Mumbai Style Ladi Pav

Thursday, May 21, 2020

I finally tried my hand at making Pav. It is pretty easy if you have the right recipe. After a couple of trials, I finally found a recipe that worked well for me. 

I make a mean Bhaji by my own admission & serving them with soft & fluffy homemade Pav has been an achievement unlocked of sorts.

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The Secret to making Soft Pavs is the addition of Baking Powder. Yes, it makes a difference 

Also, as stated by another blogger, Pav is Poor Man's bread so you don't really need to add milk to mix the dough or even Milk powder for that matter. But you can mix the dough with milk, if you wish to
Ladi Pav

Makes 12-14 Pavs

You Will Need:

  • 400 grams All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 cup Milk or Water
  • 3 Tablespoon Melted Butter
  • 2 Tablespoon Oil 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
For Activating the Yeast

  • 1 Packet Active Dry Yeast (7 Grams)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Sugar
  • 3 tablespoons Water
  • 3 tablespoons Milk
ACTIVATING THE YEAST

In a small sauce pan, slightly warm Water, Milk & sugar mixture. It should be just Lukewarm. Add yeast into it, cover & let it rest for 10 minutes for the yeast to become frothy. 

MIXING THE DOUGH

In a wide bowl, Add All Purpose Flour/Bread Flour, Salt, Oil mix well with yours hands. Add Milk or Water little by little & make a sticky dough

You Will be tempted to add a bit of flour but do not. Continue kneading with your hands for 15 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead for 6-8 minutes

Half way in between, add melted butter & continue kneading.

The dough would have turned very soft & smooth after all the kneading. 

PROOFING THE DOUGH - 1ST RISE

Coat it with a little bit of oil & place in a bowl & wrap with cling film & set aside for 1 hour to double in size

I placed the dough in the Instant Pot & set the Low Yogurt mode for 1 hour to enable fast proofing

By the end of 1 hour, the dough would have tripled in size. Knead again for 10 minutes to knock off all the air. The dough is now ready to be rolled into Pavs for a Second Rise

ROLL INTO PAVS FOR THE SECOND RISE

Divide the Dough into 12/14 equal sized balls. With the help on a little flour, roll the balls into smooth rounds such they there are no cracks on the surface (This requires a little practice, which I am yet to master) 

Grease a baking pan with oil. Place them on a baking pan keeping 1 inch gap between each of the balls. 

Cover with a damp kitchen towel & set  aside for one hour.

BAKING THE PAVS

Preheat the Oven to 400 F for 10 minutes. Plan the baking tray in the middle rack & bake for 12 minutes. The Pav would have turned slightly brown on top. To get a slightly more brown color on top, Broil on Low for 1 minute. 

Turn off the Oven & immediately brush with butter & allow it to cool  on the rack at least for an hour or more

Serve soft homemade Pav with Bhaji or Misal or even Paneer Bhurji 


Ladi Pav1

NOTE:

The Top portion of the Dough Balls should be really Smooth 

This ensures that the end product is really smooth. This ofcourse requires a bit of practice & patience & I am yet to get it right 

Broiling is Optional


Mumbai Pavs are not very brown on the top. Do Not be tempted to bake them longer if the tops are not brown enough

If you want to Broil, make sure it is on low & keep an eye on the Pavs. You may want to Broil only for 30 seconds if the tops are browning too fast. 

Choose The Right Kind of Pan for Baking


Choose a rectangular baking pan & place the dough balls with just 1 inch gap in between so that when the dough rises, they should stick to each other with  no gap in between them. This ensures that the Pav rises upwards & does not spread sideways & become flat. 

Baking Time Varies from one Oven to Another

Depending on the oven, you would require anywhere between 10-15 minutes to bake them but not more than that. Mine were baked at 12 minutes & I Broiled for an additional 1 minute 

Over baking results in harder Pavs 

Give It Time to Cool Down Completely

When the Pavs come out of the oven, the tops will be slightly crusty. Brush them with butter & allow them to cool down completely to allow the Pavs to soften. 

Also, remove the Pav from the baking dish & cool on a wire rack. Leaving them inside the baking dish will trap moisture & makes the bottom Soggy 

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