YeastyTasty – The Secret Ingredient

Air Fryer Recipes

Sausage Pigs in a Blanket with Pizza Dough | Pigs in a Blanket, Easy 2-Ingredient Recipe

By anshu May 22, 2017

So I have this constant itch to play with pizza dough or bread dough. Its like playing with clay and moulding it into different shapes to create something mesmerizing. Last time when I was getting adventurous I ended up making Soft Pretzels. My son and husband both loved them. This time I had some friends coming over for drinks and I wanted to make something quick and yet something they will remember for a long time. I had some cocktail sausages in my freezer which came in handy. I made the dough and simply rolled it over all those thawed sausages. This is actually not even a recipe… I’ll call it a no brainer! But yes it gives you ideas the possible ways we can use this forgiving pizza dough.

This is a healthier twist over traditional Pigs in a Blanket recipe which uses pastry dough which is laden with lots and lots of butter. Once you have your dough ready you can roll them on your sausages and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds and bake in oven till they get that golden sheen.

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. Divide the dough into 6 or 12 equal parts using a scraper. I have used half of this dough to make my regular White Sandwich Bread and the other half for these pigs in the blanket. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven Temperatures and Conversions)

10. Roll each dough bite into a rope.

11. Roll this role around the sausage like a serpent.

12. Repeat the same with rest of the sausages and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or Silicon mat. You can buy both of them at our online store, The Gourmet Shop.

13. Brush them with an egg wash. You can use egg whites with little water and whisk them together . sprinkle with Sesame seeds.

14. Bake it in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes of until it gets golden brown in colour. Serve hot with some Schezuan Sauce or even sweet Red Chilli Sauce.

[whohit]PiginBlanket[/whohit]

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Baking

Soft Pretzels | Crunchy Pretzels with Soft Centres with Cheesy Chives Dip

By anshu May 12, 2017

Making these Soft Pretzels on my bucket list for such a long time. I had seen this recipe of my Guru Laura Vitale ages back and I wanted to give it a try. So I was doing my weekly bread baking and made some extra dough which I could utilize for making soft pretzels for tea time. They were fairy easy and the out come was just mind blowing. They where crunchy on the outside but soft and gooey from the inside. If you are looking for snacking options to impress your guests your search ends here. Its the best snack ever. My kiddo tried them and says Mumma they are strange but quite nice! What else would you like to hear from your 5 year old sunshine.

I am making this soft pretzels which is different than those hard baked ones. This is to be consumed right after they are baked. However, the hard ones have a longer shelf life.

I did a quick cheese dip to go along these soft pretzels. It was easier and tastier than your imagination. I mean posting a separate recipe of this recipe is pure crime. So I’ll be writing in this post only.

I have also been thinking to do a post where I can make a collective of recipes which can be made just with your pizza or bread dough. How cool would that be na? Write to me if you think I should go ahead with that!

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. Divide the dough into 12 parts depending on the size of pretzel you are looking for. I divided the dough into two parts and with one I made my regular White Sandwich Bread and the rest I further divided into six. Cover them with a lint free kitchen towel till you work on them one by one.

10. Take one lump of dough and roll it into a thin stick or rope using your finger tips. You can dust your counter with flour so that nothing sticks to the surface. It should be relatively uniformly thick all over.

11. Place it on the counter and make a U shape. Take both end of the U and cross them in the center. Refer the images below. Repeat the same with rest of the dough.

12. Line a baking tray with Parchment paper and place them on it. Cover them with kitchen towel till you give them soda water bath.

13. In a flat bottom pan add some water and give it a boil. Add Baking Soda and let it come for a boil again.

14. As soon as the water comes to a boil, drown pretzel dough into the soda water and give it a bath for 30 seconds each. You can do two pretzels at a time. This Soda bath will give it that crusty exterior and soft center.

15. With a pair of tongs you can carefully remove the pretzel from the pan and place it back on the parchment paper. The quality of parchment is very important because a bad quality parchment will stick to the pretzel and will make everything messy. I use Oddy Uniwraps . It just doesn’t let anything stick on it while baking. You can buy this from our online store, The Gourmet Shop.

