BakingBeginner – Page 3 – The Secret Ingredient

Appetiser

Stuffed Buns with Spicy Paneer | Stuffed Buns with Spicy Cottage Cheese

By anshu July 23, 2015

Usually when I bake my weekly bread at home I make two loafs. Its raining these days and the home made bread survives only 3 days so we have to ensure that we consume it within that time before it gets mouldy. Therefore, I bake one medium size loaf with half the dough and utilize the half to make different savouries and snacks for evening time tea. I make either pizzas or plain buns or sausage flower buns and cheese stuffed buns with the same dough.

My husband loves these paneer stuffed buns and so does my father. Last when we went for picnic I baked these for my father and he greedily ate them. It was a sheer pleasure to watch my father relishing something in spite of the fact he is a picky eater.

Directions:

1. In a container take some lukewarm water. It should neither be hot nor cold, just hot enough to comfortably put your finger into it . The right temperature of the water is very important for yeast to activate. Put yeast into it.

2. Along with yeast add some sugar.

3. Give it a gentle stir with a fork and let the mixture sit and activate for 10 minutes or until you see some bubbles on top and mixture has become frothy and milky.

4. Take all purpose flour in a bowl and add salt and olive oil.

5. Add the proofed yeast to the flour little by little and mix till it comes together.

6. Bring the dough to a flat counter or your kitchen platform and knead for good 10 minutes till it becomes soft and supple. Read more about Bread baking techniques in “Basic Steps to Bake a Perfect Bread“

7. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. And cover with a kitchen towel or cling wrap. Let it sit for an hour or so to double up in size.

8. Punch it down and deflate the dough. Knead for another 5-7 minutes.

9. For the filling chop some onions, green chilies and fresh coriander leaves.

10. In a pan add some oil.

11. Add onions, green chilies and saute them till onions become soft and translucent.

12. Add crumbled paneer and mix with onions.

13. Add Salt, Red Chili Powder and Garam Masala.

14. Garnish with chopped green coriander leaves and turn the flame off. Let the filling cool down.

15. Divide the dough into 10 parts (I used half dough to make White Sandwich Bread). You can make the size bigger but its your choice. Roll them into small balls.

16. Roll each dough into small rotis using a roller pin. You can use dry flour to ease rolling.

17. Place one table spoon Paneer mix in the centre of the rolled dough.

18. Pick the dough from the sides and close together to make a bag. Seal the edges and place on a greased baking sheet seam side down. Ensure there is ample distance between the buns, as they will expand on proofing and then on baking.

19. Cover the dough balls loosely with a kitchen towel and let them proof or expand for half an hour or so. Preheat your oven on 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions)

20. Brush them with milk and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

21. Bake it in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes till the top gets slight golden colour. Do not bake beyond this time for your buns can get hard crust. As soon as they are out of Oven brush them with butter for that incredible shine and taste.

Few recipes you can try here are which uses yeast:
White Sandwich Bread, Vegetarian homemade Pizza, Russian Bublici, Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Chinese Black Sesame Steamed Buns, Cherry Focaccia Bread with Rosemary and Sea Salt, Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Beetroot Bread with Garlic and Thyme, Honey Oats Bread, Domino’s Garlic Breadsticks.

[whohit]CheeseBuns[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’153′]

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Baking

Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake

By anshu May 27, 2015

Last time I made this cake was for my Hommie’s Birthday in Mexico. That time I was a beginner. I still remember how I had rejoiced when it had come out soft and delicious. I wanted to make this again and was looking for occasions, And one day I just decided to heck to occasion I am gonna bake this without occasion! So here it was a delicious chocolate vanilla cake to quench my craving .

This recipe is simple, rich and sinful. If you are looking for an eggless, low calorie cake I must warn you, you are on the wrong page. You must look for Eggless Almond Vanilla Cake or Wacky Vegan Chocolate Cake or Eggless Banana Bread with Melon Seeds or Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling. This cake is buttery and for the very reason irresistible.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven Temperatures and Conversions). Grease a baking tin thoroughly with cooking oil and set aside.

