Coming Back to blogging is a homecoming for me. It has to be with something special for this post. I had experimented on making Brun Pao. The base is Mumbai Special Pao which is a soft bread with a fluffy center.The recent traffic directed to this blog prompted me to share this recipe here.
Brun is a crusty round bread with a absolutely spongy center. A Brun is larger in size than the Naram Pao (soft bread that is called Mumbai pao outside Mumbai). Depending on which bakery you go to pick up this bread you will have to ask for Brun, Broon or simply Kadak pao (crusty pao). When you love your bread so much it gets all these pet names like you would call your Dad, Baba, Pops, Popsicle etc.
A Brun being a crusty bread goes well with gravies, soups and the best way to enjoy it is lathering the center with loads of maska (God only knows what it was made of in the old days!) or Amul butter.
The Brun gets its crust from the steam baking. It is this a step if missed will give you just your regular Naram pao in bigger size.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115F)
1 tbsp active dry yeast (.25 oz)
1 tbsp sugar
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp butter softened
Mix 1/2 cup water and sugar then sprinkle yeast over it. Leave it to stand for 10 mins till the mix is frothy.
Measure out the flour in a big bowl. Don't forget the salt. Mix in the frothy yeast mixture in the flour with a wooden spoon. Then mix in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water and mix till it form a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl. Now add the soft butter and oil and knead till you get smooth dough.
Sprinkle some dough on a counter and then knead the dough on it for 2 mins. Make a smooth ball and store it in a greased bowl untill doubled, I kept it overnight to get the sour taste. Keep it covered with a wet kitchen towel. The towel should be dipped in water and wringed a bit to removed excess water.
Grease a baking tray of 8X10 inches and keep ready. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the counter and divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Shape them into balls and line them up in the tray.
Leave the tray covered with wet cloth again to double up or for atleast an hour. Glaze with molten butter.
Now preheat oven at 190 deg cel for 10 min. Then push in the tray laden with pao into the oven. At the base of the oven put a deep tray filled with water. Bake for 25-30 mins or till you see a slight golden color. Once you get the glaze it indicates the pao is well cooked from inside. This steam baking is what gives the Brun it's crust.
Remove from the oven (Convection mode) and allow to cool on a grill or in a bread basket. Don't leave it in the tray else the pao will sweat.
