Bombay Pav/Pau

Any person who comes from Bombay ( I still cannot call the place Mumbai) will always love the 'Bombay/Mumbai Pav'. This bread is used for making Vada Pav, Pav Bhaaji, Kutchi Dabeli, Keema Pav, Maska Pav and so many other yummy things.

I have a Laadi Pav  recipe from 2012 - I have always got amazing results. But, I have always tried to mix and match the ingredients to get it as close to the Pav from the local bakery back home as possible. 

This one hit a home run. It was exactly as Khan Uncle made it in his small bakery at Evershine nagar in Malad. The pav from his bakery were used for making all the yummy delicacies at home. I miss all this.... but, am happy to be able to make my own stuff too. I always say.... Yeast is my best friend. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup warm water (100 F) - do not use hot water or else it will kill the yeast
2 teaspoons (tsps) yeast (active dry yeast)
1/2 cup warm milk (100 F)
2 tablespoons (TBS) sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBS melted butter OR Olive Oil
3 to 3 1/2 cups Bread Flour/All Purpose Flour 
1 TBS butter to put on the top of pav (optional)

Method

In a mixing bowl add the warm water and sugar and yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes till it becomes a frothy mixture - this shows that the yeast is active and that its proofed.
Add the warm milk, salt, butter/oil, garlic powder, pepper powder, italian seasoning and mix well. Now add the flour one cup at a time and mix well till everything is incorporated. I used only 3 cups flour in this stage.
Take this sticky dough on the counter - you may add a little dough (1 tablespoon at a time) to get a soft dough (it will still be a bit sticky). Knead this dough very well for 7 to 10 minutes. This is important to get the gluten going.
Make it into a ball and keep it in a big bowl that is greased with some oil. Let it sit covered in a warm place for 11/2 hours untill it gets double in size.
Punch the fluffed up dough and knead again for a minute. Make 15 equal portions (medium pav size) or 24 equal portion (small size). Place these on a  greased 9X13 pan in a line with a little space in between each roll. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let it sit in a warm place for 45 minutes till the rolls have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 380 F. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes till the tops of the rolls become brown. I try and tap the tops and when it sounds hollow, I know its done.
Remove from oven. Take the butter and smear it on the top of the pav with a brush when its hot - this will give it a beautiful glaze. This is an optional step. Let it cool on a wire rack before serving.

Bun Maska

Corona Virus has kind of taken over the World. We have been in quarantine for 15 days now. I have stepped outside the house only to go to the backyard or to walk to the post box. 

Well, quarantine has its fun times too. As movie lovers, this is the time we are catching up on tons of movies. Weekdays are still quiet busy for the hubby and the baby as they both have work and school respectively. However, weekends are filled with movies and lots of popcorn. 

Yesterday we watched this cute Netflix Original movie called 'Maska'. Maska means butter in Hindi. The movie is a lighthearted coming of age story centered around a century old Irani Cafe. These cafes were a hightlight of South Mumbai. Not many exist now, but a few that do still serve this amazing bun maska with Irani chai and a lot of other goodies. These cafes are owned and run by people belonging to the Parsi community in India. 

I was watching the movie, but wa secretly salivating thinking about Bun Maska and Irani Chai.

So, today morning - woke up and got this bun started and waited with eager breath for it to be baked.

Yum Yum Goodness.

Ingredients

1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 packet)
4 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 cup lukewarm milk
3 1/2 cups Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tutti fruti or raisins
2 tablespoons milk (to brush the tops)
oil for coating the dough


Method

in a stand mixer add the water, sugar and yeast. Let the yeast bloom for 5 to 0 minutes. Now add the milk, salt, butter and flour. Mix it at a very slow speed till everything is intergrated. Once integrated, inscrease the speed and let the mixer knead the dough. If the mixture looks too wet, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time to get a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 to 12 minutes. This can be done by hand too and believe me when I say, its a very theraputic experience. At the end, add the raisins or tutti fruti and mix well.