2. In a bowl add some vegetable oil and butter at room temperature. (Learn how to bring butter at room temperature instantly).

3. Add sugar and cream them together using a whisk.

4. Add eggs and keep whisking till you get a pale yellow colour creamy batter. This till take good 5 minutes if you are using a hand whisk.

5. Add vanilla essence and milk. Combine. Set aside.

6. In another bowl add All purpose Flour, Baking Powder and Salt.

7. Gently combine the dry ingredients using a spatula.

8. Add dry ingredients little by little to the wet ingredients and combine until everything is moistened. Do not over mix please.

9. Pour 2/3 of the batter in the greased pan.

10. Add Cocoa powder in rest of the batter and mix well.

11. Pour the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla batter and cover the surface.

12. Use a toothpick or spatula to make random swirls for the marble effect. Do not go crazy.

13. Bake it in the preheated Oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool completely before slicing the cake or it will crumble. You can ice if you like or just decorate the top with chocolate shavings. Serve with chocolate sauce.

You can try other cake and sweet bread recipes from The Secret Ingredient : Eggless Almond Vanilla Cake, Wacky Vegan Chocolate Cake, Eggless Banana Bread with Melon Seeds , Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling, Persimmon Rum Cake, Apple Raisins Streusel Bread, Spiced Raisins Bread, Pumpkin Cake Rolls.

[whohit]MarbleCake[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’130′]

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Baking

Bubliki | Russian Bagels with Poppy and Sesame Seeds

By anshu May 17, 2015

Bublici_Russian Bagels
Some time back I had posted recipe of Classic Russian Borsch on my blog. I had also mentioned how my husband was fond of Bubliki, a Russian style Bagel during his early years in Russia. I wanted to make this bagel bread for him to unite him to his favourite childhood snack.

Bublici_Russian Bagels
I looked for recipes over the net and found that there is largely no basic difference between Bubliki and American Bagel. They are both made with boiled dough. Just that the Bubliki has much larger holes than bagels. Mine also ended up looking like American Bagels. Bubliki are also considered to be more denser and much chewier than bagels. But my husband enjoyed them to the fullest. I do not claim this to be an authentic recipe. But its much closer to the real one 😉

Directions:

1. Take All Purpose Flour in a bowl and make well in the center.

2. Add Sugar and Instant yeast.

3. Pour Milk in the well.

4. Close the well by flicking flour on the surface of the milk. Let it sit for one hour.

5. After an hour of resting add salt and butter.

6. Combine everything and knead into a soft dough. It should take good 15 minutes. The softness of bagels depends on this.

7. Cover the kneaded dough with a cling wrap and let it rest for 2 hours.

8. After two hours bring the dough on a non- floured surface and deflate. Knead again for 5 minutes.

9. Divide the dough into 10 equal size using a pastry scrapper or sharp knife.

10. Roll each part into seam less balls. Cover these balls under a lint free kitchen towel.

11. Poke a hole in each piece by pinching it through the middle with your thumb and first finger and then poke your finger through the hole and gently stretch out each piece from the center so that it is a circle.

12. The holes have to be made 4 cm in diameter because they have a tendency to stretch back and close. Therefore, they need to be stretched and placed on a slightly floured kitchen towel for 30 minutes before proceeding further. Do not forget to cover them from top.

13. In the meanwhile preheat your oven to 220 Degree C. (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions). Line a baking sheet with Oddy Uniwraps parchment paper. Also boil water in a large wide vessel. Place the bagels in water for thirty seconds. Do not over crowd the vessel.

14. Remove them with slotted spoon on a wire rack to drip off extra water. I placed them directly on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and they got stuck on baking. I don’t want you to commit the same mistake.

15. Once the extra water is dripped off, place them on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and glaze them with eggwash and sprinkle them with poppy seeds and Sesame seeds. I made two batches one with either one of them.

16. Bake them in oven for 25-30 minutes or until you see them golden brown in colour. Cool them completely before indulging. Apply some butter and enjoy with your favourite cup of coffee or tea.

Other Russian Recipe you can try is Borsch, Russian Beetroot Soup.

