Pan de Sal

I found this great recipe on Saveur and I'm a huge Saveur fan. Or at least I used to be. Now that the editor has changed, the recipes aren't so friendly anymore. And the foods are so America-centric now, when they used to be quite international.

This Filipino Sweet bread, or Pan de Sal, is quite delicious and easy to make. They come out soft and delicious and quite pillowy. Do try it at home.

Pan de Sal (sweet Filipino bun)
(recipe from Saveur)

6 cups Flour (the recipe calls for bread flour, I used All-Purpose since we don't get bread flour here)
1 cup plus 1 tbsp Sugar
1.5 tsp Salt
2.5 cups Milk, warmed
1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast
4 tbsp, Butter, melted; plus more
1 Egg
1 cup Bread Crumbs

Combine the yeast, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 cup of the warmed milk in a bowl and set aside until frothy, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining milk, the melted butter and the egg.

In another bowl combine the dry ingredients: the flour, the 1 cup sugar and the salt.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the yeast mixture until the dough begins to come together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with muslin or plastic wrap until doubled in size, about 45 minutes, in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 180 deg. C

Place the bread crumbs on a plate. 
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a rectangle (approximately 4" by 9" and deep by 1/2"). Working from the long end, roll the rectangle into a tight cylinder. Cut the dough crosswise into five 1.5" rolls. Gently roll the cut sides in the bread crumbs. Place the rolls, bread crumbs up, onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat for remaining dough, placing them slightly apart. (Here's a video on how to shape the pan de sal. And here's a pictorial on how to shape it.)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Eat while warm.

Monkey Bread

Another easy lovely recipe from Saveur magazine - this one is a lovely recipe for you to do with the kids. Not much can go wrong and the kids will have a lovely time. This is one of those recipes where you know if you put in all this delicious decadent stuff, nothing can go wrong, and if something does, it tastes great anyway!

Cinnamon Monkey Bread

(original recipe here)

3-3 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Butter, softened plus more for greasing
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Salt

Heat 2 tbsp of butter with milk and 1/3 cup water on medium heat until warm. Transfer to a bowl of a stand mixer with a hook attachment. Add 1/4 cup sugar, and the yeast and stir to combine. Allow to activate the yeast and foam, about 10 minutes.

Turn the mixer onto a medium speed and add the flour and salt. Beat until all combined and the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow to rise until double in size.

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease and flour a 10" bundt pan.

Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside. Melt the remaining butter in a pan, add and combine the brown sugar and set aside.

Pinch small rounds from the risen dough (about the size of small cherry tomatoes). Toss the small balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture (the kids will enjoy this part!) and fit snugly into the prepared bundt pan. Pour the butter-brown sugar mixture slowly and evenly all over the dough, allowing it time to get into the nooks and crannies.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve warm. (with vanilla ice cream or a caramel ice cream). :)

Mustard and Cheese Bread

This is a must-try bread. Just take my word for it. Even if you've never baked another bread in your life, do try this. Its delicious, easy and very forgiving. I received this recipe from a friend many years ago. I've made it many many times since then, but have only just realized I haven't posted this on my blog.

It's from Martha Rose Shulman, who is a columnist for the New York Times and an author of several cookbooks. After the great success of this bread, I ran out and bought her book. It's just amazing. Buy a copy. 

Cheese and Mustard Bread

(From Great Breads by Martha Rose Shulman)

2 1/2 tsps Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm Water
1/2 cup lukewarm Milk
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Oil
1 large Egg, lightly beaten (about 1/4 cup)
1/4-1/2 cup Mustard (the recipe recommends Dijon but I used an Indian mustard, Kasundi. Also I used a little more than 1/2 cup, as I love the spiciness of Kasundi).
1 tbsp Shallots/ Onions, finely chopped (I used 2 tbsp)
1 cup Sharp Cheese like Gruyere, grated (I used Pecorino, because I love it)
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 beaten egg, for egg wash (optional. I didn't use it).

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and let stand for five minutes until frothy.

Mix all the ingredients together including the yeast, in a bowl. (You can add several other options to this dough like cumin seeds, black pepper or any other herbs or spices, maybe even some nuts would be lovely). Keep mixing until they come together as dough. If too sticky, add a little bit of flour, but please go easy on the flour. Of course, you can add some water if the dough is too dry.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a well-oiled bowl and cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the warmth of the room.

