Classic White Pan Bread

When I was little, we did not have whole wheat bread, multi-grain bread or maybe we did , we were unaware and as far as we knew, everyone went in for the 'regular' kind of bread. It was white bread and Paav.

You either buy a loaf of Wibs or Britannia sliced bread and if you want  paav, you scoot down to the local bakery and buy a slab (called 'laadi') or even individual rolls.  Making bread at home was not even thought of and we did not have an oven. In fact, there was this bhaiyaji who would come to our home and those in the neighborhood on his cycle carrying bags full of fresh baked bread and new laid eggs. He would wrap the bread in newspaper and hand over what we wanted and I would hand over the money ( .25 paise for a paav) he would then jokingly ask me, "baida chahiye kya baby?" (baida meaning egg) and hold an egg in his hand and offer it to me, knowing fully well that we did not eat eggs and cackle when I would shudder!

I would slather the paav / bread slices with Amul butter and dip it in my tea or maybe I'd add a slosh of ketchup or jam and eat it, enjoying every soft bite. 

I never dreamed I'd make bread at home. Well, not successfully that is. Years ago, when I went to a cookery class, the instructor taught us bread, she made it look kinda easy.  By that time, we had purchased an oven at home and my cousin and I were VERY eager to try our hand at making bread. The whole thing is a bit of a blur, but I do remember this, they made excellent paper weights. 

I gave up on baking. At least for the time being. I was down, but not completely out.

I made a couple of attempts after that, with no success. Gave up, yet again.

Then I hit the jack pot......I read the recipe over and over for days, tempted yet I had not the courage. I then attempted and succeeded in making pizza. I had overcome my fear of yeast, in part. This gave me courage to try bread and boy! am I glad I did!!!

Just like the last time, I chewed my nails to zero when the bread was in the oven, this time around as well. But I should have believed. The result was a  perfect loaf! Yaaay! 

I could not keep still, I could hardly stand the wait,  I even 'fanned' the loaf with the oven mitt to cool it faster and sliced it. Look at the picture below and learn from my mistakes. Let the loaf cool. Completely.

Over excitement? Take a deep calming breath, count to 10 and then slice, if you do not do this, the knife shakes and cuts unevenly, see? No harm done to the loaf, just don't look very pretty.

I made this a couple of times and with equal success. My friends shared it with me and  gave me the thumbs up sign. I only wish my parents were here with me to enjoy it. 

Makes: Two - 8 1/2 x 4 1/2x 2 3/4 inch loaves

2 1/2 tsp ( 1 envelope) Active Dry Yeast

2 Cups warm  Water

5 - 5 1/2 Cups All Purpose flour (APF)

1 Tbs. Sugar

1Tbs. Salt

5 Tbs. Unsalted Butter or Vegetable Oil

Whisk the yeast into the warm water and set aside and prepare other ingredients

To mix dough by hand:  place 5 Cups APF, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir in yeast mix and melted butter

Continue to mix until the mix resembles a rough dough

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured  work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 mins. If the dough is too soft and sticky, add flour 1 tbs. at a time.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to oil all surfaces

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour

Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface (you may need a scraper). Deflate the dough and divide into 2.

To form a loaf, make sure the surface is free of any excess flour, then stretch the dough until it is approximately the length of the pan, then fold in the short ends, then fold in the far long edge over  tot he middle. Fold over the  other long side and  compress to form a tight cylinder 

Place the loaf in the pan, seam side down and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with second loaf and allow it to rise until double ( about 1 hour) 

When loaves are almost double, set a rack in the middle level of the oven and pre-heat to 400 deg. F

When the loaves have completely risen, place the pans in the oven and bake for 30 mins ot until golden brown and firm and internal temperature is 210 deg.

Unmold  the loaves to a cooling rack  to cool on side.

Cool completely and slice. Enjoy.

Pin It

Pizza at home! Conquering the 'yeastophobia'!

Does anyone remember (or have you been a part ) of the time when 'Pizza' was a very rare (if at all) treat? It was, when I was in my tweens.  We rarely ate pizza and never made at home, that is if you do not count buying Monginis base.

I would look at the small  ready to eat pizzas at the bakery and wonder why a sandwich, a round one at that, was left open and would *anyone* - *ever* want to buy something that looked so cold and (pardon me for saying this) ugly.

I don't remember the first time I ate pizza, but I do remember that I loved it! And then I was addicted, I could have eaten pizza everyday for every meal.

