Hummus Bread

I had no plans of baking bread this morning. When I woke up, it was foggy and raining heavily -- I didn't feel like doing anything at all. Then I opened my Facebook account and saw one of the groups having a 'Baking with yeast' event this weekend. Sun finally peeked out and I decided to bake something for the event.

I got my 'King Arthur Flour: Whole Grain Baking' book out and after looking through some amazing breads, I narrowed it down to this yummy looking Hummus bread. I had a container of store-bought  spicy black bean hummus that needed to used up and that went right into the bread. I was concerned if the bread will turn out too spicy, but it was just perfect.

Bread turned out moist, soft with great crumb. It is perfect for sandwiches (served here with vegan chik'n burger, lettuce & tomato -- I smeared some harissa on the bread) and also tastes great alongside breakfast eggs. Toast the bread and spread with butter -- or with a thin layer of hummus, for added punch.

Ingredients:
Wholewheat flour - 2cups
All purpose flour - 1cup
Yeast - 2tsp
Sugar - 1tsp
Salt - 1½tsp
Hummus - 1cup (recipe follows, but I used store bought spicy black bean hummus)
Milk - ½cup, luke warm
Orange juice - ¼cup (I used store bought OJ)
Olive oil - ¼cup
Egg - 1 large (I used a flax egg, 1tbsp flaxmeal mixed with 3tbsp water)
Sesame seeds - ¼cup, lightly toasted

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix well using hands or a mixer until a smooth and soft dough forms. Transfer to a greased bowl and let rise for about 1 hour until the dough is very puffy or until almost doubled in volume.
• Lightly grease a 9"x5" loaf pan (original recipe used 8½"x4½" loaf pan).
• Gently deflate the dough and shape it into a 9" log. Place it in the prepared pan and cover it gently with lightly greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1~1½hour or until the dough crowns about 1" over the rim of the pan (it should crown about 1½" over 8½"x4½" loaf pan).
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Bake the bread for 35~40 minutes. After 20 minutes, loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil and continue baking until the bread is golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted in the center registers 190°F.
• Remove from the oven, after couple of minutes, remove from the oven and let cool completely before slicing. Brush with melted butter, if desired, while still hot.

Hummus Recipe:

Ingredients:

Tahini (sesame paste) - ½cup

Lemon juice - 2tbsp

Salt - 1tsp

Ground Cumin -2tsp

Garlic cloves - 4~8, peeled

Chickpeas - 2 15oz. cans, drained and ¾cup of liquid reserved 

Method:

• Place all the ingredients except for the chickpea liquid in a food processor. Add ½cup of the reserved chickpea liquid. Blend until smooth; if the mixture is not smooth enough, add the remaining ¼cup additional liquid. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: June -- Week 2'.

And also the 'Fabulous Feast Friday # 19' being hosted by Usha and me.