Stoneground Wholemeal Loaf and Rolls – With Mulligatawny Soup

I wanted to try a Mulligatawny soup recipe that I found, but also needed some bread to go with it, so I decided on some wholemeal rolls.  However I struggled to find a decent recipe for the rolls that I liked.  I did find a Paul Hollywood recipe for a wholemeal loaf, and thought that maybe I could use that for the rolls.  However, since I would have to guess at the cooking time for the rolls I decided to make two batches of dough, and use one for a loaf and one for the rolls.  With wholemeal bread, particularly using stoneground flour, it doesn’t stay fresh for long, so making two batches might not be a good idea.  But either the loaf of the rolls can be frozen, so nothing is lost doing it this way.

As for Mulligatawny soup, for those who may not know of it, it is an Anglo-Indian soup, with various interpretations, but all including curry powder.  I chose a recipe, on Abbescookingantics  that uses red lentils to help thicken the soup, but some use rice instead.  Also the combination of vegetables and indeed what meat is used, varies from recipe to recipe.  Having made, and tasted the soup I must confess that it has a great flavour, not hot, but spicy enough, and with a sweet aftertaste, probably from the inclusion of apples and mango chutney.  I think the addition of more red lentils or maybe a diced potato would have thickened it a little more.  But it is certainly very nice.

I should also say that the stoneground flour creates a closer textured, more dense type of bread, but is very flavoursome.  In order to lighten the ‘crumb’ somewhat strong white flour can be added, and you can vary the proportion of it, to the amount of stoneground.  I stuck with Paul Hollywood’s recipe of 400g stoneground and 100g strong white.  It does make a really lovely tasting bread.

Stoneground Loaf or Rolls
Ingredients:

• 400g stone-ground strong wholemeal bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100g strong white bread flour
• 10g salt
• 10g instant yeast
• 40g unsalted butter, softened
• 320ml tepid water
• Olive oil for kneading

1. Tip the flours into a large mixing bowl and add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the butter and three quarters of the water, and turn the mixture around with your fingers. Add water a little at a time until you’ve picked up all the flour from the sides of the bowl. You may not need to add all the water, or you may need to add more — you want dough that is soft, but not soggy. Use the mixture to clean the inside of the bowl, folding the edges into the middle. Keep going until the mixture forms a rough dough.
2. Coat the work surface with a little olive oil, then tip the dough onto it and begin to knead. Keep kneading for 5–10 minutes until the dough starts to form a soft, smooth skin.
3. When your dough feels smooth and silky, put it into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise until at least doubled in size — at least 1 hour, but it’s fine to leave it for 2 or even 3 hours.
4. Line a baking tray with baking parchment or silicone paper.
5. Dust your work surface lightly with flour and tip your dough onto it. Knock the air out of the dough by folding it inwards repeatedly until the dough is smooth. Flatten the dough and roll it up into a sausage, then roll this out with your hands until it is about 30cm long. Tie the dough in a knot and place on the prepared baking tray.
6. If you want rolls instead, cut the 30cm roll into 8 equal pieces and work until roughly rounded. Place on a baking tray, leaving space for them to grow.
7. Put the tray into a clean plastic bag. Leave to prove for about an hour, until the dough is at least doubled in size and springs back quickly if you prod it lightly with your finger. Heat your oven to 430F/220C/Gas 7 and put a roasting tray in the bottom to heat up.
8. Gently rub flour all over the proved dough. Put the loaf into the oven and fill the roasting tray with hot water. This will create steam in the oven, which helps give the bread a lighter crust. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, then check it is cooked by tapping the base — it should sound hollow.  If you are making rolls bake for about 20-25 mins, making sure they don’t overcook. Cool on a wire rack.

• 1 tbsp butter/vegetable oil
• 100g uncooked chicken meat (breast/leg/thigh – doesn’t matter) – diced
• 2 carrots – peeled and diced
• 2 sticks celery – diced
• 1 onion – diced
• 1 turnip – peeled and diced
• 1 apple
• 50g red lentils
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 heaped tbsp mango chutney
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 ltr chicken stock – from a cube is fine

1. Heat the butter/oil in the saucepan over a medium heat and gently brown the diced chicken meat for a couple of minutes. When no pink is showing, add the carrots, celery, onion and turnip. Stir well, put the lid on and sweat the veg gently for 10 minutes or until softened. Giving it the odd stir to prevent it from sticking on the bottom.
2. Peel, core and chop the apple – add it to the pan along with the lentils, curry powder, chutney and tomato puree. Cook for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock.
3. Replace the lid and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the vegetables and lentils are cooked. Serve ‘as is’ with a dollop of fresh soured cream to garnish.