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Punch down and shape the dough into a loaf. (Or any shape you desire). Place in a loaf pan and cover with a cloth. Leave again in a warm place and allow to double in size.


Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until down. (Adjust timings if you are making anything smaller than a regular loaf). To test if a loaf is done, knock on it gently and you'll get a hollow sound. Let it cool slightly and then remove from pan. Allow to cool for a further 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm.

Easy Homemade Bread

I've enjoyed baking my own bread for years now. I was very into making different kinds of breads, and then kinda stopped doing that for a while. I always wanted to bake my way through Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I'm going to try and do that this year. Think that would be super cool. His recipes are always perfect and clear.

Anyhoo, this recipe is from another source, but it has been my go-to recipe for bread for all these years. Its easy, and completely versatile. You could use it to bake a regular white loaf, or add ingredients to make it a flavoured bread. The proofed dough could be also used to make buns or garlic twists. Or really anything. Its a blank slate. Add your signature.

Basic White Bread

4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Instant Active Dry Yeast
3 tsp Salt
4 tbsp Sugar (this makes it a little sweet, feel free to reduce the sugar to your taste level)
2 tbsp Buter, melted
400-450 ml Water

Mix all the dry ingredients, and add water a little bit at a time until they come together into a shaggy ball. Add water, or flour, or both, if needed (use extra flour sparingly). Put the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. While kneading feel free to add any flavors you might like, or leave it plain. Place in a well oiled bowl, cover with a cheese cloth and store in a warm place until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Punch down the bread, knead a couple of minutes. Now you can shape the dough as you'd like. Here, I have made two loaves. One is a Cinnamon Swirl Bread. For that, I stretched the dough out into a rectangle, covered with sugar and cinnamon powder and then rolled it up tight, shaped it into a loaf and placed in a well oiled loaf pan.
For the other one, I had already added fried onions, green chillies, cilantro and cumin to the initial dough and made an Indian-style masala bread.


You can also leave it plain. Just take the dough and shape into a loaf or buns or a free form loaf and place in a well oiled pan. Cover with the cheese cloth or linen and allow to double again in size.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when knocked on gently. Allow to cool slightly, take out of the pan and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. This wait allows the bread to settle and enhances flavour. I think.

Serve warm. So so good.

The Indian Masala Loaf

Slices of Indian Masala Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Other Breads in this blog that uses this bread recipes: Vegetable Il Gianfornaio, Pesto and Garlic Bread and Buns.

Banana Coconut Walnut Bread

This is a quick bread which is sweet and nutty and delicious. An easy bread to whip up when pressed for time.

Banana Coconut Walnut Bread

2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (or All-Purpose Flour)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
2/3 cup Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 cup Banana, mashed
1/2 cup Skim Milk (or whole milk, or whatever milk you have on hand)
1/4 cup Coconut Oil (or any oil you have on hand)
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1/2 cup Coconut, shredded
1/4 cup Walnuts (Optional (or) any other nut you have available: almonds, cashewnut, pecans)

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk sugar and eggs until combined. Add the mashed banana, milk, oil and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the coconut and walnuts and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into a 9"x5" loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes. Let cool before removing from pan.

Enjoy.

Other Quick Breads in this blog: Parmesan Walnut Bread, Beautiful Banana Bread, Mango Bread, Banana Chocolate Bread and Honey Bread.

Flatbread

I have long been an avid reader of Saveur magazine and their former Editor-in-Chief James Oseland. Being a food journalist, or a food critic (my favorite is Ruth Reichl - please read any and all of her books - they are all fantastic!) has long been a dream. Wouldn't that be a fantastic job? Travel the world eating amazing (and maybe sometimes not-so-amazing) food? Sigh. Maybe in another lifetime.

Anyways, getting back to Saveur. I have long been an avid reader but have been a little apprehensive about trying their recipes since they seemed daunting. This one though, I thought, I have to just try it and if it doesn't look or taste great, then that's fine, but maybe it will be awesome and I will then have a fail-safe Mediterranean flatbread recipe! And that's just what happened.

(not a great picture but had only my phone's camera on hand and had to take a picture quickly before everyone started devouring the bread)

Flatbread with Za'atar

(Recipe from Saveur Sept 2014)

1 cup Flour (I did whole wheat and all-purpose. But I assume the recipe calls for all-purpose only)
2 Tbsp Za'atar (this is a Mediterranean spice mix which is very versatile)
1 tsp Salt
6 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup Water

To Serve:
a handful of Olives, chopped
Tomatoes, sliced
and Mint.

