Pav or White Dinner Rolls

There are certain Indian dishes which must be eaten with white dinner rolls rather than a flatbread like chapati/roti or naan. Specially dishes like Pav Bhaji or Vada Pav can only be enjoyed when served along with a this kind of a dinner roll called "pav". These dinner rolls are usually based as one sheet of rolls, so only the top and base of the bread are browned and the sides are soft. In Marathi such a sheet of rolls is called "ladi-pav" and is usually store bought.  The main difference between these rolls and the white dinner rolls that we get in the store here is that the ones found here have a slight sweet tinge.

I made batata vadas recently along with the garlic chutney and I wanted the authentic pav that goes along with it to give it the perfect taste. So, the store bought roll wouldn't do and I decided to make the bread. I used the Amish Country Loaf recipe on the Bob's Red Mill flour bag as a guideline and altered it a little to create rolls out of it rather than a bread loaf. It turned out great and it was fairly easy and quick. After having experienced this great taste after many years, and the fact that it was very easy, I have decided to stick with this recipe and make it whenever I make sure dishes.

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour/all purpose flour
1 cup water
3/4 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt

Method
Warm up the water to a luke warm temperature, it should be less than 110F.  Add the water, sugar and yeast to it, stir and keep aside for 5 mins. If you are using a stand mixer or a food processor, you can add it to the bowl of the mixer. Once you see the yeast getting frothy, you will know that the yeast is active and will give a good rise. If the water doesn't turn frothy, and is fairly clear, the yeast is either too old and not active or the water temperature was too high and it has killed the yeast. Discard and start again.

Add salt and oil to the water, stir. Then add the flour about a cup at a time and knead it, till all the flour has been incorporated.  Knead it on low speed in the stand mixer. Use a steel blade if using the food processor.  Knead it till it comes together. Then turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it till the dough is smooth.
If kneading by hand, you will have to knead this for about 10 minutes after the dough comes together.

Place it in an oiled bowl and turn it over in the oil to coat the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise till doubled in size, which will take about an hour. If the weather is cold, if may take a little longer.

Then punch down the dough and knead it again for a couple of minutes. Divide the dough into equal parts and then divide each part into equal parts again till you have 12 pieces of dough. Shape each piece of dough into an oval shape (mine were a little rounder than traditional) and place them in a greased baking tin. The rolls should be spaced out at least about 1.5 inches from each other.  Then cover the tin with a loose plastic wrap and let these rise for 30 minutes. As they rise and expand they will start merging into each other to create a sheet of dinner rolls or ladi pav.

Pre-heat the oven to 450F and adjust the rack to the center of the oven.

After 30 mins, place the tin in the oven and bake these rolls till nicely browned on the top. This takes about 8-12 minutes based on your oven. Check at 8 minutes. Let the tin cool for 10 minutes and then place this sheet onto a cooling rack. Let the bread cool completely before serving. It will be very soft when warm. Pull apart to separate the dinner rolls.

Serve these as white dinner rolls or pav with pav bhaji or vada pav.

Tips
If the water temperature is too hot, it will kill the yeast. So, if you are not sure then use room temperature water. Kneading ensures that the gluten strands develop and this is what creates the structure of the bread as it rises. The bowl used for the rise should be big enough to hold the risen dough.

Focaccia Bread - A No Knead Recipe

If you have been following this blog for a while or have browsed through this blog, you may have noticed that I enjoy baking. One of the things I have come to enjoy baking, over the last couple of years, is bread. I have realized as I read recipes, watch shows on tv and make different breads that every bread you bake is unique, even when you repeat the same recipe, it will always turn out a little different than the last time (maybe even better). Also, the main ingredients remain the same - i.e. flour, salt, water and yeast. Some recipes call for addition of oil, some of milk and then you can customize breads by adding in different spices. I saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen a few months ago in which they demonstrated how to make focaccia bread and I just had to try it out. The holiday season during the November-December time frame was the perfect time to try it out and oh my, the result was lip smacking, bowl licking delicious. I made two loaves (one plain and one rosemary) and both were gone in less than 24 hours. I finally got a chance to transfer my notes to the blog, so here is the recipe.

Note: This recipe is even more alluring because there is no tedious kneading involved and fancy mixers are not needed to make the job easy either. A bowl and wooden spoon suffice.

Ingredients
Starter dough (biga)
1/2 cup bread flour (the original recipe calls for unbleached all-purpose flour)
1/3 cup warm water
1/4 tsp instant yeast

Dough
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp (and a little bit more) salt 
4 tbps extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dried rosemary (the original recipe called for 2 tbsp of fresh rosemary) [optional]

Method
Mix together the ingredients of the biga in a big bowl, using a wooden spoon till all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the water has been completely absorbed. There shouldn't be any dry flour. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the biga ferment over night or for about 8 hours.

