Ladi Pav/Indian Bread Recipe
The bread I made didn't turn out all "aesthetic" looking because I used less maida than told in the recipe plus I didn't have a square mould. But let me tell you, looks are deceptive! :D It tasted quite amazing and was super soft like butter bread. So let me tell you an interesting fact to distract you from my bechara looking pav before moving onto the recipe.
Did you know that the Pav was actually brought to Goa for the first time by the Portuguese (when they invaded Goa) and it was actually called "Pão". They had adapted well to all the Goan dishes but one thing they missed very much was their bread. So they taught Indians how to ferment dough and make bread! Eventually, it got its name changed to Pav. Also, even today, some of the best pav makers in Mumbai are either Goan or Irani! Interesting, isn't it?
Ingredients needed:
Milk 1 cup + 1/4th cup
Sugar 2 tsp
Yeast 1 packet (7 g)
Maida 3 cups (450g)
Salt 1/2 tsp
Butter 2 tbsp
Recipe:
1. In a wide bowl, take 1 cup of warm milk. To this, add 2 tsp of sugar and 1 packet of yeast (7g). Mix this well and allow this to rest for 5 minutes. This resting time is very important so that the yeast gets activated.
2. After that, sieve in 3 cups of maida. Add half tsp of salt. Form a dough. Add 1/4th cup of warm milk and knead it again. Knead it continuously until it becomes soft.
Note: If you don't knead the dough properly, the bread will turn out to be very rough.
4. Add 2 tsp of butter and knead again for 5-10 minutes. Tuck in the dough, cover and let it rest for 1 hour. After an hour, you will notice the dough has enlarged. It must twice its normal size.
(If it has not doubled, it means that you have made a mistake in the previous steps. Try keeping it for half an hour more to see if it doubles. If it doesn't.. that means there is either a problem with the yeast. If the yeast has expired it won't work. Also, if the yeast is put into hot milk, instead of milk being a nutrient for it, it will all die, leading to no change in the dough. So be very careful the temperature of the milk.)
Okay back to the recipe....
5. The dough must be cut in equal parts with a knife. Roll each one into a ball like you do for chapati. But instead of keeping as a ball, flatten it a little because we want it in shape of pav. Make sure to look out for the size. It should be equal. Or else you will end with pav like mine! xD
6. After this, prepare the bread mould by lining it with butter. (If you don't have one, use a cake mould like I've used. You can also use any other utensil which you keep in the microwave for this. It doesn't really matter.)
7. Place all the cut doughs which you flattened directly into the buttered mould. Now you can see the gaps in between them right? We want to fill in those gaps. So wait for another 20 min. Cover the mould with a lid or a plastic wrap.
8. After 20 minutes, the dough cuts should be enlarged and must look like a skeleton of the pav bread that you're making :D
9. Preheat the microwave for 15 minutes at 180*C. Then place, the bread mould into the microwave for 20-30 minutes for 180*C.
10. Pav bread is ready. Check with a tooth pick to make sure its cooked properly. If it comes out dry, pav is done and ready. If it comes dough filled, bake it for 10 more minutes.
11. Apply butter onto the top to soften the top of the pav. This is done to soften the top a little bit since the top part is slightly hard after baking. Keep a wet cloth on top of the pav for 20 minutes. This also is done just to prevent it from becoming hard. After this take out your pav carefully from the mould and its ready to eat.
Serve it with the famous pav bhaji or the Mumbai wala vada pav or make a delicious dabeli! Enjoy with friends and family. :)
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