Spinach & Chia Bread Loaf

Sift flour and milk powder in a bowl. Mix in yeast, sugar, salt and chia seeds to the flour.

Make a well in the centre and add spinach puree, oil and lukewarm water. Gradually mix together to form a sticky dough; knead it for continuous 10 to 12 minutes to turn into a smooth and elastic dough.

If the dough feels too sticky while kneading, just dust with some flour and continue with the kneading process. Don't rush with this step as it plays most crucial role resulting in a soft bread.

Once the dough is smooth, transfer it in a bowl and loosely cover with a kitchen towel. Place the bowl at a warm place and let the dough rise until gets double in volume. This would take about an hour.

Gently punch down the dough, divide it into 3 equal portions. Roll these portions in a log and make a braid out of these. Transfer the braid to a bread pan. Again loosely cover and let it rise to double in volume. 

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C for 10 minutes. Gently brush the risen dough with some butter and pop in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes.

When the bread is baked through, take it out of the oven and let it completely cool on a wire rack before cutting it into slices.