SPICY BUN ROLL

Hi SUPERMOMS,

I never knew that baking breads would be so much fun! It is my newly discovered hobby and I am just loving it. Infact it has a hypnotic effect on me.....That feeling of taming the YEAST BEAST....yaay!

Ok...Experts like Chitra Vishwanathan, Aparna Balasubramanian,Subhasini Ramsingh just inspire me. This roll was created by me when I was making a persian bun called KOMAJ,it is a sweet bun filled with dates and cardamom. ( recipe courtesy: My diverse Kitchen). Just tweaked the recipe and made the  savoury filling....and it was so flavourful and yummie!!!!!

I shall share the recipe of THE SWEET VERSION TOO. The thing that attracted me to this bun is the  flavour of cumin and turmeric in the bread.

I can go on and on about this bread...but now over to the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE DOUGH:

1 tsp instant yeast(you can use dry active yeast also)

1/8 cup warm water(you can avoid this if you are using instant yeast like me)

3 3/4 culs maida or all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt

2/3 cups warm milk

1 egg(Optional, I omitted it)

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

FOR FILLING:

Finely chopped bell peppers(all colours), chopped green chillies 

Pizza pasta sauce

Seasoning (oregano,chilli flakes,mixed Italian herbs)

1st PROVE TIME: 1 hour

2nd PROVE TIME: 1 hour

Shape and prove time:  20 minutes

Now , lets get working!

STEP 1: In a large bowl, take the required amount of flour and add all the dry ingredients required for making the dough including the yeast.WARM the milk before pouring into the flour. It should not be too hot or just warm as too hot would kill the yeast and just warm will not activate the yeast.*LUKEWARM

*LUKEWARM LIQUID

A good way to check the temperature is to dip your finger into the liquid and count upto 5. If you can bear the heat at the max at the count of 5 , then you are good to go.

If you are able to comfortably dip your hand then you need to heat it a little more.

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP in making any bread....trust me. Once you activate the yeast, the other steps are like breeze.

In case you are using DRY ACTIVE YEAST, then take a glass. Add the required amount of yeast with a tsp of sugar and a tsp of flour and pour the *LUKEWARM WATER. Close it and keep it untouched for 10 minutes. On opening you will see the frothing of yeast.

IF YOU DO NOT SEE FROTHING.....DON'T HESITATE...JUST THROW THIS AND START FRESH AGAIN!

STEP 2:

Mix the Lukewarm milk with flour . You will see that it is turning to a sticky dough. Dust your hands with little dough and start kneading the dough. It is a good idea to transfer the dough to a vegetable chopping board . Dust the board with flour and start kneading.

A good way to knead the dough is to stretch it ,fold it inside and press. Continue this till you get a silky smooth texture. 

We really need to knead well to get soft bread. So kneading for atleast 10 to 15 minutes is a must.

Don't be scared, it is so much fun and theraupeutic!! Just switch on the music ,humming your way to making soft rolls.

If you have a bread machine, then you can knead the dough easier and quicker. But, kneading by hand is fun !!!! A great workout!!

STEP 3:

Once you get a soft dough, grease a bowl fully,place the dough as shown in the picture and cover it with a damp cloth or a cling wrap .

STEP 4:

Keep it in a warm dry place and allow it to rise for an hour  or till the time the dough doubles( should have doubled maximum by 1 1/2 hours).

STEP 5:

After an hour, the dough would have risen. Punch down the dough, releasing the air trapped. Gently knead for two minutes and place it in a greased bowl after covering it for the second proof. I transferred it to a glass bowl.

VIOLA!!

Wow! Look at this...it will look like this.

STEP 6:

Now punch the dough and  roll the dough to make a large rectangle. Spread the pizza saucehttp://masterchefmom.blogspot.com/2014/12/pizza-pasta-sauce.html on top nd sprinkle the veggies and also sprinkle the seasoning.

Roll it from one side tighly, just the way we roll for making the PINWHEEL COOKIES.

Pinch the end to binf the roll together.

Using a sharp knife cut 5 to 7 cms cylinders. 

STEP 7:

Grease a baking pan and place the cut sides facing up.

STEP 8:

Cover this with a cling wrap or damp cloth and rest it for 20 minutes. The dough would have risen up.

NOTE that most of the rising happens during the proof time itself. While baking, the dough only gets cooked! 

  Preheat the oven  and bake the rolls at 200 degrees 12- 15 minutes or till the time the top browns and you hear a hollow sound when you tap the baking tray.

I also made some stuffed buns....

Bast it with butter after  you remove from the oven. this makes the bread even soft.Cool it in a cooling rack... Ofcourse you can gulp them HOT!!!!

They were totally irresistable and polished off in seconds!!! Completly worth the effort!

As I photo graph myself, could'nt click pictures of dough mixing...will post them with some help and add it here!!!

If you are baking bread the first time, then, I suggest you try making simple rolls to start with. Once you understand YEAST, it gets easier and easier!!!

Have fun SUPERMOMS,

HAPPY BAKING!!!

With love,

MASTERCHEFMOM