16. Add little water in the egg and whisk it well. Apply egg wash with a silicon brush.

17. Sprinkle the top with coarse pieces of sea salt or himalayan salt.

18. Bake it in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until it turns dark brown in colour. For the dip take cheddar cheese in a microwave proof bowl add some milk and microwave it for a few minutes until it has melted. You can add chopped chives for additional flavour.

19. Serve these pretzels hot with these yummy Cheesy dip and you will be in heaven! You can thank me later 😉

Other Bread Recipes you can try are:Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Pan De Muerto, Peter Reinhart’s Potato Rosemary Bread, Italian Focaccia Bread with Strawberries, Pumpkin Buns, Stuffed Mushroom Cheesy Crack Bread, Stuffed Mushroom and Spinach Braided Bread, White Sandwich Bread, Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipe, Strawberry Walnut Babka.

[whohit]SoftPretzels[/whohit]

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Baking

Italian Focaccia Bread with Strawberries | Strawberry Focaccia with Maple Caramelized Onions, Basil and Rosemary

By anshu April 4, 2016

StrawberryFoccacia_Featured1

My steal from Delhi were a few boxes of Strawberry, I utilized half of them to make my ultra delicious 3 ingredient Strawberry Jam and a few strawberries for Strawberry Cookies. I was left with handful strawberries so decided to do this Strawberry Topped Focaccia Bread. The topping also had some caramelized onions slowly cooked with Maple syrup and Balsamic Vinegar. I know I know you are drooling. But this is not over yet. It also had rosemary and Fresh Basil for that additional kick.

StrawberryFoccacia_Featured4

The baking time was the toughest time.. you know the wait was difficult. The entire house was intoxicated with the divine aroma of bread combined with rosemary and basil. When the bread cake out we pounced on it like hunger stricken kids and finished it in no time.

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 and Whole wheat 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. Grease a baking tray or pan with some olive oil.

10. Place the dough on the oiled pan and spread it with your finger tips. Make indents with your fingers so that it can trap olive oil.

11. Place on top sliced Strawberries and cover it with cling wrap to rise. It should take about 20-30 minutes, depending upon the weather.

12. When the dough rises, that’s how it will look. In the meanwhile Preheat your oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions).

13. Pour more Olive oil on top and also sprinkle some rosemary.

14. In order to caramelize onion add little oil in a pan and add sliced onions.

15. Let it caramelize for 15-17 minutes until it turns dark brown in colour. To this add Balsamic Vinegar and Maple Syrup. Keep cooking till the liquid has evaporated.

16. Once the caramelized onions have cooled down. Sprinkle them on the bread along with thinly sliced fresh Basil. Also sprinkle some sea salt on this. Bake it in a preheated oven on 180 degree Celsius for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown in colour.

17. Serve hot with more Balsamic Vinegar.

Other Foccacia Bread you can try here are: Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread and Focaccia Bread with Fresh Cherries, Rosemary and Sea Salt.

Other bread recipes you can try : Vegetarian homemade Pizza, Russian Bublici, Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Chinese Black Sesame Steamed Buns, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Beetroot Bread with Garlic and Thyme, Honey Oats Bread, Domino’s Garlic Breadsticks.

StrawberryFoccacia_Featured5

[whohit]StrawberryFocacciaBread[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’202′]

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Baking

Stuffed Mushroom and Spinach Braided Bread | Mushroom Spinach Stromboli

By anshu August 30, 2015

Ever since I have perfected the art of baking a simple sandwich bread I like to experiment with my bread dough. I love to braid it, stuff it and do all sorts of crazy things with it. It is not just fun but the experience is both pleasing and delicious . I had been eyeing this braided bread – Stromboli for a long time but the last time I had mushroom and spinach on hand I simply went ahead and baked this beauty.

As I said you can do anything with your bread so you can choose any stuffing of your choice. You can braid it or shape it like a Bread Loaf with inside layering, just as I did it with Cinnamon Raisins Bread. Its your Bread you are the master. Simply give it a pinch of love and loads of patience and you will have a beautiful bread making experience.

For this recipe I have used the bread dough for White Sandwich Bread. Its extremely light and has a beautiful texture. If you like you can substitute Half all purpose flour with whole wheat flour to make it more healthy.

Directions:

1. For the dough, take some lukewarm water in a vessel. 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. Chop some spring onions along with their greens and Garlic and set aside.

