The art of Bread Making has been something of a dream for me. I always loved the smell of freshly baked break whenever I entered a bakery. There is something comforting in those aromas…Freshly baked bread, sweet fragrance of fruit cake baking in the oven, the stirring aroma of freshly brewed coffee, lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice,  the scent of pouring rain on parched soil, the aroma of christmas pine, and the list goes on and on…

I always wanted to “bake my own bread’…If you dont mind my expression. Personalising the flavours in the bread brings forth a lot of options on the creativity…There are a variety of forms of bread – pretzels, dinner rolls, ciabatta, sourdough,croissants, bagels, buns and so on and so forth. There are delicate differences in each of them in taste, form, texture and usage. Today I was browsing through Aparna`s site at MyDiverseKitchen and came across the Paneer Dill Onion Rolls.  I rehashed it to exclude the Dill as many times the flavour of dill tends to overpower over the others. I substituted the recipe with Herbs De Provence and my home was almost fragrant like Pizza Hut!!!  There was a lot of basics that I need to learn like what was yeast, how it works and how does it help in the process of bread making. The original recipe had no  eggs, which suited me just fine.

The most important ingredient for bread making is yeast. The primary function of yeast is to supply carbon dioxide gas which inflates the dough during proof and the early stages of baking. Yeast works by consuming sugar and excreting carbon dioxide and alcohol as byproducts. In bread making, yeast has three major roles. Most of us are familiar with yeast’s leavening ability. But you may not be aware that fermentation helps to strengthen and develop gluten in dough and also contributes to incredible flavors in bread.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all purpose flour.

1 tsp clover honey.

1 cup whole wheat flour.

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast.

1/2 cup warm milk.

1 onion chopped in to tiny pieces.

1/2 cup grated or crumbled panneer.

1 tsp of parsley and oregano.

1 tsp old fashioned oats or flax seed powder.

1/2 tsp salt.

PREPARATION:

• Warm the milk in the microwave for 30-40 seconds and dissolve the yeast and honey in the milk. In about 4-5 minutes, it will begin to froth, and this shows that the yeast is still active.
• In a mixing bowl, take the flours, and add onions, herbs, crumbled paneer, oats,salt and mix it in to a smooth elastic dough with the warmed milk.
• If required add a little more water and make a smooth dough. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and keep it covered allow to rise till double in oil.

• Remove the dough and place on a working surface. Gently deflate the dough and divide in to 6 balls. Roughly shape in to rolls and place on a  cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to rise for about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to about 350 F and bake for 30 minutes or until the rolls are brown. Serve with a brushing of melted butter.