Once done, coat the dough with oil and let it rest covered in a warm dry place. In about an hour or hour and half (depending on the heat and humidity of the place) the dough would rise in volume, almost double. Now get it out and give it a nice punch to get all the air out. punch and knead for about 3 to 4 minutes. Now grease a 9X13 cake pan with oil. Make 15 small rounds of the dough. Make smooth rounds and place them in the pan with space in between. Cover and let it sit in a warm place. About 45 minutes or an hour later, the dough would have risen. Prheat the oven to 380 degrees farenhite. Take a brush and brush the tops very softly with the milk. Be very careful, as you do not want to get any of the air out and deflate the dough.

Bake it in the oven for 15 minutes. The tops should look nice and golden brown and when you tap it, it should be hard and sound hollow. Get it out of the oven and let it cook. After 15 minutes, remove it on a cooling rack. Seperate the buns. Cut it int he middle and slater with some yummy butter (maska) and relish the yummy goodness.

If you want it to be a bit sweeter. After the first raise, add some sugar to it before kneading and shaping it into pavs.

This maska pav with Irani chai is like heaven in your mouth. Took me back to the Irani Cafes.

Honey Oat Bread (Can be made in a Bread Machine too)

Bread Baking is a hobby and a passion. The waiting with baited breath to get the yeast to rise and the kneading of the dough and then the wait to get the dough raised to double its size only to punch it down and knead it again. And of course the best part - the aroma of freshly baked bread when it spreads through the house.

I know I know - its too dramatic on my part. But, that's exactly how I feel about baking a bread at home. Its pure excitement. Of Course the family loves home baked bread and that's a big perk in itself.

We bake a bread at home every week. We try to go through just one loaf of bread in a week - so as to give other food items a chance to be part of our consumption too. No other reason. We believe in equality.

I have been baking a whole wheat bread for a long time. Wanted to incorporate oats too. There are a lot of recipes out there. Somehow, it never interested our palette. I tried experimenting and finally came up with this recipe which is a keeper. The bread is a little different texture wise as it is a bit crumbly compared to a white bread or a whole wheat bread - but, its soft and airy and has a beautiful aroma. Can be toasted and had with jam or butter or if you are not a fan of toasting it, you will like it just like that too. We love to toast it on a pan with a drizzle of ghee (Clarified butter) - yummmmm!!!!!!!

Ingredients

1 and 1/4 cup warm water (do not use hot water)

1/3 cup honey

2 and 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 packet)

4 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)

1 and 1/2 cup oats flour (I used old fashioned oats that were ground in a blender)

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups bread flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

some extra flour (for kneading if you are not using the breadmaker)

Method

In a stand mixer add the warm water, honey and yeast. Let the yeast bloom. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Now add the salt and oil and the oats flour and bread flour (1 and 1/2 cups). Start stirring the mixture. If you see its a little loose, add 2 tablespoons of bread flour at a time and mix well. You should get a soft dough which forms a round on the dough hook, but is sticky to touch.
Mix it with the dough hook on medium speed for about 10 minutes. You could do this by hand too. Remove the dough out and mix it with oiled hands and put it back into the greased bowl. Cover and let it sit in a warm place for about 1 hour until it rises to double its size.
Once its doubled in size. Punch it in the bowl to release all the air. Get the dough out on a clean counter. Mix it well with hands and knead it for about 5 to 7 minutes. Spread some flour on the counter and using a rolling pin roll the dough into a oval shape. Now roll one end of the dough and connect the seams. Place it in a greased 9X5 bread loaf pan with the seam side down. Cover with a soft cloth and let it rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes to an hour.
In the last 15 minutes of its rise - preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Place the loaf pan carefully in the oven and let it bake for 30 to 35 minutes. After 30 minutes, check the bread, if you tap the top and it sounds hollow, you know the bread is cooked.
Remove the bread form the oven and immediately and carefully remove the bread onto a cooling rack. let it cook completely before you slice it.
This bread stays good for 3 to 4 days outside or for a week in the fridge.
Enjoy this yummy bread.

Notes

• Before baking, you could brush the top lightly with a mixture of equal parts honey and warm water and sprinkle some oats on top - to get a beautiful look.
• You can bake this bread in a breakmaker too. I have used my WestBend breadmaker with the white bread setting for 1 and 1/2 pound loaf. Just add the ingredients in the inner pot and start the cycle.