10. In a pan heat some butter and olive oil.

11. Add garlic and onions and saute them till they are soft and translucent.

12. Add Red chili Flakes and saute.

13. Add sliced Mushrooms and chopped spinach. Saute the mushrooms till it releases its water and cooks.

14. Season it will salt, freshly ground black pepper and dried oregano.

15. Add whisked cream cheese to the mushroom spinach mixture and combine. Turn the flame off and let the mixture come on room temperature.

16. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Work on each dough one by one.

17. Roll the dough with a roller pin into a rectangular circle. Place the rolled dough in a baking tray lined with aluminium paper or parchment paper. I did it after braiding and it was difficult to transfer at that stage. Don’t commit the mistake I did 🙂

18. Place half of the mushroom cheese filling in the centre. Leave out place to braid the bread. Take a sharp knife and make inclined cuts about 1 inch wide on either sides of the filling. Ensure there are equal number of cuts on both sides.

19. In order to braid the bread, take one strip and cross it over the filling and press it on the other side. Alternatively take the adjacent strip and cross it over the previous one and press on the other side. Keep doing this until your full bread is braided. Cover the bread with a lint free towel and let it rest for 20 minutes or so on room temperature. It will rise the bread.

20. Brush the braided bread with Egg wash or Milk. Sprinkle the top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds or you can completely leave it out.

21. Bake it in a preheated oven on 180 degree Celcius for 25 minutes or until the crust is golden. Let the bread cool down completely on a wire rack and then slice and serve.

Other Bread recipe you can try on The Secret Ingredient: White Sandwich Bread, 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, No Knead Light Wheat Bread.

[yumprint-recipe id=’163′]Sending this Bread to YeastSpotting

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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]

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Baking

No Knead Light Wheat Bread

By anshu July 11, 2015

My obsession for baking breads continues. I feel its a short life and so many breads to bake 😉 yeah clearly I have lost it. Last I shared my White Sandwich Bread recipe with you. In my article “Basic Steps to bake a Perfect Bread Loaf” I have mentioned how important it is to knead a bread dough properly for the soft and fluffy bread crumb. But here is an exception.

It doesn’t mean that you cannot bake a bread without kneading. Here is why I say this. This method uses no kneading and still the gluten is developed by the process of slow fermentation or proofing which happens overnight in the fridge. If you don’t understand all this, don’t worry. Simply follow the recipe and let science do its own thing 🙂 This recipe is great if you cant bake right away. The dough proofs up overnight and complex and interesting flavours are developed. This is a fine example of bread which uses less yeast and more time.

Directions:

1. In a bowl add All Purpose Flour and Whole Wheat Flour.

2. Add to the bowl sugar and salt and combine with the flour.

3. Add yeast and combine.

4. Pour oil and water on top.

5. Whisk is together using a whisk or mix using a wooden spoon. Do not knead just mix.

6. Take some oil in your palm and spread on the surface of it. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let it rest.

7. After 12 to 18 hours the dough should have proofed up and doubled in size. At this stage grease a 10×5 bread loaf pan or tin.

8. Stir the dough together gently and you start on one side, push your wet hand under the dough and pull up the dough all the way to fold over the top.

9. Now fold the dough in half, lift it out of the mixing bowl and place it in the loaf pan seam side down.

10. Make the surface levelled and smooth by applying some oil in your hands .

11. Sprinkle some dry flour on top.

12. Make three slashes or cuts using a sharp knife which is known as scoring the bread.

13. Cover the baking pan with a lint free kitchen towel or loosely with plastic cling wrap and let it rise for couple of hours somewhere between 1 to 2 and 1/2 hours depending upon the weather conditions, until it is barely above the tin pan.

14. Bake it in a preheated oven on 190 degree Celsius for 50-60 minutes in the centre rack of your oven. If at any stage you feel the bread is browning too fast tent it with an aluminium foil and continue to bake.

15. Let it cool down completely before slicing. You can place it on a wire rack to cool down. This will help with air circulation and will not make the crust soggy.