Mix together flour, salt, 1 tbsp of the oil and water and stir until a dough forms. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes, then cover with let rest in a warm space for 10 minutes.

Mix together the za'atar and 2 tbsp oil in a different bowl and set aside. 

Roll out the dough into a circle (recipe calls for about a 10" circle, 1/6" thick, but you could just eyeball it). Heat a skillet over medium-high and cook the dough until golden brown and slightly puffed up, about 5-7 minutes, flipping once.

Spread the bread with the za'atar and oil mix. Serve with olives, tomatoes and mint on the side (I served it on the side because everyone in my family wanted to eat just the bread!).

This was delicious!! Try it.

Other recipes in this blog that use Za'atar:
Za'atar Platter, 
Whole Wheat Bread with Za'atar,
Za'atar and Goat Cheese Pull-Apart Bread.

Honey Bread

Here's another really easy bread and tastes of sweet honey goodness!


Honey Bread

1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Sugar1/2 cup Honey
2 2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour, sifted with 3 tsp Baking Powder
1 Egg
2/3 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 180 deg C.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add honey and cream again.
Add the egg, beat well. Now alternately add the flour and milk, starting and ending with flour. Beat well.

Pour into a buttered loaf pan. Bake for an hour until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf. Enjoy.

Chilli Cheese Toast

You know that craving you get when you come home from work, and just want to eat something before you start making dinner? This is just a wonderful tea-time snack. Very popular in India, chilli cheese toast has become somewhat of a tradition.


In this picture, I've used brown bread. I made a few with chillies and a few without.

Chilli Cheese Toast

10 slices of Bread (works equally on white bread as it does on baguettes or multigrain, so go with your favorite kind)
150 g Mozzarella Cheese, grated
4-5 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder OR Crushed Red Pepper
2 pinches Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Lightly toast the bread. Make a paste mixture with the rest of the ingredients.

Apply the paste onto each slice of bread. Bake the bread for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Serve warm.

Parmesan Walnut Bread

The first oven I bought was a little OTG (Oven Toaster Griller). It came with a booklet of recipes to be made in the free pan that came with it. I loved the OTG and tried almost all the recipes in that booklet! Surprisingly, every single one was a keeper. The first one was banana bread, that we loved. And I was hooked. Quick breads are fast, delicious and extremely versatile.

This is a wonderful quick bread that I came across at Mary's blog, One Perfect Bite. She's made three wonderful variations. I varied her walnut bread a little to include some freshly grated Parmesan. It was super quick and full of flavor.


Parmesan Walnut Bread
(Recipe adapted from One Perfect Bite)

2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Milk
1 large egg
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and egg. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Stir in walnuts and parmesan. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Increase the temperature to 180 deg C and continue baking for a further 15 minutes.


Mary recommends letting it rest for 15 minutes and then allowing it to age 24 hours before serving. I did the first 15 minutes. And then another 15 minutes! There was no way I could wait for 24 hours to eat anything that smells as good as this bread!


Other quick breads on this blog: Banana Bread, Chocolate Banana Bread and Mango Bread.

Christopsomos

As the second bread in our Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge, we were to tackle a Greek Celebration Bread, Artos. There are several variations of the basic bread. One of them is Christopsomos, a beautiful, decorative bread full of lovely flavors! For the recipe, please see Google Books.


We start with a poolish of water, flour and yeast. Allow it to rest overnight for a few hours at room temperature and then in the refrigerator. It will be all lovely and bubbly the next day.


Then add the rest of the flour, butter and lovely spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves), yeast, oil, honey and eggs. I left out the allspice because I couldn't find them in the store, and instead increased the quantity of cinnamon (because I just love cinnamon!).

This is the basic Artos bread. To make the variation, add dried fruit (cranberries/dates/figs/cherries), walnuts and raisins. I used dried chopped dates, walnuts and golden raisins. Be sure to include these in the final stages of kneading the dough before the bulk fermentation.


Allow the dough to double in size (about 90 minutes).


After the bulk ferment, divide the dough into 1/3rds and 2/3 rds. Wrap up the smaller portion and put it away in the refrigerator. The larger portion is shaped into a boule, then lightly oiled and allowed to proof at room temperature for about an hour.


