All about baking

[deepali128]

hi minni

thanx a lot.

[Minni]

Deepali, you are very welcome.

g's mom,
As per what you said the yeast doesnot seem to be the problem. Do cover it airtight with good enough room for it to rise for both the first and second rises.

Well, after the first rise, you punch it down gently and to shape into rolls, you need to cut it into equal portions with a knife or a straight edge. Do not tear the dough. After you shape into rolls, then you may want to put them in a muffin pan or a cookie sheet.
With a sharp knife cut a cross on top of each bun. The reason why you do that is...you are allowing it to expand well and the surface on the top of the bun is not going to obstruct its rise. What I do after placing on a cookie sheet or a muffin pan is I use an inverted wine glass or champaign chute or even a glass in the middle of the cookie sheet and then use a cling wrap or a plastic wrap to cover such that there is enough room for their second rise. Hope you got the idea.
About water in the oven while baking, you can definitely use it. I do not use it for my dinner rolls, they still come soft. See you need to tap the bottom of the bun to check if it sounds hollow. I cannot explain how it should sound using words....but you can just use a batch just to experiment by taking one out at each minute after 15-20 minutes...so as to judge the right time.
If you want to use water..this is the way you should do it. In a large pan or a ceramic oven safe vessel, pour steaming hot water...yes, water should be boiling...and leave it in the lowest rack. You bake your buns in the middle rack of your oven.

Hope that helps,
Minni

[honeydew]

hi minni the all the recipe u have given , can i try it in microwave convection oven , i have not tried anything yet pls help
regds
honey

[honeydew]

my id is dewhoneycream27@yahoo.com.sg
regds
honey

[honeydew]

my id is dewhoneycream27@yahoo.com.sg
regds
honey

[g's mom]

Hey Minni

Thanks for replyign to my query....

Here is the steps to the recipe....

Sieve the Flour, make a well in it. Add the yeast, sugar. Add rest of the liquid and knead to a soft dough
Add in the fat and salt and spices if any and knead into the dough
Cover it with plastic wrap and keep it till it doubles in size
Pan and Prove for 45 minutes
Punch the dough and cut into pieces. Add the chopped masala and shape the dough. Place it in a bread tin and press with knuckle and spread it evenly. Cover and prove. Brush with milk
Bake at 190C for 35 minutes remove and brush all over with fat

Questions
1) after the dough is formed... isnt it difficult to incorporate salt and fat in it.... isnt it better to add it before the wet ingredients are added to the dry?
2) after the dough doubles in size... it says pan and prove for 45 min... Does this mean... after it doubles I put it in a pan and proof it again for 45 min....
3)isnt it easier to add the masalas in the first step itself.... is there any reason for doing this.... wont all the air thats inside the dough escape if its done this way....

[Minni]

g's mom,

You are very true...I would mix all the dry ingredients except masala before adding the fluids and fat. Salt goes along with the dry ingredients. I am not sure why...but usually any additives to the bread say garlic/oregano or others are added when the dough is partially kneaded. I shall find out the reason for that. I guess it could be because the sugars in any of the spices might effect the yeast distribution in the dough and hence the yeast effectiveness would reduce.

About the first rise, I would put it in a large bowl with large enough room for the rise and cover it with a plastic wrap or put it in a large enough plastic container that has an airtight lid. And I like to leave it for 1 hour rising time or even a little more. Usually they say double its size...so it can be the measure.
After its first rise you would cut into equal postions and shape it and score it and even brush with milk or any liquid and then let it rise freely but ofcourse in an airtight environment.

Do not bother about the order they mention there....you may want to try this method suggested here. Also its a generic procedure.

Good Luck!
Minni

[g's mom]

Hey Minni

sorry to keep bothering you with my questions....

should i add fat after the dough is formed? I used margarine and did not melt it... it was at room temperature though. Let me know....

[Minni]

Margarine should be fine!

Minni

[Minni]

You can mix the fat along with the other liquids. Or after it should not affect the final result whichever order you follow.

Minni