To make the dough, to the biga add flour, yeast and water, and mix thoroughly till no dry ingredients remain. Then let the dough rise for 15 minutes. After this sprinkle two teaspoons of salt over the dough and mix it in to the dough. Then let the dough rise for another 30 minutes. Keep this dough in a large bowl.

The dough will rise around the edges of the bowl. Coat a scraper or spatula with some oil and then use it to fold the dough in towards the center, while turning the bowl. Fold the dough and then turn the bowl 90 degrees, this is the first turn. Do this 7 more times for a total of 8 turns till all the dough is folded towards the center. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap  and then let the dough rise for another 30 minutes.

Again repeat the process of folding the dough and then let the dough rise for another 30 minutes. Again fold the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes. (At the end you would have a total of 3 foldings and 3 rises)

Place a pizza stone or baking stone, in the center rack and preheat the oven to 500F. Heat the stone for at least 30 minutes. This is best done after the 3rd fold when the dough is rising for the final time.

Now place the dough on a floured surface and then divide the dough into two equal parts. Shape each into a round, roughly about 5 inches in diameter, by tucking the dough under the edges.
Oil two round cake baking tins (8/9 inch), each with 2 tbsps of oil. Then sprinkle a little salt to coat the base of the tins. (Be careful not to put too much salt as you have already added salt to the dough). Next, place the dough top side down and slide around to coat the dough with the oil, then flip the dough over and coat the other side.

Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then using fingertips, gently spread the dough to cover the entire base of the pan. If the dough resists then let it rest for a few more minutes. Then poke the dough with a fork over the entire surface. At this stage, if you want to flavor the bread, you can sprinkle the chopped rosemary leaves. Let the dough rest for another 5-10 minutes till the dough looks bubbly.

Then turn down the temperature of the oven to 450F and then bake the bread for 25-30 minutes. The bread will be golden brown and when you tap on it, you can hear a thud to indicate that it is hollow.

Tips
Make sure to use luke warm water and not hot water. The water should be about 100-110 F. The easiest way to determine this is to touch the water and if it feels warm and you can easily hold your (clean) finger in the water, then it is not too hot. If in doubt, go for a slightly lower temperature. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise.

In this recipe, we make the starter and let it ferment overnight and then add it to the main dough and then let the bread rise two times. The additional fermentation of starter dough adds a great taste to the dough due to the alcohol and sugars created during this process. The biga/starter can be refrigerated for upto two days.

I had to go out of the house after the stage of folding the dough the second time, so I kept this dough in the fridge. Once I came home, I let the dough come to room temperature and then let it rise and then proceeded with the recipe. Since this is a lengthy process, if you do need to go away from the dough, refrigerate it. The cold temperature slows down the rising process.

The pizza stone provides a kiln effect and helps create a crispy crust for the dough.
Although the original recipe called for all purpose flour/maida, I used bread flour as it was handy. Bread flour had a higher gluten level and will make a softer bread. However, if you don't have it, it is perfectly okay to use all purpose flour.

Bread Pudding

This is a fantastic bread pudding. It is very quick and easy and delicious. In this recipes I have used French bread. However, you can use any bread that you want. White bread is probably tastier than using whole wheat bread. This is a great dessert or even a great breakfast dish. I got some really terrific pictures this time, hope you enjoy them as well.

Ingredients
half a loaf of french loaf or 6-7 bread slices, cut into cube of about an inch
2 cups milk
3 eggs - well beaten
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar (optional - use this if you like sweeter dishes or if you are making this for dessert)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp ground cinnamon powder
2 tbsp butter, diced into small pieces
3 tbsp raisins
handful of pecans

Method
Spread the bread pieces in a layer at the bottom of the baking pan. Dot/sprinkle the bread with the diced butter pieces. Also sprinkle the raisins and pecans over the bread. Beat together the milk, sugar, vanilla essence and cinnamon powder. Add this mixture to the beaten eggs. Mix it all together. The resultant mixture will be frothy. Then pour this mixture into the baking tin. Make sure that all the bread pieces get soaked with the mixture.
Bake this at 350F for 40-45 minutes.

Eat warm. It tastes great with a whipped cream or vanilla ice cream topping.

Tips
The raisins do add some more sweetness to the pudding, so you can adjust the sweetness based on your specific tastes. Also, white sugar is sweeter than brown sugar, so you can substitute based on your preference. This is a very forgiving recipe and easy too, so you can experiment with it.