Cumin/Jeera bread

jeera bread
We had invited some of our friends for dinner over the last weekend. We didn’t realize how the time had passed. During one of our discussions, I told them I love baking. Our friend Vishal asked if I make Jeera bread. Well, that sounded a great thought, I had to try it. It reminded me Jeera biscuits which we get, back at home. I somehow didn’t act on that idea the next day. But today, I wanted to give it a try.

I started making the bread very late. My plan was to just make the dough and bake it tomorrow morning for breakfast. But curiosity took over me and I rushed to bake it today itself. It was one of the best and tastiest breads I have ever baked. I served it with a simple olive oil-dried basil-salt mixture (like they serve in some of the Italian restaurants here). It was a very crusty on the outside, soft on the inside.

I am sure if I had left the dough for more time, the results would have been much better. Another thing I would try next time is to bake it in a bread loaf pan which would give it a nice depth and height.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup water
1 tea spn cumin seeds (roasted)
2 and 1/4 tea spn active dry yeast
1 tbl spn unsalted butter
1/2 tea spn sugar
1 tea spn salt
Olive oil

Method:
Roast cumin seeds till a nice aroma comes out of them. Crush them slightly(do not make a powder).
Heat the water till it is lukewarm (I microwave it for 15secs).
Add sugar, butter and little olive oil. Then add yeast to it. Leave it at a warm place for 10mins till yeast becomes active (the mixture becomes frothy).
jeera bread1

Add salt, cumin and flours. If necessary add a little more water. Make a dough.
jeera bread2

jeera bread3

Kneed very well for about 10mins.
jeera bread4
Transfer the dough to a well oiled big vessel. Cover with a plastic wrap (or a plate).
jeera bread5

Leave it for about 1 and 1/2 hrs – 2hrs till the dough doubles in size.
jeera bread6

Take out the dough on a flat surface. Press down the dough. Kneed for a minute and give desired shape. (I added a slit to the top with my kitchen scissor).
jeera bread7

Apply some olive oil on top and leave it covered for another 45mins. The dough should double in size again.
jeera bread8

Preheat the oven at 500F for about 10mins. Bake the bread for about 15mins. Take it out and brush some butter on top. Then keep it back in oven and bake till you get a nice brown color(about 15mins).

Serves : 4-5

29 thoughts on “Cumin/Jeera bread”

  1. Hi Shilpa. Surely your bread reminds me of the Parle Jeera biscuits I had in my childhood. Even I am tempted to try it.Bookmarked your recipe.

  2. Great bread Shilpa. Nwo for my queries – Is the procdeure for dry yeast the same even in India? Can I add some chilli flakes to this mixture? What is the salt mixture you were talking about? Thanks shilpa!

    Shilpa: Yes (I think). Check on the package instructions. Yes, you can add chili flakes.
    In the Italian restaurant here they serve free bread. Along with it, they bring in olive oil and some dried herbs on a small plate. Just spread olive oil and sprinkle some dried hers on it. I also added some salt to it.

  3. Yaay..first to comment!
    I loved loved the jeera bread. and seems quite simple to make too. will try it soon…

  4. Hi Shilpa,

    Very nice recipe. I tried it this morning. The bread was perfect. I baked it for only 20 minutes. It tasted fabulous as you said with olive oil and pepper dip.

    Thanks for this great recipe. I will definitely make it again.

    Medha

  5. Hi,
    I love baking too. That loaf of bread just looks gorgeous!
    What is the texure of the bread? Is it soft like the basic white bread or chewy like ciabatta,french bread etc?
    Abi

    Shilpa: Its not chewy. Its soft in the center and crusty.

  6. Shilpa,

    i have one query.

    I have microwave and NOT oven. could you please let me know how can we make use of microwave for baking bread.

    Microwave does not allow preheating when it is empty.

    Please let me know.

    Thanks
    PReeti

    Shilpa: Sorry, I don’t know. Never tried baking breads in microwave oven.

  7. Hi Shipa,
    The bread looks awesome. I was always afraid of baking and I should say after seeing your post it was an inspiration for me to bake my first bread. I brought the ingredients for your cumin bread and ended up making my favorite khara buns. It came out good. Thank you for your recipe.
    Br,
    Lakshmi

  8. Hi Shilpa ,

    I am gonna try this. Is the baking temp 500 F ? Isn’t that really high ? I am not sure , but just wanna confirm…

  9. Hi Shilpa,

    What a wonderful site.Really great.I baked for the first time and the egg cake and this jeera bread turned out really great.Thanks for the wonderful recipe.

    1. Sowmya, bread needs very high temperatures to get good texture. So I don’t know if it will turn out good at lower temperatures. You can give a try with a small amount and see what happens

  10. Thankyou for your recipe. The bread came out really well. Going to bake your olive bread next 🙂

  11. Great recipe!! Just tried it and loved the taste. Was my first attempt at baking bread and am thrilled at the result. Bread was a little too brown at that baking time and oven temperature. . I will try slightly lower temperature next time.

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