Rainbow Bread

Servings : 1 small loaf

Could bread be any more festive and/or vibrant? Perfectly soft bread, pleasing to the eyes as well as the tummy! Kids are going to love a slice of this, trust me! Imagine a sandwich made using this bread, even a simple butter and jam sandwich looks more dramatic when there are so many colors to bite into!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. instant yeast
  • 1 tbsp. yoghurt
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tbsp. milk powder (optional)
  • 3 tbsp. oil
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • warm water for kneading
  • colors of your choice, as many as you like

Instructions

Mix all dry ingredients, and then add the yoghurt and oil. Gradually start adding water and kneading, you need a slightly STICKY dough, don’t knead it too much yet, just get it to a workable consistency, you will knead it some more when you add the color. Just make sure you don’t leave the dough too dry, it will be difficult to add the color in if it’s a stiff dough, leave it a bit sticky at this stage.

Now divide the dough into as many sections as you have colors. Add some drops of color in each section and knead it in very thoroughly until the color is completely even and the dough is perfectly smooth and well kneaded, then touch a bit of oil and rub it over the dough. Put each colored piece of dough separately in small bowls and cover with cling film. Keep repeating this with the rest of the dough pieces, I like to leave one piece plain so that there is a white swirl in your rainbow bread, but you can color all the pieces, as you prefer!

Now set the bowls of dough aside for the dough to rise until it doubles, anywhere between 40 mins to an hour should be enough.

Now, remove each piece of dough and using your hands and a working surface or your roti board, stretch each dough out as evenly as you can to form a square/rectangular shape. It doesn’t have to be very perfect. I prefer not to dust flour at this stage or use a rolling pin because the dough is normally quite sticky so it’s best to just spread it out it by hand.

Place it on one side, and repeat with all the rest, trying as much as possible to stretch them all to about the same size. Now, layer these squares/rectangles one on top of the other to form a pile.

Starting from one end, roll the pile like you would roll a swiss roll, try and keep the roll tight and roll all the way to the other end. Then using your palms, press the sides and ends in to make a neater appearance.

Grease your loaf pan very well then add the rolled up bunch of dough into it. Cover this lightly with a cloth and let it rise again for about half an hour or a bit more if the weather is cool.

Preheat your oven at 190 C. If you like, you can brush some milk or egg white on top of the loaf to give it a nice softness and shine, but if you prefer a crisp crust then leave this step out. Place your pan in the center of the oven and let the bread bake for about 25-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it, if it starts browning on top too quickly, cover it with a piece of foil and keep baking.

Once done, remove and let it cool on a rack for a while before cutting into it. Enjoy your colorful bread!! 🙂

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