Cooking web notes

Tea time is bakery goody time. Most families in Kerala have this tradition. I suppose its the more laid back lifestyle in our state that helps us enjoy these simple pleasures even today. Around 4 in the evening the family gets together and drink a cup of tea with some fried, baked or cooked snacks. Like we have mentioned in one of our earlier posts the bakery goods are an integral part of life in Kottayam, Kerala. Puffs, samosas, meat rolls etc to name a few are enjoyed during this time.



Another favorite way to enjoy your evening is with black coffee and bun (a.k.a. rolls). This combination is sometimes thought of as a quick fix or fast snack for an evening. Grab a dozen or half of them from the bakeries and the family enjoys it with a sugary black coffee. I remember my grandmother adding some ghee (clarified butter) on top of the coffee.

Todays recipe is one of these rich rolls closely resembling the buns we get to buy in the bakeries. I remember walking past bakeries in the evening around 2.30 or 3.00 P.M and the aroma of fresh baked bread permeating the dusty roads luring the passerby. Most people give in and you will see mothers returning from office work, children, fathers, uncles and aunts or some others who make a short walk to the bakeries closest to their homes to pack away a few. The bakery goods come packed in little brown bags and I can so clearly remember them sitting on counter tops with the brown bags now dappled with the fat from whatever is inside.

There are a lot of things we can do with this same recipe as given below like make potato bun or khari bun (khari meaning spicy). Either ways, if you are bun fan like me and enjoy it dipped in black coffee, tea or soup or just cut them and spread some jam or butter, todays recipe will make you content. Its soft, rich and tasty. If you do two proofings like I have mentioned you can get quite a light airy texture.

Enjoy the experience of kneading the dough and baking these yummy buns. Let me know if you have any questions regarding the recipe or way I made it. I used Lily's light bleached flour for this batch of buns.

Ingredients:
Flour – 4 -5 cups
Dry yeast - 2 packages (1 package is 2 1/4 tsp)
Milk – 1 ½ cups 2% reduced fat milk
Water – ¼ cup
Vegetable oil - ½ cup
Granulated sugar – ¼ cup
Salt - 1 tspn



Method:
1. Mix ¼ cup warm water, 1/2 tspn sugar and the yeast. Make sure the temperature of water is not more than 110 D F. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes and make sure it froths before you use. This is the test to make sure you have active yeast
2. Mix together milk, oil, sugar and salt in a large bowl in which you can knead your dough. Make sure everything is at room temperature. If you are taking milk out of the refrigerator warm in microwave making sure its not too hot or it will kill the yeast.
3. Add a cup of flour and mix and the frothy yeast
4. Stirring to mix the ingredients keep adding the flour a cup at a time till you have added all 4 cups
5. If the flour is gooey and you are unable to knead with your hand add some a couple of spoons of flour at a time
6. Flour your counter top or a clean surface where you can knead your dough
7. Drop your dough on the floured surface and incorporate the flour slowly into the dough kneading well
8. Kneading will make your dough to come together. If you find the dough sticky and not manageable its ok that’s how the bread dough is.
9. The reason for asking to add dough post 4 cups is because the lesser you can add flour and get a soft dough the tastier, fluffy rolls you make
10. Test to make sure your dough is done by indenting impressions using your index finger and middle finger. If the indentation stays your dough is kneaded well
11. Take a good look at the size of your dough and leave to rise for an hour
12. Test the dough to make sure It has risen by touching it lightly on the surface. If your finger impression stays then you know it has.
13. Punch down the dough when fully risen and take the dough in your hand and slowly round it to look like a mushroom. Smooth top and the dough tucked under.
14. Leave it to rise once more around 20 minutes or until dough has doubled in size
15. You May punch down the dough at this time and round it or cut it using a knife and shape to desired shape. Round rolls or hot dog buns. Lay it on a greased cookie sheet or tray and leave it covered to double around 20 minutes
16. Bake in a 400D F preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes



Notes:
Never add more flour than is called for
Beat an egg and once you have shaped the dough brush it on top (egg wash)
If you do not eat eggs you may brush it with milk or olive oil
To get a nice thin and shiny crust spread butter on the top while the rolls are still hot, fresh from the oven