Tag: buns

The Pav/ Pao is believed to have been introduced to erstwhile ‘Bombay’ by the Portuguese during their short sojourn there, but Mumbaikars have now made it their very own. In fact, it is loved all over  🙂

Though available readily, it is fun baking your own ladi pao at home. Here is a step-by-step pictorial to baking soft pao buns. I made these following the young wonder-boy Yaman Agarwal’s recipe here

LADI PAV/PAO/PAO BUNS

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour / Maida – 2 Cups
Milk –  1 Cup
Salt – 1 Tsp Butter – 4 Tsp
Milk Powder – 1½ Tbsp
Instant Yeast – 2 Tsp
Sugar – 1 Tbsp
Milk & Butter – For Brushing

Prove the yeast- Warm up half a cup of milk, add in the sugar,and stir well. The milk should feel warm on the underside of your wrist. Not hot, not cool- a high warm, if I may call it that. Stir in the yeast and leave to bloom for 10-15 minutes till it is all frothy. This is how it should froth and bubble up. If it does not froth, throw it away and start again or try different yeast. Add the salt and milk powder to the maida and mix well.Add the yeast mix to the flour mix and start kneading. Add more milk very gradually as you knead, only if required.  The dough will be very sticky and a little difficult to handle. Don’t worry! That is exactly how it is meant to be! Add  the butter and knead well till it becomes a soft and pliable dough, easy to handle. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Do not add flour or oil, just kneading it well will make the dough non-sticky and springy. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with cling film, or a kitchen towel and rest for 1 ½ to 2 hours. The dough should double up. The time actually depends on the weather conditions-if very hot, it doubles sooner than the 1 ½ hours. This is the first prove. Divide the dough into equal portions, shape them as roundels or slightly elongated and arrange in a greased baking dish close together so that they touch each other. This ensures the ladi forming else they will bake like separate buns. No harm in that- it is just a matter of choice how you want them. Cover with cling film or a kitchen towel taking care to that they do not touch the top of the bread. Leave to rise again for about 45 minutes. This is the second prove. Preheat the oven at 200C for 15 minutes.
Brush the pao buns with milk and bake at 200C till they brown. Once browned, remove and brush the ladi pao with butter. Your ladi pao is ready! Enjoy with Missal or Bhaji 🙂