A Weeknight Dinner in an hour and 30 mins.

This weeknight dinner can be made in an hour and 30 mins, starting from the bread. Of Course you have to multi task, otherwise, this is going to take atleast 2 to 3 hours :)

Mango / Avocado salad
Basic tomato soup.
Antique Bread.



Start with the Bread,
You will need a regular Loaf Pan.

Antique Bread:
You might think Antique is old, but here it really means there are no fancy ingredients in this bread.
Just plain old sugar, salt, oil, flour and yeast.
 Water 1 and 1/2 Cups
Oil 3 Tablespoons
Salt 1 and 1/2 Teaspoons
Sugar 3 Tablespoons
Bread Flour 3 Cups
Yeast - 2 and 1/2 Teaspoons
Vital Wheat Gluten - 1 Tablespoon
I also add 1 Teaspoon of Soy Lecithin and usually substitue 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour in the Bread flour so it will be 2 cups white and 2 cup Wheat. You can make it 1 and 1/2 cups of each, but the bread will be dense and will not absorb the soup well.

Method
Add the Ingredients in the order given and make a dough. I have a bread machine and make the dough in that. you have to knead for at least 20 mins and shape it in a loaf shape and place in pan let it rest for 30 Mins.
Pre heat the oven for 350 deg F and place in oven and take out after 30 mins or when a thermometer is inserted in to the middle part of the loaf and the temp is 200 degrees.
Let it sit for 20 mins and slice.
The more you let the bread sit, the better it is for the bread and the easier it is to slice. I have made two loaves.


Basic Tomato Soup
While the Bread is kneading and resting, you can start the tomato soup.

I use the Whole food brand Canned Tomato 32 oz
1 quart of Vegetable broth
4 to 5 Medium Size Tomatoes (Chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 large Carrot (Chopped)
5 Cloves of Garlic
Olive oil - about 2 Tablespoons
Spices - 1 bay leaf, and 5 peppercorns and 1/4 tsp cumin


Optional - I have used a Banana Pepper, which I had lying around in the fridge.
Salt to taste
Method:
In an Pan, add the oil and when its hot, add the garlic, cumin and pepper corns, and saute for a minute, then add the onion and saute for few mins until the color turns to a pale pink and then add the carrots and then add the tomatoes.
At this point, I usually pressure cook this. If you want to avoid that, then it should all come to a nice rolling boil and let sit for at least 20 mins. If you do this, then you might want to add water. In a pressure cooker , the items don't get dry.
Once the pressure is cooled, run an immersion hand blender ( I cant make soup without one) and make a puree. If you don't own one, then transfer the contents to a mixer or food processor.
Then add the broth to this and let it come to a slow boil.
Taste and add salt.



Mango / Avocado salad
1 Ripe Mango -- 1/2 sliced length wise in slit in half
1 Ripe avocado-- 1/2 sliced length wise in slit in half
1 Jalapeño - 1/2
Red Leaf Lettuce -- 8 to 10 leaves
Walnuts - 1 handful, chopped
1 cucumber - slit in half and sliced.
Salt - as needed
Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
1/2 Lemon - squeezed
Ground Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

Just toss everything in and serve chilled.

Maple Syrup Buttermilk Bread

I have been baking bread since I bought my Zojirushi bread maker in Jan 2004. Most of my friends who own a bread maker, warned me that, even though they bought one, it ended up in storage, cos something or the other wouldn't work out and they end up buying bread again. To tell the truth, I have bought store bread once in the last 7 years, and my family hated it. I still buy bread for Pav bhaji and an occasional french bread, but for the sandwiches I make for my kids and the toasts, it is all homemade  bread. Once you try this, I am sure you will  agree and hopefully enjoy baking as much as I do.

Homemade bread also does not have any addtives or preservatives.

   I think I have mentioned this book in my previous blog posts, The Bread Lovers Bread Machine Cookbook.  There are tons of recipes in the book, and this recipe is one our family favorites.

About Maple syrup, I use the original maple syrup, not maple flavored corn syrup. This makes a huge difference in the taste. And always use Grade B for Baking, remember B for Baking. Grade A is used as an accompaniment to waffles etc. A is for Amber, it is generally lighter in color.
About Bread Flour, It is not all purpose flour. I use King Arthur Brand Bread Flour, available in most stores in the USA. I also mix in White Wheat Flour. The ratio I like to use is a 1/2 wheat 1/2 white or 1/3 wheat and 2/3 white, depending on the recipe.
About Gluten, it is basically wheat flour, which is found in the innermost part of the grain and has a higher protein level. This can be brought wholesale from amazon store and can be kept in freezer for a year.
If you have a bread machine, and plan to bake this in that,  please use the exact measurements and try not to  substitute any ingredients.
If baking by hand, you can substitute some, but make sure you have a really sturdy ball of dough, it shouldn't be loose or very dry. (use a regular loaf pan for this).
About Salt, I prefer to use Sea Salt for baking. I buy mine from Costco.
About Yeast, I use the SAF brand, I buy it from amazon, and store it in the freezer. If you become a regular baker like me (an average of two loaves a week) this will come for 6 months.


For a 1 and 1/2 pound loaf.
Water                              1 cup + 1 Tbsp
Unsalted Melted Butter     1 and 1/2 Tbsp
Maple Syrup                     3 Tbsp
Bread Flour                       3 cups or Bread Flour 2 cups and white Wheat Flour 1 cup (healthier)
Dry Buttermilk powder      1/3 cup (if baking by hand, u can use real buttermilk and add in little extra flour)
Gluten                                1 Tbsp
Salt                                    1 and 1/2 Tsp
Yeast                                  1 and 3/4th Tsp


If baking by Machine, just add all ingredients in the same order and set the machine to a regular loaf setting according to your machine instructions.

If baking by hand, u can substitute the real buttermilk for the powder.  and make a nice sturdy dough and knead for at least 20 minutes. Roll in to a loaf shape and in a oil sprayed loaf pan, place the dough.
 For added effect, you can just sprinkle some oatmeal on top.
Other variations can be adding some flax seeds or sunflower seeds or kneading them directly in to the dough also works...and let rise for at least 45 minutes.
Once the dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350 Deg F, and let it bake for 45 minutes.
After it has baked, you can check the temperature of the bread, it should register 200 Deg F, which means it has cooked all through.

This makes a really good french toast bread.

Bread Bowls

I followed this recipe and got these great looking bowls. My suggestion is to use the smallest bowls since it is the perfect size. I bought some correlle bowls at walmart, (the smallest size available there). It hold 4 oz I think. Otherwise, the recipe is just great. Will definetely make it again.