Whole Wheat Sri Lankan Thati Paan
My classic Sri Lankan Thati Paan recipe receives so much good feedback so I wanted to give you my Whole Wheat mixed Thati Paan recipe too. These amazing bread are thinner than your usual bread loaves and are toasted under the broiler for a more toasty flavor and texture.
Before you jump into the recipe, you'd notice that this bread is not 100% whole wheat. Why? Keep reading.
Why it's hard to make bread with 100% whole wheat?
Making bread with 100% whole wheat flour can be tricky for a few reasons:
- Gluten Development: Whole wheat flour has more bran and germ, which can make it harder for the gluten (a protein) to develop properly. This can result in denser and less elastic bread.
- Lower Gluten Content: Whole wheat flour has less available gluten compared to white flour, which can make it difficult to get a light and fluffy texture.
- Absorption and Hydration: Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than white flour because of its higher bran content. This means you'll need to add more water to the dough, or it can become too dry and affect the bread's texture.
- Fermentation Time: Whole wheat flour has natural oils that can turn rancid over time. So, the whole wheat dough needs shorter fermentation periods to avoid off-flavors. This can impact the bread's flavor and texture.
There are ways to get around this by using the techniques like using a pre-ferment or using vital wheat gluten or simply mixing white flour and whole wheat together when to improve the amount of available gluten and make the bread rise.
Recipe Video
Common mistakes that can happen
Please do not skip reading this part. please? This will help you so so much to get the recipe right to avoid the common mistakes that you might encounter while making this whole wheat Sri Lankan thati paan.
- Do not use an opened packet or jar of yeast. Yes, they expire even when you refrigerate. Once the yeast is exposed to air, it's going to activate and do its thing and they're going to die like every other living thing on earth. Sad, I know! So unless your jar is properly stored in the freezer, or you're using a new jar or sachet, do not use it.
- When you use bread flour in bread, the dough can rise up to three times in size. But with whole wheat, the bread won't rise as much. And it'd be slow. So focus on the size, not time. I will give an approximate time in the recipe below. But it will drastically change according to the room temp of your house. if the house is colder or in winter it'd take more time. If it's hotter or in summer it'd be relatively fast.
- Preheat your oven for at least 20 - 30 minutes. Your oven might indicate that it has reached the given temperature. But Preheating the oven for a longer duration than indicated ensures that it reaches and maintains the desired temperature throughout the baking process.
- When you toast the bread under the broiler, watch it very closely. It only takes a minute or two. And then the next minute it'll be burnt.
How to Serve it?
I love serving this Whole Wheat Sri Lankan Thati Paan with chicken curry, coconut sambol, and tempered red lentil curry.
I also make sandwiches with these Sri Lankan thati paan as well. Simply separate the two sides and stuff it with any filling of your choice. My personal favorites are, Seeni Sambol and egg sandwiches and black pork dry curry sandwiches. My mom used to make butter and coconut sambol sandwiches for school lunches. I love them too!
If you want a really special meal, make a crab curry or a shrimp curry along with coconut sambol. This is my husband's favorite meal ever.
You might also like to try
Sri Lankan thati paan (with no whole wheat)
Sri Lankan Kimbula buns (sweet sugar coated buns)
These Sri Lankan Thati Paan made with Whole Wheat are thin flat and toasted with butter and have the most amazing flavor and texture. A must try for every bread lover!
- 350 g Bread flour/strong white flour (flour with high gluten specifically to make bread/pizza)
- 150 g Whole wheat flour
- 200 g Warm water (shouldn't be too hot. (120f/48c is ideal))
- 140 g warm milk (shouldn't be too hot. (120f/48c is ideal))
- 20 g Sugar
- 20 g Butter
- 7 g Rapid rise yeast/fast acting yeast (if you're using active dry yeast make sure to activate it. see notes.)
- 10 g salt
- 10 g bread flour
- 10 g coconut oil/vegetable oil (slightly warm if the oil is still in solid from)
- 1/2 a stick of butter
Into the bowl of your stand mixer, warm milk, warm water, and instant yeast. Let it sit for a minute or two to see if the yeast forms tiny bubbles on the edges. Instant yeast doesn't need to be activated but this way you can confirm your yeast is good.
If you're using active dry yeast, make sure to add the yeast to the warm milk and water mixture with a little bit of sugar and let it sit for about 10 minutes until yeast the mixture is nice and foamy. (don't add all the sugar as too much sugar can actually kill/slow down yeast)Add butter, flour, and sugar—Knead to the mixer for 10 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead for about 20 minutes until the dough is very stretchy, soft, and pliable.
Take the dough out of the mixer bowl, and shape it into a ball. Place it on the counter, cover it with a bowl, and let it double in size. This would take roughly an hour to 1.5 hours depending on your room temperature. Focus on the size of the dough rather than time.
When the dough has doubled in size, divide it into three equal pieces. Shape each dough piece into a ball. Cover the dough balls and let them rest for about 20 - 30 minutes.
Into a small cup/bowl, add oil and flour and mix it very well. Keep it aside.
Take one dough ball out. Flatten it out using your hands or a rolling pin into a rectangle. The width should be roughly equal to the width of your bread pan.Use your bread pan as a guideline.
Roll the rectangular dough from top to bottom, into a log. Pinch the ends to seal the edges. Also, cover the inside of the loaf pans with butter or oil
Flatten the dough a little bit with your palms. Transfer the dough to the loaf pan, seam side down, and push it to one side. Apply the oil-flour mixture on the visible side so it's easier to separate bread.
Repeat the process for the other two dough balls as well. Make sure to apply the oil-flour mixture between each dough so they don't stick together. (please watch the video)
Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and let it rise again until the dough has doubled in size. This would take roughly an hour - 1.5 hours depending on room temperature. Focus on the size of the dough, not the clock. Meanwhile make sure to preheat the oven to 400F/ 200C for about 20 mins.
When they have properly risen, spray (or brush if you don’t have a spray) some water on the top of the bread. This will help the bread to rise better in the oven and make the top crusty.
Bake them in the oven for about 30 - 40 mins. This time varies from oven to oven. If you’re using a smaller convectional oven there is a chance that your bread browns quicker. Check on your bread after about 20 mins. If they seem to brown too quickly, transfer them to a lower rack and reduce the temperature a little bit or cover it with a piece of foil.
Separate each Thati paan carefully and lay them on a baking sheet. Turn on the broiler setting in the oven. Apply melted/softened butter or coconut oil on one side first. Then broil for about a minute or two until they get nice and brown. Keep watching as you broil them cause they can go from toasted to burnt very quickly.
Then turn the other side. Apply butter or coconut oil and broil again until nice and brown. Let the bread cool down on a cooling rack for a while before you cut them. So the crumbs can settle in.
