Optional: Substitute wheat flour, but pulverize it in a food processor
STEP BY STEP
Combine flour and salt
Mix butter into flour
Drizzle water only until large crumbles begin to form
Add water 1 tsp at a time until a ball STARTS to form
If you add too much water, the dough will be sticky
Ball should NOT be sticky. If it is, add more flour.
Cut the dough ball into eight pieces and roll into balls
Flatten balls with hands
Using a small lightly oiled tortilla press, or parchment paper circles
Squeeze till flatter
Heat 1/4 C canola oil to about 360º – 400º
Carefully slide disks into oil and cook until browned
Set aside on newspaper topped with a paper towel, blotting top with paper towel
Serve hot as a side, with an egg on top, or make a breakfast sandwich
ALTERNATE PREPARATION STARTING WITH STEP 8
Squeeze in tortilla press, then spray lightly with canola and put TWO disks together, the press again.
You will NOT be frying these, but rather heating them in a dry pan.
Carefully put the combined disks on a hot dry skillet and cook each face 20-30 seconds
Flip and carefully remove one disk from the other
Cook the “insides” that are now free from each other
It’s the most crucial element and can make or break your loaf. In India, the two most common types of flour are atta that is used to make chappatis and the all-purpose flour or maida which is mostly used in baking or seen in store-brought breads, cakes etc. I tried the recipes which asked me to use whole wheat flour but it didn’t work for a number of reasons which I’ll come back to later.
And so, I decided to go in for a basic white bread.
When it comes to picking the right flour, Chef Vinesh Johny, baker and owner of Lavonne, Bangalore says, “You need to find the kind that’s got gluten content of about 14%. Anything less than that and your bread won’t bake well or hold structure.” I checked most of the maida packets but couldn’t find the quantity of gluten, but from initial research I figure it’s somewhere around 10% and so I also brought a packet of gluten from Modern Bazaar.
Don’t get confused with trying to find bread flour because all-purpose flour will do the trick and I say this because I cruised through both Modern Bazaar and Le Marche trying to find it myself. I didn’t want to try a recipe and buy ingredients that I wouldn’t want to buy again and so I decided to stick with all-purpose flour.
Yeast: This is an investment you’ll have to make. Modern Bazaar has a few options, they’re all imported but some of them are reasonable priced. I bought a Tesco box which has around 20 sachets of dry yeast and costs around Rs.300.
Things you want to set aside: Warm water, honey, salt, baking soda, sugar, eggs, olive oil and butter, salter and unsalted.
Methodology
I picked three recipes based on ease, expertise and popularity. The first recipe was the one which is most popular on YouTube and shows up every time you type in ‘how to make bread’. The second, was a classic French bread recipe for which I didn’t need special ingredients and the last one was Vinesh’s recipe who’s an exceptional baker.
Recipe #1 BakeLikeAPro
‘Bake Like a Pro’ is a YouTube channel with over a lakh subscribers and it’s all for good reasons. From cakes to biscuits to pasta dough, the channel has catalogued over 150 recipe videos and each one explains how to make a recipe, step-by-step. Bake Like a Pro has an excellent recipe for white bread for which you need a few basic ingredients like flour, butter, salt, sugar, milk and water.
You can watch the video here:
What works, what doesn’t:I had to try this recipe thrice to get it right but that was more my fault than the recipe’s. I couldn’t grasp how far the dough would rise and so I stuffed the baking tray with too much dough. But the one thing which was consistent every time I baked the bread was its taste. I’m not sure if it was the combination of milk and butter, but the loaf of bread had an extremely smooth and creamy taste.
After this recipe, I tried a number of other recipes and each and every one of them turned out to be a disaster which meant I needed to bring in an expert. I called up Chef Vinesh Johny (genius alert!) and here’s what he had to say: “Flour, yeast and water are the three basic ingredients you need to make bread. The rest of them are only for texture or flavour. Eggs and milk make it soft and creamy and sugar gives it a slightly sweet taste.”