When you are ready to bake the bread, take out the smaller piece and divide into half. Roll each half into a rope. Cross the ropes on top of the boule and let the ends hang down. Split each end and roll up to form a fun decorative pattern. If you're having trouble making the ends stick to the boule, apply a little bit of water.


Bake at 350 deg F for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan for even baking, and bake another 20-25 minutes. While the bread is baking, make a glaze of water, sugar, honey and lemon extract (I left this out because I didn't have it).

Brush the glaze onto the bread after you take it out of the oven and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.

The bread was absolutely delicious. I made it on Mother's Day and my mother loved it. The crumb is soft and filled with the deliciousness of raisins, walnuts and dates.


The crust is sweet and sticky with the glaze and the sesame seeds.


I'll definitely be making this bread again!

Pretzels

I wanted to make the German style pretzel with a crunchy exterior and a soft crumb. I think that comes from the water bath you put the formed dough in before you put it in the oven, and crank the oven temperature really high.

Here's my version of the German pretzels. The last time I used baking soda in the water bath, but this time I used brown sugar and I think that made a big difference. What is your trick for getting a crunchy, hard crust?


Pretzels

3 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Warm Milk
4 tbsp Brown Sugar (for the water bath)

Mix all the ingredients together. Knead for about 8-10 minutes or until smooth and silky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a muslin cloth. Let the dough rise for about an hour. Gently deflate and divide into 6 parts.

Bring a quart of water to a rolling boil with the brown sugar. And preheat the oven to 200 deg C.

Roll each part into a long rope (try to get it to about 22" to 24"). Holding each end, twist the two portions of the rope and the fold it back down. Watch this video for shaping instructions.


Gently lift each pretzel with a spatula and lower into the water. Keep it in the water by pushing down on it with the spatula. Let it boil for about 20 seconds per side. You can boil 2-3 pretzels at a time.

Transfer the pretzels to a lightly oiled baking tray. Sprinkle with Kosher salt. Place in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes or until a dark golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with mustard.


This is for Susan @ Wild Yeast for YeastSpotting.

Other pretzels in this blog: Jalapeno Pretzels.

Cinnamon Rolls

Oh my goodness. Do you have one day that you just want to indulge? Well, this is the perfect food to indulge in. Its absolutely incredible! I think this was an original Daring Bakers challenge, but I found the recipe on Andrea's incredible blog.


Cinnamon Rolls
(tweaked a little from Andrea's Recipes)

6 1/2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
5 1/2 tbsp Butter
1 Egg
3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Yeast
1 1/4 cups Milk

For the Cinnamon layer:
6 1/2 tbsp Sugar mixed with 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

For the Glaze:
2 cups Icing Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
6 tbsp Milk

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and salt and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and yeast. Add to the butter mixture. Stir everything together. Add the milk and mix to combine. Empty the contents onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. The dough was really sticky, and I added at least another 1/4 cup of flour as I kneaded. The dough will become soft and absolutely lovely to work with.

Place in a greased bowl, cover with a muslin cloth or cling wrap and keep in a warm place until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough to a rectangle. Spread the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the rectangle. Roll into a log. I didn't roll it too tight because I didn't want to lose all the lovely texture. Once rolled into the log, cut at about 1" intervals. I got only 6 buns, but maybe I should have cut it thinner.

Place the buns on a greased baking tray. Cover with muslin and let it rise until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 175 deg C. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. While the rolls are baking, make the glaze.


To make the glaze, just whisk together the icing sugar, milk and vanilla until thick and smooth. Pour over the rolls while still warm out of the oven. Now, I don't know why, but my glaze never ever looks white - I've tried it a few times, and it is always transparent. But it tasted amazing.


Thanks, Andrea, for a fabulous recipe.

Mango Bread

Mangoes are back in season! Woohoo! The downside is that this means that summer's here in full force - in April! At an average temperature of 95 deg F, Madras is way way too hot! But... you can't be really too frustrated with the heat when you have gorgeous juicy mangoes to fill you up!

Is there anything better than mangoes with vanilla ice cream? Well, maybe this mango bread! Have you ever visited Joy the Baker? Her blog is absolutely incredible with beautiful photographs. Do take a look, if you haven't already.

