My 60th experiment: celery coriander seeds bread

After trying out two great recipes of quick bread, I am greatly tempted to improvise one myself. And I enjoy atta flour, because of its white flour like behavior and its richness in fiber. This loaf is made for my exciting Persian friend who has given me a generous supply of coriander seeds, among other wonderful herbs, from her hometown.

Recipe: Celery and coriander seeds bread with atta flour (1 medium loaf)

Ingredients:
- 2+1/2 cups atta flour
- 2 TB sugar
- 1+1/2 tp salt
- 1 TB celery seeds
- 1 TB coriander seeds
- 1 TB parsley flakes
- 1 TB + 1 tp baking powder
- 1 egg
- about 3/4 to 1 cup milk
- 2 TB oil
- 2-3 TB shredded cheddar cheese

Procedure:
1. Mix atta flour, sugar, salt, the herbs, and baking powder together in a large bowl.
2. Add egg and mix. Then add milk at 1/4 cup at a time. Keep mixing. Allow at least 30 seconds of mixing before adding more milk. Always remember that atta flour does not need more water than white flour, but it does need more time to reach uniform hydration.
3. After the mixture forms a very thick batter that resembles a dough, allow it about 15 minutes to rest.
4. The rub in the oil and mix the batter well.
5. Place the thick batter in a greased 8.5"x4" pan. Top with shredded cheese.
6. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake loaf on middle rack for about 1 hour, until internal temperature reaches 190.

Results:
Atta flour's properties:

10:54am, mixture of dry ingredients:

11:20am, egg and milk added:

11:37am, thickness of the final batter before adding the oil:

11:43am, oil added:

11:44am, batter placed in greased pan:

11:44am, height of batter:

11:44am, batter topped with cheddar and ready to bake:

12:14pm, loaf baked 30 minutes (height and top):

12:44pm, loaf covered with foil and continued to bake,  at 50 minutes from start, loaf has strength to hold the temperature:

12:44pm, loaf's internal temperature after 50 minutes of baking:

12:44pm, thermometer coming out almost clean:

12:44pm, loaf's retracted edge at 50 minutes:

12:59pm, temperature of loaf baked 70 minutes:

1:17pm, temperature of loaf baked 90 minutes, done:

1:17pm, loaf's height when done:

1:17pm, loaf's top:

1:17pm, loaf's bottom:

1:17pm, loaf's side:

1:17pm, loaf's heel:

1:19pm, loaf's texture on top:

2pm, loaf's two asymmetric slopes:

5:17pm, loaf cooled and sliced:

5:17pm, center slice:

5:17pm, end slice:

5:17pm, crust and crumb:

Observations:
1. This loaf has exceptional texture with the gluten development.
2. The oven spring is impressive.
3. The loaf is actually sturdy enough to hold the thermometer at the temperature test. It means that the crumb is rather strong. This may be because of the low hydration level, which makes the dough dry.
4. The aroma of celery seeds is strong when the loaf is in the baking.
5. This loaf tastes superbly with a spread of pesto sauce. My Persian friend and I had a really good time munching it at our dinner.

This is my first quick bread that behaves somewhat like yeast bread in terms of its oven spring, the strength of the crumb and the temperature rise. My other quick breads have never reached 190F in their baking.