Classic French bread recipes call for honey and are a tad sweet which is what makes this white bread different from the others. The ingredients you need for this recipe are water, honey, dry yeast, butter, maida and milk powder though I used milk instead.
What works, what doesn’t: I used two teaspoons of milk instead of milk powder but I should have used the same quantity. The bread tasted delicious but it was crumbly which I think had more to do with the quality of flour I used. So for the next attempt, I plan on adding a pinch of gluten to this recipe. The bread also took much longer to rise, because of the humidity maybe, so I had to leave it for almost 2 hours.
It did taste different than all the other batch of breads I tried and I’d bake it again but it’s not something I’d use for a ham sandwich. It’s the kind you eat with jam or plain butter.
You need a few basic ingredients for this recipe but the technique is what really stands out. So before you start, be careful to read it thoroughly. You need the basics: flour, yeast, salt, sugar, eggs and water.
What works, what doesn’t: The one thing I seriously struggled with here was converting grams to tablespoons. I’m an amateur cook, at best, and so 9 grams sugar is not something I’ve come face to face with before. But this gorgeous convertor I found online came to my rescue (click here). And I’m guessing it’s fairly accurate, because my recipe turned out beautifully.
The other thing I altered in the recipe was the shape. I just separated the dough into three separate rounds to get smaller buns. Since I’ve never baked bread before, the one thing I was confused most about was how much time should the dough rest but Vinesh advised me to let it rest till it doubles in size and not worry too much about the number of hours mentioned in the recipe.
The Verdict
I loved all the three recipes I picked but if I had to pick one, and this is purely based on ease of execution, then it would be the first one by BakeLikeAPro. It’s ridiculously easy and needs no more than a few hours. Plus, the bread lasts for good three days so you don’t need to run to the store before breakfast. It also tastes really good with a bit of butter and jam, it’s got this undertone of sweet and salt which is great too. And just so you can try it at home, I’ve penned down the recipe:
5-6 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
3Tbsp butter
2 packets of yeast (dry)
1 1/2 cups water
The only thing I added here is a pinch of gluten which you can if you like your bread a bit sturdy.
Method:
1. Heat the milk and add sugar, salt and butter. You can also you margarine if you want. Make sure the butter melts. If it hasn’t then microwave it a bit or over hot boiling water. You don’t want it boiling but it should be completely melt. Allow this mix to cool.
2. Heat up the water to about luke warm and add the yeast. Add a cup of flour and start stirring/mixing.
3. Add a second cup of flour and the butter mix you made in step 1. Stir again for a 9-10 minutes.
4. Add another cup of flour (3rd cup) and stir.
5. Add the next cup of flour and stir/knead for around 5-6 minutes. Add the 5th cup of flour and knead again. Keep kneading till it’s soft and doesn’t break but behaves more like clay. Add a bit more flour if required.
6. Pour some flour on your kitchen slab and start to knead the dough.
7. Oil a big pot. pan for the dough to go into. Cover with a towel and let it rise for around 35-40 minutes. Longer if it hasn’t risen.
8. Punch it down in the pot, take it out and knead it a little bit. Split it into two equal loaves.
9. Take two baking trays, oil them and put the dough in. The recipe asks for oil to be sprayed on top of the dough but i brushed some butter over them.
10. Cover them and let the dough rise for around an hour.
11. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees and bake till golden brown.
A microwave oven actually does a better job of preparing this than a stovetop. Microwave instructions are in bold italic letters.
2 level TBL Birds Custard Powder
1 TBL Granulated Sugar
1/2 pt (8 oz) milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
optional: 1 egg yolk
optional: 1/2 C cooked white rice
Mix custard powder with sugar
Mix 1-2 TBL cold milk and vanilla into custard powder
OPT: Add egg yolk to the mixture
Heat larger portion of milk to a simmer (about 90 seconds in microwave)
Temper hot milk into the custard mixture
– Pour hot milk into the colder slurry, stirring continually.
Add rice if making rice pudding or prickly pear syrup for a SW flavor
Return to pan and cook, stirring until thickened, or put into microwave for 11 second intervals. Start with 4 cycles. 5 might be necessary, expecially if preparing with rice.
