Ingredients and Method to make Pav/ Bread
All purpose flour pav
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk (or warm water, see notes below)
1 and 1/2 tsp sugar
3 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp melted butter ( or oil for a vegan version)
a little additional butter (or for a vegan version, use non diary butter) to apply on top of the bread
For
the whole wheat flour pav I substituted all purpose flour with 1 1/2
cups whole wheat flour + 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour and proceeded in
the same manner as below
Mix sugar and yeast in warm water and keep aside for a few minutes until it froths up
In a large mixing bowl, mix the all purpose flour and salt and keep aside.
Add the yeast and warm milk to the all purpose flour and knead to make a soft and smooth dough.
Add
melted butter (or smart balance) to this and knead some more until the
dough is soft and non sticky and smooth. Knead totally for about 10
minutes
Place
this dough in a greased container and keep covered with plastic wrap or
tea towel and keep aside for the dough to rise (approximately one hour)
Grease a baking tray and keep aside.
When
the dough has risen (should be double) punch it down gently and make
equal sized balls with the dough and place it on the baking tray about
1/2 an inch apart.
Cover with a plastic wrap and let rise for another hour.
Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
After
the dough has risen the second time (notice that the bread is joined at
the ends), place the baking tray in the oven and bake for about 15
minutes until the bread is baked to a nice brown color on top.
Remove
from oven, when you tap the top of the bread it will be a little hard
and sound a bit hollow, apply a little butter/smart balance on top and
bake for another couple of minutes.
Remove,
pull apart and serve with vegetables as pav bhaji or with soup or just
enjoy one warm from the oven with a little butter or jam
Updated Notes
For a more authentic pav feel to the bread use only water and skip the milk. (for a vegan version use water and skip the milk)