Bublici_Russian Bagels

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Baking

Papaya Chocolate Muffins | Vegan Eggless Papaya Chocolate Chip Muffins

By anshu April 27, 2015

Having Ripe Bananas and unfinished Papayas can cause equal amount of stress. All we do is throw them down the bin. Few days back I came up with a solution to use overripe bananas in the form of Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Melon Seeds.

But then I had a Papaya which was huge in size and not sweet at all. So as a result no one touched it. My husband kept insisting to throw it away. I was hell bent not to waste food. Then I suddenly remembered by Friend and Fellow Blogger Priti from Indian Khana had posted a recipe of Papaya Muffins some time back. It sounded adventurous because I wasn’t sure if Papayas in muffins will taste good. But I trust Priti and her cooking. I went ahead and wola! No body could tell the muffins had papaya. It tasted great. I shared with teachers and staff in the school, they all loved it.

What a happy ending to Mr. Papaya. After trying them out I agree with what Priti says about these muffins, you do not smell papaya at all. The lemon zest covers it so well and tastefully. This recipe is going to take a permanent place in my kitchen. Thanks to Priti for this incredible idea and recipe. This one is for you dear friend 🙂

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes on 180 degree C (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions). Line a muffin tray with muffin cups or liners. Set aside.

2. Peel and cut the papaya in cubes. Put them in a blender and make a smooth puree. Keep aside.

3. Coarsely grind some flax seeds in a coffee or dry grinder and transfer it in a small bowl.

4. Add 4 table spoon of water in the flax powder and let it rest for ten minutes of until needed.

5. In a large bowl sieve All purpose Flour, Baking powder and Baking Soda.

6. Also add salt and cinnamon powder. Sieve the dry ingredients and throw the lumps away.

7. In the meanwhile Pour Papaya Puree in an other bowl and add sugar to it. I used brown sugar you can use white if you please or mix of both. Whisk it together until sugar melts.

8. In the same bowl add oil and flax seed mix. Combine using the whisk.

9. Add lemon zest, just the yellow green portion. mix well.

10. Mix dry and wet ingredients little by little and keep folding using a spatula. You should not beat hard just gently till the flour is all wet and moistened.

11. Add chocolate chips and fold gently. Leave a few for the topping.

12. Using an ice cream scooper put the batter in the muffin cups. Fill them only 3/4 of the cup. Leave room for it to rise.

13. Sprinkle some choco chips on top and bake it in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on them after 15 minutes. The cooking time can vary with ingredients and oven temperature. Keep checking by inserting a tooth pick, if it comes out clean its ready.

14. After baking let them rest on a wire rack for fifteen minutes or till they become cool. Enjoy with your favourite cup or Coffee or Tea.

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Baking

Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Bread with Melon Seeds

By anshu April 7, 2015

Every once in a while we have dying, over ripe bananas and do not know what to do with them. The easiest is to throw them away but that would not be wise thing to do. These overripe bananas get sweeter as they age and become more nutritious. I combined them with whole wheat flour and hand husked melon seeds. It made a divine, delicious bread.

I made them two weeks back when my in laws and parents visited us in the hills. Since they are vegetarians I had to make this bread without eggs. Inspite of no eggs the bread came out super moist because it had these delicious over ripe bananas.

Directions:

1. Peel bananas and cut them into slices.

3. Add sugar and mash them using a potato masher or you can even use a fork.

4. The bananas should be well mashed leaving no chunks of bananas. It should be of pourable consistency.

5. Add oil and give it a good mix with spatula.

6. Add cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder for a little spiciness and aroma.

7. Add vanilla extract.

8. Add baking powder and baking soda and combine everything evenly.

9. Sift whole wheat flour using a wired mesh or sieve and add little by little. Combine till everything is moist.

10. Add melon seeds and fold gently using a spatula.

11. Brush a bread pan with oil or butter and dust with some flour. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven Temperatures and Conversions).

