WALNUT RAISIN BREAD

Cake, Bread, Pastry are my favourite. When the brother & I were young, a cake or a warm toasted bread with milk was our evening snacks. The toughest part was to have the milk that I don't enjoy. To make sure I drink the milk, mom allured me with buttery bread and cake. Few varieties of bread were available then. Living in the suburbs we got to know about only two types of bread only....normal bread and milk bread, the latter was whiter and softer. In a family where breakfast meant inevitably roti / parathas, bread was an occasional visitor when mom would be sick. Once the mother got me a cake oven, I baked cake at home, biscuits too, now I bake for the man & the son.

Talking about bread, I remember a bread story which I wish to share. It dates back to the 70's when I was about 5-6 years of age. I used to live in a small township, about 100 km away from Kolkata at our maternal grandparent's home. There was a bakery nearby. I used to go there with my youngest aunt and ohh! How heavenly was the smell of freshly made breads.....it was definitely not butter bread. A pound of bread selling for 50 paisa or 1 rupee definitely did not have butter in it even though it was 30-35 years back. May be the smell was of the flour, milk and yeast. Such impoverished was the look of the bakery.....yet such fresh and soft were the breads. I remember, an old man with a single helper did it all.

That there can be anything other than plain breads was unknown to me for long. It was only when super stores started coming up at every corner of my city that I witnessed a variety of bread. Earlier, their availability was limited to a core area in the heart of the city, far from our home. In those days or may be now too, in general, a Bengali would buy pricey Hilsa or Prawns but would not like to spend on fancy bread. There is nothing wrong or right here, it's about the priorities in life..... I feel everyone has the right to set it.

My first attempt to make a bread went haywire. I admit baking isn't my forte. With constant encouragement from friends in G+ and others, I wished to bake it at home. Hence, this morning I  baked my first ever WALNUT RAISIN BREAD. A bright, fresh Sunday morning, fresh and soft was my bread too, that too following few easy steps.

INGREDIENTS :

Refined Flour : 1 coffee mug
Sugar : 1 tsp+1 tsp

Salt : 1/2 tsp
Dry Active Yeast : 11 grams
Vanilla Essence : 1 tsp [I forgot]
Milk : 1 tbsp
Butter : 1/2 tsp 
Chopped Walnut : 6-7
Raisins : 10-12

Oil : 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp

METHOD :

In 1/2 small tea cup of warm water, add 1 tsp of sugar and 11gm of the dry active yeast. It would take 5 minutes to activate.

In a bowl, mix together flour, 1 tsp sugar, baking powder, add the activated yeast. Take on the kitchen counter, knead well for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of oil, knead for 2-3 minutes, keep covered inside the microwave oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Take out, knead the dough for 3-4 minutes adding 1 tbsp of oil. Roll it out, arrange the chopped walnuts & raisins atop.

Fold it to get the shape of a loaf. Grease a loaf tin with oil, place a butter paper. Place the dough in it. Slit it from the middle. Keep covered in the microwave oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Take out.

Mix the milk, butter, warm a bit in the microwave oven, it should not be hot. Brush the top of the uncooked bread dough.

Place the low wired stool inside the microwave oven. Preheat oven at 160*C for 10 minutes. Place the loaf tin atop the wired stool. Bake it for 30 minutes at 160*C.

Your Walnut Raisin Bread is ready to be served with butter accompanied by tea / coffee!