Pav bread is anonymous with the famous Pav Bhaji chaat - a street food which most of us relish here in India. As a kid, I loved watching the Chaat wala rub blobs of butter on a huge Tava, fry the pav bread on both sides. While the bhaji was left simmering through the evening around the sides and served hot with a simple mix of chopped onion and a lemon wedge.
Juicy buttery soaked pav bread dunked into that flavour-packed Bhaji masala is a delight to the senses on any given day.
This recipe is very similar to Dinner rolls recipe. You can shape it the way you like it, fill it with a stuffing of your choice and convert it to a delicious snack.
The brownish, golden hue can be obtained by either a simple milk wash or an egg wash.
Considering this is an eggless recipe, I've only used full-fat milk while baking and once off the oven brushed the pavs with unsalted butter.
Here's what you need :
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups - Milk
2 tsp - Sugar
1 tsp - Salt
450gms - Maida/ All purpose flour
4 tsp - Butter
1 tbsp - Yeast
A pinch of bread improver (optional)
PROCEDURE :
In a bowl, add yeast, 1/2 cup milk and sugar. Set aside for 5 mins to let the yeast activate.
To this add flour and remaining milk in portions, knead until a smooth, soft, pliable dough is formed. This should take about 15mins.
Once the dough is formed, add in butter and salt. Knead until a clear windowpane is formed (a test done by stretching the dough to check Gluten formation).
Cling wrap the bowl and let the dough double in size, this should take about an hour depending on the temperature of where you live.
Once the dough has doubled, punch out the air and portion into dough balls of 80g each and place it into your baking tray.
Let this proof for 20mins.
Brush with plain milk and drizzle sesame seeds (optional)
Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 20mins.
Immediately brush with softened butter and cover with a cloth to make the crust soft.
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