Whisk in your raisins or 1/2 tsp flavoring syrup
Pour into serving bowl and let cool 5 minutes.
Step by Step Instructions from the label on the Box/Can
Whisk together, then bring to boil over medium heat
Simmer on low for about 4 minutes or until thickened
Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla and sieve into cups
Refrigerate at least an hour
What does Temper mean?
TEMPER BRINGS HOT AND COLD TOGETHER
Tempering is a way to mix hot and cold liquids and keep them from forming lumps. The most common thing where lumps can be prevented is gravy. We’ve all had lumpy gravy, but if the flour had been TEMPERED into the liquid, lumps would not have formed.
As far as eggs, that is another very common thing needing tempering. When you add a hot liquid to your eggs, or add your eggs to a hot liquid, you will generally end up with scrambled eggs. The goal is to combine the ingredients of two different temperatures.
Tempering is quite easy. It just takes you an extra minute of cooking time, but the results are worth it. In the case of Birds Custard Powder, if you just put the powder into the hot liquid lumps will form. If you dump the mixture into the hot liquid all at once lumps will form.
To temper the two together, pour the hot liquid into the colder liquid VERY VERY SLOWLY while whisking continually. You can speed up a little bit as you continue to pour, but never EVER stop whisking.
Once the liquids are combined, continue to cook until thickened. Not too quickly again because haste makes waste… and lumps will form.
I ate at Claim Jumper, here in Phoenix near I-17 and Loop 101, over 20 years ago. I remember their portions were HUGE. This time I ordered the Chicken Pot Pie. Yep… it was huge. And very tasty. I had left-overs, so I researched this recipe so that I could get the crust right.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup half and half
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cup shredded, roasted, skinless chicken breast VEGETABLES
1 onion – chopped
1 C cremini mushrooms
1/4 C frozen peas
1 carrot – julienne strips
2 stalks celery – strings removed, then sliced
2 cloves garlic – chopped OR
2 cup mixed frozen vegetables, thawed PLUS
2 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoon chopped chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (half of a 14.1 oz. pkg.) ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust
STEP BY STEP
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together half-and-half, broth, and flour.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently until mixture is thick – about four minutes.
Stir in chicken, vegetables, parsley, chives, thyme, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
Let simmer for 30 minutes
Cover and keep warm.
PASTRY CRUST
1 1/2 C AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg yolk
4 TBL cream cheese – cold pieces
8 TBL cold butter – cold pieces
1/4 C ice water
Put in everything except the water and pulse until crumbs form
Drizzle in water until it STARTS to come together
Cut evenly into four parts
Create a ball of each and refrigerate 30 minutes
Roll out pie crust into large circles NOTE: If you want a bottom crust as well as a top crust, double this recipe. I use only a top crust.ASSEMBLY
If you have a bottom crust, press that into the bottom of the ramekin and “blind bake” it for 10 minutes.
Divide pie filling among four 10-ounce ramekins.
Drape crusts over tops and fold edges down over rims.
Cut an X into center of each pie to vent.
Bake 25 minutes, until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.
This recipe was adapted from one posted at Genius Kitchen.
INGREDIENTS
1 level tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (100-105º F or 37-40º C)
3 TBL sugar
– PROOF ABOVE MIXTURE FOR 5 MINUTES
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 TBL softened butter
1 egg
3 cups bread flour – plus more 1 TBL at a time
2 tsp xanthan gum (keeps it from drying out)
1 teaspoon salt
If using whole wheat or AP flour, add 1 tsp gluten
STEP BY STEP
In a large (preferably glass) mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in water
Let proof for 5 minutes – If it does not proof, do not use it.
Put into Kitchen Aid
Add oil, the egg and 2 C of the flour
Stir enough to create a loose dough
Add the xanthan gum
Add salt and 1 C flour
Add more flour 1 TBL at a time until your dough ball is fairly soft.