Pizza at home was a big affair, believe me, when I say this, not because of the effort involved- which was minimal, but because we were 'making pizza at home' the very idea and  a snack so 'foreign' in our totally Indian kitchen with it's usual, pohe, upma, idli-dosa and the likes.

We did not, for many years, have an oven ( does anyone remember these?) at home and  baking was out of the question, it was best left to Monginis and the like.

So, when we did make pizza, we hopped out to the nearest  Monginis or the grocery store and bought ready made pizza base the sauce and the cheese ( sometimes just cheese cubes, we did not really bother about mozzarella or cheddar or any type, indeed , I hardly knew about the different types! ) and used the good old 'tawa' to make and bake the pizza.

I used to help my Mother with the prep work and assembly and watch keenly, every nerve tingling in anticipation of the feast. I would gingerly lift the pizza  corner with a wooden spatula to check how evenly brown the base was getting and  wonder at the melting cheese. So different from what it is today, where one can walk into a pizza parlor and buy an entire pie or slice and not think twice or wonder and anticipate and enjoy every bite .

But over the years, I have grown weary of store bought pizza and have always wanted to re-create the magic at home, to once again feel the thrill I used to as a child. I wondered if I was capable of such enthusiasm now.

 

 For all those who have lately started reading this blog, I want to admit, I was afraid, *very* afraid of yeast and making breads. In my opinion, there was nothing as daunting as baking breads, for all the simple list of ingredients, I shied away from making pizza base at home, I would willingly walk a mile in tight shoes, but not bake. Yes, that about sums up my phobia! 

Then one day, the blogger in me reared  her head and demanded that I drop my cowardly attitude and swap it for the yeast packet and APF (all purpose flour) and use them up. What, if at worst can happen? a disaster, pshaw! so what, there is a large trash bin, dump it and move on....  Made sense. 

I popped in at the library and after a lot of pondering ( and finally using the 'in-pin-safety-pin' method) settled for this book on 'How To Bake'.

Leafing through the book I realized, I had picked the best book, for a person like me, who had limited knowledge and a lot of fear to deal with. The book outlines simple steps for making basic pizza dough and clear instructions. 

I bookmarked this dough and basic White Bread ( recipe to follow) as my favorites.

The Pizza base was *awesome*! It worked, I watched the flour yield to the kneading, I watched it rise, reducing my nails to shreds and listening to a drumming in my ear (which in a calmer moment I  realized was my heart) . I put it in the oven and watched it bake, yes, I did, I placed a small step stool in front of the oven and parked myself in front watching like a hawk. And boy! was I rewarded!  I sliced it up and gave M the first slice.... the  drumming was louder now, as he took his first bite and then the next and the next and gave me the thumbs up sign! I DID IT!  I MADE PIZZA AT HOME! I felt a rush of the thrill I had felt long ago. I was happy and this was a feast.

Here's how I made the Home Style  Pizza Dough: (Makes 1 - 101/2 x 15 1/2 inch Pizza)

2 1/2 Cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour ( APF)

1tsp. Salt

1 Cup Warm tap Water

21/2 tsp. or 1 envelope Active Dry Yeast

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Stir the flour and salt in a 2 quart mixing bowl to combine and make a well in the center

Measure the water and pour onto a small bowl, whisk in the  yeast and 2 T Olive Oil

Pour the liquid mixture into the well  in the flour and stir with a rubber spatula, until a soft sticky dough forms

Beat the dough for a minute until it looks  smoother, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap  and allow the dough to rise doubled in bulk (about 1 hour)

Grease the jelly-roll pan  with the remaining  Tbsp. of Oil. Without stirring or folding the dough, use the rubber spatula to scrape it from the bowl into the oiled pan. Oil your hands and press, pull and pat the dough into the pan. If it resists, let it rest for 5 mins. and then continue. Let the dough  rise for 30 mins or until it puffs slightly

Prepare topping of choice ( I used a ready made sauce from Trader Joe's, red and green bell pepper and red onions and mozzarella cheese)

Set rack at the lowest and highest level of the oven and preheat at 450 F

Bake the pizza  on the bottom rack for 25-30 minutes 

(After about 10 minutes, lift the end with a spatula and check that the bottom is not burning, if it is  coloring too quickly, slide a pan under the first one.)

Remove the pizza, slice and enjoy! 

* Notes: 

I used a fork to poke small holes ( do not stab at the dough)  in the pizza dough, this is not a part of the chef's recipe, it is my own

I baked the pizza on a pizza stone. I ensured that the stone was heated through and this takes a great deal longer than the normal pre- heating, I'd say about 25 minutes or more. The end result is a crisp and amazing base! 

Pin It