Homemade Pav | Pav Buns | Dinner Rolls

Pav Bhaji on my mind….like for the last entire week I am unable to think beyond it. Every veggie that I glance at reminds me that it could go into my Bombay Pav Bhaji 😂😂 no, I am very serious! I so didn’t want to order any…because those are just not my kind of Bhaji…hence tonight is going to be it:) {happy dance}

Anyways…so I planned to make some Pav ahead of making the Bhaji. It’s beyond easy if you ask me…one bowl magic I call it😊

Once you learn to handle the yeast well, making a bread or Pav bread isn’t difficult at all. For me, it’s always been more of the technical part that I concentrate on rather than the recipe itself. The ratios are no doubt very important, I can’t stress enough on that here. One needs to measure them out correctly else things could go horribly wrong! So pay attention to every detail when making a Pav or Bread dough.

Let’s learn how..

Yield: 6 Pav (depends on the size of the Pav)

Equipment: measuring cups/ spoons, baking tin, cooling rack, a large mixing bowl.

Ingredients:

2+1/2 cups Maida (all purpose flour) + extra Maida (APF) to dust the dough while kneading (I used appropriately 1/2 cup)

5 tbsp oil + extra to grease the tin & to brush on top of the Pav

salt to taste

1/2 cup lukewarm water (comfortable enough to dip your finger)

3 tsp yeast (I used active dry yeast)

2+1/2 tsp sugar

Method:

Take 1/2 cup of lukewarm water in a glass or bowl, add the yeast & sugar. Stir it lightly. Set it aside for 10 to let the yeast bloom. (Note that if the water is too hot, the yeast won’t bloom. So be careful with the water. If the yeast doesn’t bloom, start again)

See the first picture above, the yeast has bloomed really well. It almost overflowed on the kitchen top.

Next, see the second picture above. For making the dough add the flour in the bowl, season with salt. Add the oil and slowly add the yeast mixture. Do not add all the mixture at one go as we may end up with a very gluey and wet dough. Keep adding a little bit at a time and make a dough like we do for rotis. This dough will be sticky so you can add some more flour and knead it well. The longer you knead it, the smoother and softer it will be.

If you feel the dough has become too dry while kneading, add the yeast mixture and continue kneading. I used the entire yeast mixture but did not require any more water. Once the dough has become smooth, grease it with oil and place it the bowl for it’s first rise/ prove. I gave it approximately 30 mins or so.

See the third picture above, the dough almost tripled.

Then I pushed down the dough and released the air within. I then greased my hands and divided the dough into 6 parts. I greased the baking tin and placed the divided dough in it. Brushed each portion with oil. Then I left it for the second rise/ prove for 20 mins.

Preheat the oven at 200’c for 10 mins. Place the tin on the middle rack and bake the Pav for 20 mins @ 200’c using both the upper and the lower heating coil/ rods/ elements. (Please note every oven works differently hence adjust the temperature and duration according to that). I let them sit in the oven with the upper rods turned on for an extra 5-7 mins to get a lovely brown crust.

This is what they looked like as they came out of the oven! Brush them with some melted butter if you like.

They turned pillowy soft with a firm crust and absolutely melt in the mouth kinda good….yum!