Beat the dough with your Kitchen Aid for 5-10 minutes scraping from sides occasionally
Keeping a fairly soft dough, knead for 5 minutes more on a floured surface
DO NOT LET RISE
Divide into 12 pieces for slider buns, or 8 pieces for 1/4 pounder buns
Shape each piece into a ball
Coat your hands lightly with olive oil and rub each ball with olive oil
Place 3″ apart on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 425º
Let buns rise on stovetop (on top of a cookie cooling rack) for 25 minutes
Bake at 425º for 6 minutes
Rotate tray
Bake another 6 minutes and check to see if they have browned
If necessary, bake another 3 minutes
Remove from pans to wire rack to cool.
This recipe will make eight buns for 1/3-1/2 pound burgers, or twelve buns for smaller burgers and shredded BBQ sandwiches.
A few things that I will be trying with it:
SOUR DOUGH BREAD: Substitute in 1 C sour dough starter for 1 C flour at Step 4. The sour dough will inhibit the formation of mold, and I am hoping this will increase shelf-life.
ONE LOAF OF BREAD: Next, I will try making this into a small sandwich loaf. One medium loaf pan and two hamburger buns. For bread, start with the step after DO NOT LET RISE. For hamburger buns, continue with above recipe.
Roll in 1/4 C flour until you can get some of the cracks and folds out of the loaf. Smack it on the table occasionally, trying to force out any air bubbles.
Coat your hands lightly with oil, and wipe them on the outside of the dough ball.
Let dough rise in a greased loaf pan for 45 minutes
Cover with lightly oiled foil
Bake at 400º for 20 minutes
Remove foil, rotate and bake for another 10 minutes
Test internal temperature. If not yet (TARGET) 190º cover loaf and cook an additional few minutes
Remove and set on rack to cool
ENGLISH MUFFINS: Last, I am going to try to make a looser dough and create English Muffins. – with the following modified recipe:
Add 2 T non-fat powdered milk at Step 6
Replace Steps, beginning with 7, with these steps
Do not add the last cup of flour. You want an EXTREMELY wet dough.
Let rise in a GLASS bowl for 45 minutes
Put 1/2 C dough into each WELL-GREASED ring. No muffin rings? Use canning jar lids without the cap
Let dough rise for a full hour – more time = more bubbles
Gently lift muffin rings using a spatula, and slide onto preheated HOT skillet and cook for 7 minutes.
A stroopwafel (or StroopWaffle) is a waffle made from two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel syrup filling in the middle. Stroopwafels are popular in the Netherlands, and were first made in the city of Gouda.
The stiff dough for the waffles is made from flour, butter, brown sugar, yeast, milk, and eggs. Medium-sized dough balls are put into a heated waffle iron and pressed into the required uniformly thin, round shape. After the waffle has been baked, and while it is still warm, it is split into thin layered halves. The warm filling, made from syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon, is spread between the waffle halves, gluing them together.
WAFFLE
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/8 cups butter, melted
3/4 cup white sugar
2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm milk
1 egg
CARAMEL FILLING
1 1/2 cups molasses
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, melted butter, sugar, yeast, milk and egg.
When the dough becomes to stiff to stir, turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes.
Set aside to rise for 45 minutes.
To make the filling, heat the molasses, brown sugar, remaining butter and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium heat.
Stir to blend, and set aside.
Preheat a pizzelle iron (waffle iron)
Knead the dough briefly, and divide the dough into 2 inch balls, or a size compatible with your pizzelle iron pattern.
Press the balls in the preheated iron, and cook until the iron stops releasing steam, or until the waffles are golden brown.
Carefully remove with a knife or spatula, and split in half horizontally (like pocket bread) while they are still warm.
Don’t wait too long, otherwise they will break.
Spread filling on the insides, and put the halves back together, pressing gently.
This is a powder that I mix up and keep on hand. It is good for many things, but mainly French Toast. It used to be called French Toast Powder, so you may see it call that in other recipes.
This WILL NOT be a large sandwich, but is closer to the small ones you might remember from family or Scouting camping trips if you lived through the 60s and 70s.
INGREDIENTS
