Paul Hollywood’s White Bread & The Lesson’s Learnt | Vegan Recipe | Dairy Free | Step Wise

Hi all!

I’m back to a baking spree and I do not regret it at all!!!!! As a matter of fact I’m loving it, the entire experience of proofing the yeast and baking the bread is so captivating and I’m so much in love with my breads that I can’t stop admiring them. I’m like a self obsessed kid who just can’t stop praising herself..and for all this I must thanks Sharanya SL, who is reader of my blog and had requested me to post a tutorial on making a white bread.

With all the candor, I must confess that I have baked many breads till now but never  baked a whole white bread only for the simple reason that I’m not very fond of the processed flour. But a request is a request and I respected that and took it as an opportunity to learn new.

I’ve many books on bread baking in my collection and the recent addition to that is Paul Hollywood’s 100 Great Breads. I had read a mixed bag of reviews for this book and decided to buy it simply for the person behind it..Paul Hollywood, who is a baker’s son who went on to work as a baker for many leading hotels. He has also judged many TV shows. This particular book was awarded the ‘top bread and pastry book of the year’ for 2005 by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

 

When I started reading the book, I thought that’s it quite simple to understand and also realized that this man does not rely on big tools and machine and depends more on hand kneading, I thought suits me fine. It was only when  I started using the recipe in terms of ingredients and measures that I realized the problem of this book..the weighs & measures!!  The biggest difficulty was that the yeast measure was given in ounces and grams rather than spoons and he also insisted on using fresh yeast like most of all the famous bakers. Fortunately I had got hold of fresh yeast recently and I was more than willing to use it. But measuring fresh yeast in ounces was the trickiest part.. but somehow I sailed through the hurdle..

I tried to stick with the weighs & measures in the book but then I realized that the measure of salt was also high, so I decided to adjust it as per my understanding and expertise..

I decided to use my old OTG and not the microwave for baking.The bread turned out fine and rose well too, but it rose  much more than expected and the bread got stuck into the top heating rods of the oven. Fortunately, I was alert and I moved the bread to the bottom shelf but by then it already  had got a light burn mark  .. The book said that the bread would get ready in 35mins but mine was ready in 20mins, a pat on the top produced a hollow sound, indicating that it was done. I’m still to come across such tips in the book.. When I cut the bread and I looked at the cut slice, the word WOW came out instantly  and after eating the first bite I was a happy to see that it was light, moist and soft but I was also disappointed that the bread was very mildly yeasty, which also explained the bread hitting the top of the oven.. So, it confirmed that the yeast required should have been less and the measure probably is incorrect in the book, which even I had felt earlier, but since I was using the fresh yeast for the very first time, I did not take any chances. Due to which  my bread was not absolutely white..lessons learnt.

Preparation Time: 15mins | Rising Time: 2hrs | Baking Time: 20-35mins | Serves: 4 | Makes- 1loaf  | Difficulty Level: Moderate

Ingredients

500g/ 1lb/ 2oz strong white flour, plus extra for dusting

1tsp salt

60ml/ 2fl ounce olive oil

15g/ 1/2oz yeast ( I thought less would be better)

270ml/ 9fl ounces water ( I used only about 200ml)

Method

Sift the flour, add the yeast, oil and spread the salt over the flour, avoiding direct contact with the yeast.

Warm the water slightly and knead the dough using that. The quantity of water required will vary from flour to flour. Knead the flour for about 10mins, till it’s shows a gloss on the top.

Shaping The Bread

Grease it lightly and leave it to rise for an hour, till it doubles in volume.

Punch down the dough and knead lightly.

 

Dust the kitchen platform floor with some flour and spread the dough.

Fold the dough slightly from the left and right side of the dough.

From the top fold the dough and start rolling it towards the bottom. Roll completely and shape.

Place the shaped dough in a greased bread tin.

Let the dough rise for about 40-45mins, till it doubles in volume.

Dust the dough on top and bake in a pre-heated oven at 230C for 20-35mins till done. A baked bread sounds hollow when tapped on top.

Remove on a cooling rack. Slice and serve.

Sending it to my event ‘Only’- Cooking From Cookbooks guest hosted by Gauri.

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Paav Bhaaji…No, No Bhaaji In The Paav | Quick Bite | Step Wise Method

 

Hi All!!