12. Pour the batter into the pan and gently level from top.

13. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes in medium rack until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

14. Cool it completely before slicing it . Serve with your favourite cup of tea or coffee.

You can even try Apple Raisins Streusel Bread, Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread and Dominos Style Garlic Breadsticks,

[whohit]BananaBreadWithMelon[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’115′]

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Baking

Vegan Eggless Chocolate Muffins

By anshu February 6, 2015

There are many who say they cant bake. After numerous failed attempts they have given up on baking. This recipe is for those who have lost all faith in baking and for those who want to debut in baking muffins. Do not worry this is the basic recipe to make that perfect moist cake without the use of eggs. What can be more perfect than baking these moist chocolate muffins for your Valentine this Valentine’s Day.

Directions:

1. Line the Muffin Tray with Muffin Liners and Preheat the Oven to 180 Degree Celsius for ten minutes. (Learn more about Oven Temperatures and Conversions).

2. In a bowl add All Purpose Flour and Sugar.

3. Add Baking Soda and Cocoa Powder.

4. Give it a gentle whisk to combine. Set aside.

5. In an another bowl add warm water and vegetable oil.

6. Add Vanilla Extract and White Distilled Vinegar.

7. Mix dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

8. Whisk together till everything moistens and the batter is lump free. Do not over mix.

9. Using a spoon fill 2/3 of the muffin cup with batter.

10. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.Let them cool down before you dig in. You can ice it, glaze it or eat just like that.

You can try Other Cake recipes like Surprise Heart inside Cake, Pumpkin Cake Rolls, Persimmon Rum Cake and Apple Raisins Streusel Bread.

[whohit]EgglessChocolateMuffins[/whohit]

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Baking

Spiced Raisin Coffee Cake | Raisin Cake with Walnut Streusel Topping

By anshu November 15, 2013

I always say baking is so therapeutic . I love to bake whenever I am low or I am happy or I have nothing else to do. I always wanted to learn baking but there was no one in my family who had prior experience in baking. So I started searching internet and after a lot of hit and trials I can say I can bake a perfect cake once in a while 😛 Sharing this recipe of Spiced Raisin Coffee Cake with you which surprisingly came out so well.

Update: Last I had made this Spiced Raisin Coffee cake when I had just started blogging. I hadn’t posted step by step pictures of the recipe but since then the taste of the cake and this thought had been haunting me. Yesterday when I had some family people visiting us I took the opportunity to bake this for dessert. It certainly was loved. The flavour of Pumpkin Pie Spice, lemon zest and vanilla made everything very aromatic and divine. The texture of the cake was absolutely gorgeous and the credit goes to inclusion of organic eggs from Eggee. They are the best quality eggs I have come across. If you like in Delhi, NCR get yourself a pack and try them out!

Directions :

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, (Know more about Oven Temperature and Conversions) grease a 8 inches Springform with non stick cooking spray. You can buy this spring foam pan from our online store The Gourmet Shop.

2. In a large bowl, add All Purpose Flour, Baking Powder and Pumpkin Pie Spice. You can make your own pumpkin pie spice. Get the recipe here. Mix everything and set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix raisins with about ½ cup of the dry ingredients and toss well until all the raisins are covered in the flour mixture, set aside.

4. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for about 1 minute.

5. Whisk in eggs, vanilla and lemon zest

6.Add milk and buttermilk and mix everything until it’s a nice smooth batter. You can make Buttermilk at home. Just follow this simple recipe.

7. Add the dry ingredients and mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened but not over mixed.

8. Fold the raisins mixture in the batter, pour batter into the prepared pan making sure to smoothen out the top.

9.In a small bowl, mix add castor sugar and brown sugar. Add chopped walnut and cinnamon powder .

10. Also add cold butter cubes and mix it with your fingers or a fork until its has sand like texture.

11. Spread it evenly over the cake and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

12.Let cool for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Other Naked Coffee Cakes you can try are: Eggless Black Grape Cake with Strawberry Jam Glaze, Festive Orange Blueberry Pound Cake , Peach Upside Down Cake, Vanilla & Pomegranate Cake, Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake , Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze ,Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake, Eggless Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling , Surprise Heart Inside Cake, Eggless Almond Vanilla Cake.

Spiced Raisin Coffee Cake

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