16. Slice it and smear some butter or jam or chutney on top. Enjoy this indulging home made bread.

Other Bread recipe you can try on The Secret Ingredient: White Sandwich Bread, 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]No Knead Bread[/whohit]

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Baking

White Sandwich Bread

By anshu July 9, 2015

Its been more than a year that I have bought a store made commercial bread. Its my husband who loves home made breads and detests those commercial ones. This started when I perfected the art of making this gorgeous bread. I have posted so many bread recipes before, but I wonder why I didn’t post my regular white bread recipe. Anyways better late than never.
I recently posted an article about yeast ” All you ever wanted to know about yeast“. Often I found people asking me why their yeast would not proof. This article talks about basics of yeast. I am sure you will get a good insight into it.

This is the most moist soft bread I have ever baked. Its my go to recipe for all types of sandwiches. Most of the time I dunk a slice in my Chai and eat! Dont Judge me 😛

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. Grease your bread pan with oil and dust with some flour.

10. Roll the dough into a circle using a roller pin.

11. Take one end and roll it together . Fold in the sides and pinch the seam.

12. Place the rolled dough in the baking pan with seem side down.

13. Cover the dough loosely with a towel or cling wrap and let it rest again for 30 minutes till it rises again. Pre heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes.

14. If you wish you can score the bread with a sharp knife.

15. Brush the top gently with glaze.

16. Sprinkle the top with flax seeds or seeds of your choice.

17. Bake it in the centre rack of your preheated oven for 35-40 minute. Change sides half way for even cooking. If you feel your bread is browning too fast tent it with aluminium foil and continue to bake.

Other bread recipes you can try : 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]WhiteBread[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’146′]

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Breads

黑芝麻奶黄包 | Chinese Steamed Black Sesame Custard Buns | Black Sesame Nai Huang Bao

By anshu June 28, 2015

I am part of a prestigious cooking Group on Facebook by the name “Spatula Force” where the members challenge each other with a particular theme for the month. Last month it was Italian hosted by me where in I made Risotto ai Funghi for the event. This month was much more challenging as the theme was Authentic Chinese, which means no Indo Chinese short cuts. It was quiet a herculean task to find a recipe which was doable as the ingredients used in Authentic Chinese Cuisine could be difficult to find at such a short notice. Also I wanted to try a dish which I had tasted before, so that I know if it tastes the same or has the same texture and look. After a lot of search on google I finally found a recipe which excited me. I was fortunate to find Steamed Black Sesame Custard Buns by Away Of Mind Bakery House. I have had steamed Buns or Chinese Baos (as they call in Chinese) in Mexico at a Chinese Buffet Restaurant.

Traditionally these bao are sweet in taste and have a tender pork filling. But over a period of time a lot of filling variation has come up. You can stuff it with Red Bean paste, custard with Sweet Corns and many many more. You could simply make these with plain All purpose Flour or even add different flavours to the dough. I added Black Sesame Powder to the flour to make it blackish grey with bright yellow custard filling. They were soft and mildly sweet just the way I like it 🙂

Directions:
1. For the filling Take Custard Powder in a bowl.

2. Add icing sugar and Dry Milk powder to the bowl.

3. Add coconut milk.

4. Break in the eggs.

5. Also add Evaporated milk.

6. Whisk it to make a lump free mixture.

7. Oops! I forgot to add Melted butter. I am doing it now and whisking.

8. Grease a plate or container which you can keep for steaming. I am using a dhokla stand.

9. Sieve and pour the mixture in the vessels. You dont want any lumps.

10. My mixture fitted in two plates of dhokla.

11. Preheat the steamer with water till water starts bubbling.

12. Carefully place the stand and close the lid to steam for 12-15 minutes.

13. Take the plates off the steamer and spoon up the custard thoroughly and try to mash with the back of spoon.

14. After it has come to room temperature and little easy to handle. Take a handful in your fist and squeeze it together to form a sort of ball. It will not be easy for it to make it into a ball but as much as you squeeze it will come together. Your filling is ready keep it in the refrigerator if not using at that time.

15. For the dough grind black sesame seeds into a powder. Add the sesame powder to the All Purpose Flour in a bowl.

16. Add instant or dry active yeast in lukewarm water and gently stir.

17. Add sugar to it ans let it activate.

18. Add vegetable Shortening* to the flour along with yeast water and knead into a soft supple dough.

19. Cover the dough with cling wrap and let it rise for 45 minutes or so till it has doubled up.

20. Divide the dough into 18-20 parts and roll into a ball.

21. Take each ball and roll it into a thin disk and place one ball of custard in its centre. Close from all the ends and give it a bun shape. Place it on a greased baking sheet seem side down to rest for another 15-20 minutes. Steam them in the steamer by placing a sieve or spotted plate for them to cook in steam. You may like to grease the plate well for the buns can stick to the plate or cook with the wax paper. Steam for 10-12 minutes. Keep a 2 inch distance between bunds for they will rise on steaming.Close the lid.

