When you live away from your childhood home, inevitably nostalgia hits you once in a while. And, then it isn't about "Oh I miss the sights of my beautiful country and all its exotic splendor (most of which, we took for granted while we were there and hence are still on the to-visit list!)" but silly stuff like the smell of sun dried laundry, some vague breakfast item mom made (and only the way she made it!), etc...
For Mr. FSK, it is Amul butter toast dipped in chai! :) Whenever we visit back home, he has it every morning; almost burnt toast slathered with salty Amul butter, dipped in hot lemon grass tea that my PIL makes (oh that tea!! Sighhhhh). The pure joy that spreads on his face when he takes a bite of the tea soaked crust is a sight to cherish! And oh! It has to be Amul butter! The brand is infamous for their catchy cur ads with the omnipresent "utterly-butterly" girl dishing out a thick slab of the salty deliciousness!
So, on a recent trip to the Indian grocery store, I spied a packet of the said butter and promptly picked it up. And, to complete the India reminiscence, I started hunting for a milk bread recipe because that is the bread that you invariably get in stores there. I still remember the "Milka" bread (South Indian brand) ads. I happened upon Smitten Kitchen's white batter bread and it looked so like what I wanted that I decided to try it out!
Bingo! The bread was almost close to home.. The texture fluffy and light, almost cake like but not quite. It doesn't make great sandwiches but is fantastic when slathered with butter and dipped in hot milky chai! :) And, yes, he had it that way and for the sake of humoring him, I did too..! Although, I will never develop a deep love for consuming it his way, it does make a great butter-toast bread!
I am also taking this bread to Jamie's birthday party! Ok, perhaps not for the party itself, but the morning after! :)). Jamie is hosting Bread Baking Day #26 and inviting breads for her birthday party. Here is wishing wonderful Jamie a fabulous year ahead with lotsa perfect bakes and more happy Mac Attacks!
Also, sending this our friendly,neighbourhood Yeastspotting team!
Milk Bread
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
makes one 8x4 inch loaf
2 cups flour
1-1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 T canola oil
Warm milk to 110F. Dissolve yeast in the warmed milk and let sit for a few minutes. Whisk together the salt, sugar and oil. Add the yeasted milk to this mixture. Beat the flour in to make a smooth batter. Note, emphasis on smooth. It take a few minutes and best done with a hand held whisk.
Pour into an oiled loaf pan. Cover with a oiled plastic wrap and let it rise to double in volume. When it's almost there, preheat oven to 425F. When ready, pop the pan into the oven, lower the temperature to 400F and bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 210F.
Remove from oven and immediately unmold to cool on rack. If you leave it in the pan for too long, the bread steams on the sides and sogs up (no good!).
Slice, be generous with the butter and enjoy!
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I also wanted to thank lovely Renee of Flamingo Musings for giving me a couple of lovely awards!! She is soo sweet!! And, I am going to pass it to a few of favorite bloggers. But before that I must apparently share a few honest things about myself, in no particular order. So here they are -
- Books are my other passion. If you are ever wondering what to gift me, books are always perfect!
- Ideal dinner dates would be hub, P.G Wodehouse and Hugh Laurie (if anyone knows him, set me up on a date puleeez!!)
- Favorite meal course - dessert.
- Love big dogs like labs and golden retrievers. Not a fan of the teeny breeds
- Love greenery, hiking, mountains and large water bodies
- Greatest inspiration - my late maternal grandfather
- Tennis is my favorite sport
- Favorite color - Red
- Former Coffee addict
- Don't want to change anything that has happened in my life so far :-)
Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen
Pam of The Cooking Ninja
Trissa of Trissalicious
Alessio of Recipe Taster
Mowie of Mowielicious
Hilda of Saffron and Blueberry
Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey
26 comments:
Am sure home baked bread is always better than bakery bought ones!
ooh ... I love bread and butter. It's so good just to dip it in milk tea or coffee. :)
Sounds like you were a hero at your house! The bread looks scrumptious! I would probably slather it with jam though.
Yum yum yum and I do want this the day after for a cozy, warm breakfast. Thanks for baking this great bread for me (how perfect!!!). Love the ad too.
Thank you so much Asha! I appreciate it a lot. The bread looks wonderful and I totally know what it is to miss something from home like that. I miss French things I can't get here so much.
mmmmmm... I can almost smell the fresh baked bread at the corner Iyengar bakery near home, which he couldn't slice because it was still fresh and hot! I want it so bad now :(
I know what you mean about "aromas" from the past. Your bread looks "uttrerly butterly delicious"!
I'm like your husband as far as melting butter in almost burnt toast goes, but I'll draw the line at dipping it in my tea. :)
And thanks for the award. Happy to have met you too.
nice post! Home baked bread is always the best! That butter nostalgia is really sweet too...
This looks so comforting. Well done on the awards.
Just a quick question. Can I know what type of flour you used for the bread ? It looks awesome !
Heya, I just used all-purpose flour here since I ran out of bread flour.. :)
Thanks so much ! I am going to try it out..
Perfectly comforting. I'm sat at my cuz office and now my stomach is gurgling. You've made me so hungry!!! Which i could tear off a slice and spread it with toooons of butter!
heehee i let out a little giggle when i read the product names... in the philippines people come up with the funniest (and often strangest) names! oh and i'm ll for milk bread.. sometimes eating it by itself is enough without any jams or spreads! :)
I will have a look out for that butter too if only for the wrapper!! lol.. Love the look of it!
Aww thanks a lot for the awards Asha!! The bread looks yummy too :D would spread some honey over that butter too... yum!
@Alessio : you, me - alike! I love honey on buttered toast! it's just fab!! :)))
what is the measurement on the yeast?
1-1/4 active dry yeast?????.....teaspoons, table spoons or cups?
Oh wow Asha! Thanks so much for the award! Yay! =) That bread looks lovely.
EEEKS! thanks Eric for pointing it out.. it's teaspoon. updated!
That milk bread sounds good. I'm going to try it! Thanks for the post!
What a beautiful post you have written!
I like the butter! And the loaf looks nice ;o).
Thank you Asha! Sorry I picked this up so late - was travelling and had very limited access to email! Appreciate the award especially coming from someone like you. Your writing, recipes and pictures are also a source of inspiration for me - it's people like you that make blogging so fun! Oh and am I like you at the bookstore - I love to spend hours just browsing - mostly just the cookbooks!
I always find inspiration at Smitten Kitchen's site. She really knows her stuff!
This bread looks delicious. Perfect for a good piece of toast in the morning. I can just imagine how lovely the smell of it was as it was baking.
Congrats on ur new home for ur blog...site looks organised and lovely!
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