This recipe was inspired by her Mango Lime Bread. I made a few changes. Actually, quite a few changes - I omitted the ginger and apples and added walnuts instead. It was simply an amazing bread!


Mango Bread

2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
3 Eggs
3/4 cup Oil (try to use a flavor-less oil, like Safflower)
1 1/4 cup Mango pieces (I had to chop up about 1 1/2 mangoes)
3/4 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Crumble in the brown sugar. Add the wet ingredients (oil and eggs). Mix till fully combined. This might be a little difficult but keep stirring and it will come together. Fold in the mango, raisins and walnuts.

Transfer the dough to a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Turn loaf out from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy the wonderful smell in your kitchen!

Khara Bread

In Bangalore there's this bakery called VB Bakery that sells loaves and loaves of this bread. While on vacation in Bangalore, this would be a daily tea time snack - a slice of hot, buttered khara (khara means spicy) bread.

I still bring back a loaf every time I visit Bangalore. I tried to recreate it at home, and it was amazing. The same spicy taste with the incredibly soft crumb.


Khara Bread
(Bread with Chillies, Onions and Cilantro)
Makes 2 Loaves

For the Flavoring:
1 cup Onions, chopped fine
2-3 tbsp Green Chillies, chopped fine
1 cup Cilantro leaves, chopped fine

Saute the onions and green chillies (separately) in a teaspoon of oil. Set aside.

For the Bread
(I used a variation of Peter Reinhart's White Bread from the Bread Baker's Apprentice)

4 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Milk (I used 2% milk)
3 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
1 large Egg, beaten
3 1/4 tbsp Butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Water (you might need more as you knead, so keep some on hand)

Mix together the flour, salt, milk, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Add in the egg and butter and mix to combine. Pour in a little bit of water at a time until the dough begins to come together. There shouldn't be any obvious dry spots, and all the flour should be combined. If the dough is dry, add a few drops of water. If its too sticky, add a tiny dusting of flour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and start kneading the bread. Knead for about 8 minutes. The dough will be smooth and soft. Now press the bread out into a slightly rectangular shape. Add the cilantro, onions and chillies in the middle and bring the sides of the dough over the filling to enclose it (I've just found that adding flavoring to dough is easier this way, but you can use any method you want).

Start kneading again for about 2 minutes. As you knead the fillings will get evenly distributed through the dough.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a muslin cloth and leave in a warm area of the house. Allow the dough to double, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the dough and divide in two. Shape each part into a loaf - I rolled them gently into a log, tucking in the corners slightly. Place them in a greased loaf pans, cover with a muslin cloth and allow to double in size, approximately 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. They should also be brown on the sides, when removed from the pan and make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.


Remove from pans and allow to cool on a wire rack for an hour (I waited maybe 20 minutes!).

As you can see the crumb was really really soft and lovely.


The small hole in the middle is from an air pocket formed while rising (didn't affect the bread but kinda let some butter drip through when toasted and buttered!).


This is off to Susan @ Wild Yeast for Yeast Spotting.

Buns

I'm always trying to take part in the Bread Baking Day organized by Zorra. This month it's hosted by Notitie van Lien, one of the most beautiful photographers in the blogosphere. This month the theme is Potato Breads. I've been wanting to make savory stuffed buns for a long time, and I took this opportunity to do just that.


The buns have mashed potato added to the flour. And the buns are also stuffed with a spicy potato filling. I also did some spicy chicken ones for my family. Both were very well received. The nice part is the combinations/ fillings are endless. The bread can be flavored. The fillings can be altered to suit your tastes. And its really simple.


Buns

For the Bread:
4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tbsp Yeast
2 tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 cups warm Water
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Potato, peeled, chopped, boiled and mashed
2 tbsp Crushed Red Pepper (optional - I just wanted a spicy bread. You could add any herbs/ greens of your choice like fenugreek/ cilantro/ cumin/ fennel/ za'atar).

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, until it comes together as a ball. Empty the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until it becomes soft and elastic. Put the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with a muslin cloth. Keep in a warm place and leave aside for an hour or until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 10 or 12 equal parts (I got 10 but depending on the size of the buns you want, you could get 12). Flatten each ball into a thin circular shape, with your fingers. Put about 2-3 tbsp of the filling in each (recipe follows). Bring the edges around the filling until it is fully covered. Pinch the seams together to seal. Place seal-side down on a baking tray. Repeat for all the balls.