22. Bring them to room temperature and enjoy your favourite buns or baos. Let them be on room temperature in a box for a day or two. You can always freeze them and re steam them to use.

Chinese Baos

You can also try Russian Boiled Buns Bubliki or Vegetable Steamed Momos.

[whohit]CustardBaos[/whohit]

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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

Cinnamon Raisins Bread

By anshu April 4, 2015

Its such a proud feeling for me when I say this is the best bread I have baked till date. Its so soft and moist, has a perfect crust and a tender crumb. The thing which makes it so amazing is the inside layering with Cinnamon Sugar and Raisins. While I was baking the fragrance of this bread took me back in Mexico’s LeCaroz Panaderia or Bakery. I cant stop talking about this bread. You have to try to believe me .

You know what!! I just went back in kitchen to grab myself a slice of this bread. I was literally salivating writing description of this moist cinnamony bread.

I baked this bread before in Mexico for the first time and at that time I was a new baker. Ever since then I have matured and improved my skills. Today looking at this bread has made me realise that my patience and hard work has paid off. Behind this success story are numerous unsuccessful trials but I thank them which made me learn more.

Directions:

1. In a Small bowl or measuring jar take lukewarm water. It should not be very hot and neither cold. The test is you should be able to insert your finger comfortably without burning. Add melted vegetable shortening into it. See notes to know more about Vegetable Shortening.

2. Add yeast. You can use either instant yeast or dry active yeast. Both will work just fine. I am using instant yeast for this bread.

3. Add sugar to the lukewarm water. And let it rest for 5-8 minutes so that the yeast activates.

4. The water will turn milky and frothy. This is a sign of yeast activation. If it doesn’t turn milky and frothy you know there is something wrong with your yeast.

5. In a very large bowl add All purpose Flour.

6. Add to it salt and Milk Powder.

7. Break in an egg.

8. Add the yeasty water to the dry mixture little by little and knead using your hand.

9. When the entire dough comes together take it on a slightly floured counter top and knead rigorously. I prefer to do it in the bowl itself. The dough should become soft and supple. You can sprinkle little dry flour to make it non sticky.

10. Form a dough ball and place it in a greased large bowl. Also sprinkle the dough with some oil so that it doesn’t turn dry from top. Cover with a cling wrap or lint free kitchen towel or even a lid.

11, Keep it in a warm dry place for atleast an hour and a half or even two. The proofing depends on the temperature of the place. It proofed soo well for me.

12. Punch it down using your fists and knead again for another five minutes before we roll it into a bread. Bring it on a slightly floured counter.

13. Grease a 9×10 bread load with some butter or oil and set aside.

14. Using a roller pin roll it into a rectangle which should be 10 inches wide and 20 inches in length .

15. Smear the surface with butter.

16. Make a mix of Cinnamon Powder and Sugar. You can use any sugar powder, I used raw brown sugar. Sprinkle it over the butter.

17. Also spread out raisins.

18. Now start rolling it from one end. Preferably the shortest in the far end. Make sure you roll them as tightly as possible.

19. After it has rolled, pinch the seam to lock it.

20. Fold the sides in and pinch again to seal it.

21. Place it in the greased bread pan, seam side down.

22. Cover with a lint free kitchen towel and let it proof for the second time. This should take another hour or so. Keep it in a dry warm place.

23. After it has risen, brush it with egg wash. Be gentle do not deflate the bread. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes on 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions).

T

24. Place it in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes. Changing sides in half time. If the top of the bread starts getting too dark too quickly cover it with Aluminium Foil.

25. Let the bread cool down completely before slicing it, otherwise the bread with crumble. Serve with your favourite cup of coffee.

Other bread recipes you can try are: Italian Focaccia Bread with Strawberries , Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread, Garlic Cheesy Bread, Dominos Style Garlic Bread Sticks, Honey Oats Bread, Cinnamon Raisins Bread. Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Beetroot Bread.

Sending this to YeastSpotting

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