I’m sure many would relate to me when I say that the kid’s exam is your own exam..though my kid is grown up and quite independent in many ways but during his assessments he needs me the most. I do not indulge myself in teaching him word to word but I’m always there to solve his difficulties and also to boost up his morale, so I get tied up at home..last few days saw me doing that only..After finishing morning chores, I would sit and make a test paper for him to solve once he is back from school and then stay with him till he finishes studies. Amongst all this I was also helping a friend to look out for a house. Today is the day when I’m breathing in a relaxed manner, now that the tests are over and the friend also has has got an extension in her lease, phew!!

The kid had a half day in school today, so I wanted to make something interesting before he came home. I had not made pav-bhaji in a long time, so thought of making that for lunch but I was also in the mood to bake a bread to relax myself as it has a therapeutic effect on me. Plus, I also wanted to use the bread flour which I had eagerly bought in Thailand. My mind started working on how to accomplish both the things simultaneously and  that’s when the thought of making a stuffed pav-bhaji came to my mind. I made the bhaaji and used it as a filling. Instead of making regular stuffed round buns, I thought of making a more attractive bread, so indulged in a braided version.

The product formed after the baking was a soft braided bun with a bhaaji filling. Kid entered home sniffing, I had just finished the first batch of baking the buns before he stepped in and he was too eager to pounce on them. I had to push him away so that he could wash himself before he could savor the pav-bhaaji..First bite of the bread into his mouth and instantly the thumb was up with a smile and he was ready to finish more. He couldn’t stop praising the new version of Paav bhaaji or Bhaaji in a Pav and I was more than overwhelmed..

At night we savoured the remaining bhaji with the paav in the authentic paav bhaji style. The bhaaji has turned out too good and S mentioned that it is as good as Amar Juice Center, in Mumbai.

Preparation Time for bread: 20mins

Total Time to Make Bhaaji: 1hour

Rising Time:40-45mins

Baking Time Per Batch:16-20mins

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty Level: Moderate/ Needs Skill

 

Ingredients:

a cup of bhaaji

For The Bread

4cups APF or Bread Flour + more for rolling and dusting

1/4cup of Butter/ Oil/ Shortening +1tbsp oil

1tbsp active dry yeast

1tbsp sugar

1-1/2tsp salt

1 - 1-1/2cup of warm water

milk for milk wash

 

Method

For step by step tutorial on how to make an authentic bhaaji, read the post here.

Heat a cup of water to a lukewarm temperature. Add sugar and yeast and let the yeast proof (makes a froth).

 

Take 3cups of the flour and keep 1cup of flour aside. To this add the salt and 1/4cup oil/butter. Mix thoroughly.

Using the proofed yeast, knead the doug. Add the remaining flour gradually, stop adding flour when you feel the dough is slightly sticky. Knead the dough for 10mins, by the end of the kneading it should be smooth and not stick on the floor and hand. Apply some oil and cover with a greased plate or cling film.

Let the dough rise and double in volume, this takes about 45-60mins depending on the temperature outside. One can also read this post on working with yeast in low temperature to get a better understanding.

Punch down the dough and release the trapped air and knead it again for 2mins.

Break the dough into portions slightly larger than a lemon and using the flour roll an oblong shape of 1/2cm thickness.

Place about 2tsp bhaaji vertically in the center of the rolled dough.

Give equidistant slanting cuts on either side of the bhaaji on the rolled dough.

  

Start folding the cuts crossing over the bhaaji, first left touching the second cut on right, the first cut on right touching the second cut on left and so on.. Fold the last end underneath.

 

Let the braided bread rise again for 15mins covered. Apply a milk/egg wash. Bake 4-6 at a time. Bake for 16-20mins in a pre-heated oven at 180C till golden in color and when tapped on top produces hollow sound.

Serve warm.

 

Sending this to my event 'Only' Crazy For Potato, guest hosted at Nivedhanam.

Tips

Never take the full measure of water mentioned in the recipe at once to knead the dough as the absorption of water varies from flour to flour.

Always take lukewarm water for proofing the yeast. Insert the finger in the water, if the heat is bearable and not hurting, one can proceed with the addition of yeast. Hot water shocks the yeast.

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