for 35 minutes, or the till the bread becomes brown on the top.

Makes 20 medium size bread rolls