Cover the buns with muslin cloth and leave aside for approximately an hour. Bake at 180 deg C for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway for even baking. Remove and brush with melted butter when warm (optional - this just gives the buns a softer crust).

For the Peas and Potatoes Filling:
6 small Potatoes, peeled, chopped and boiled
1/2 cup Peas, boiled
2 Onions, chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
1 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

Tempering:
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 small piece Cinnamon
2-3 pieces Cardamom
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
2 cloves Garlic, chopped

Heat some oil and add the ingredients for tempering. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the onion, garlic and tomato. Saute until the onions are brown. Add the potato, peas and the powders and salt. Continue to saute until well browned and mixed through. Sprinkle with a few teaspoons of water and cover and cook for 10 minutes.


For the Chicken Filling:
1/4 kg boneless Chicken pieces, shredded
1 Tomato
1 Onion, chopped
2-3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1" piece Ginger
(Grind the garlic and ginger together to a paste. OR use 1 tsp readymade ginger garlic paste)
1 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

For the tempering:
1 Bay Leaf
1 small piece Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1-2 pieces Cardamom

Heat some oil and add the ingredients for tempering. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, tomato and continue to saute for 3-4 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the shredded chicken. Stir fry for a few minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste and the powders and saute well until the raw smell of the paste disappears. Add 1 cup of water and continue to stir fry until the water has been completely absorbed. Keep aside.


Enjoy the buns! Next time I'm going to try a cheese and broccoli filling. Or maybe even some cottage cheese and veggies. The possibilities are endless.

This is off to Notitie van Lien for Bread Baking Day #17: Potato Breads. And to Susan @ Wild Yeast for YeastSpotting.

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

I have a friend who had a birthday recently. She said all she wanted for a gift was a bread a month. Sort of like the Fruit A Month (anyone see that Everybody Loves Ray episode?) Club except of course that this is ... bread!

This month she requested a sweet, nutty bread. I'm not someone who enjoys sweet breads and wouldn't normally have tried this recipe, but her request got me to look into Peter Reinhart's recipe for Cinnamon Walnut Raisin Bread. And it's another winner from Reinhart!



Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread
(original recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice)

3 1/2 cups Unbleached Bread Flour (I used All-Purpose)
4 tsp Granulated Sugar
1 1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Instant Yeast
1 1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 large Egg
2 tbsp Shortening (I used 3 tbsp Butter)
1/2 cup Buttermilk or Whole Milk (I used Whole Milk)
3/4 cup Water, room temperature
1 1/2 cups Raisins (I used golden raisins)
1 cup chopped Walnuts

For the Cinnamon Sugar:
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
2 tbsp ground Cinnamon

Stir together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, yeast, salt, cinnamon). Add the egg, butter, milk and water and mix until it forms a doughy ball. Turn the ball out onto a floured counter and begin to knead until the dough is soft and elastic (approximately 8 minutes). Sprinkle in the walnuts and raisins, a little at a time, and knead for an additional 2 minutes. I've never kneaded in chopped nuts before, so I found that a little difficult but the whole thing comes together beautifully as you knead).

Place the dough in a slightly oiled bowl and cover with muslin. Let rise until doubled in size, approximated 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into two equal parts. This next part is optional - If you want that lovely swirl filled with cinnamon sugar, then go ahead. Otherwise, you can just shape each half into a loaf and go to the next step. For the swirl - Gently press each part out into a rectangle (about 8" by 5"), with the long side facing you. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over one side of the rectangle. Now tightly roll, starting from the long side facing you. Seal the end and place in a loaf pan, seam side down. Repeat for the other rectangle. Reserve maybe a teaspoon or so of the cinnamon sugar.

Spritz the loaves with olive oil spray, cover with muslin and let it proof at room temperature for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Place the loaf pans in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans 180 deg and bake for an additional 30 minutes (this is to ensure even baking. It really works for me as I've found that the back half of my oven is hotter than the front).

The finished loaf will be golden brown on top and will make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Roll the top of the loaf while warm in a bed of the reserved cinnamon sugar (alternately you can sprinkle some on top of the loaves) while the loaves are warm. The caramelized sugar will give it that extra crunch and burst of cinnamon which is oh-so-delicious!


Let it cool for atleast 1 1/2 hours before slicing and eating.

This is for Susan @ Wild Yeast for YeastSpotting.