Hi All, Hope you all are doing good. I am back with braided bread. I bookmarked this recipe from Sangee's Spicy treats. I tried it twice and the results were awesome. They were really easy to prepare except the factor of time.
When I was about to try it for the first time, I thought of preparing a tomato, basil and cheese stuffing to make the bread pure Italian. But the recipe called for cheese in larger quantity. So, I decided to change the stuffing. I tried first time with mixed vegetables for dinner. Next time, I used basic samosa stuffing. Both the versions came out good. I am planning to prepare minced meat next time for the stuffing.
This is the advantage of using the stuffing bread. They allow customisation easily. Substitute ingredients according to your wish for the stuffing and enjoy!
Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Idle Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-20 minutes
Makes: 2 medium size breads
Ingredients:
For Bread:
All purpose flour/Plain flour/Maida - 1 and 1/2 cup
Wheat flour / Atta - 1/2 cup
Active dry yeast - 1 packet/7g
Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Milk - 1/2 cup + extra for making soft dough and for brushing.
For Stuffing:
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 2 teaspoons
Potato - 3 large nos, boiled, roughly chopped
Fresh green peas - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Garam masala - a pinch
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
Amchoor powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Chat masala - 1/2 teaspoon
Method:
For Stuffing:
1) Heat Oil in a wide pan and add cumin seeds when it is hot.
2) Add potato and peas to the pan. Mix well and cook till the peas cook well.(You can also cook peas separately and then add to the pan).
3) Add salt, turmeric powder, garam masala, red chilli powder, coriander powder, amchoor powder and chat masala. Mix well and cook until the raw smell of masala goes off.
4) The stuffing is ready and keep aside until you prepare the dough.
For Dough:
1) In a small bowl, mix yeast and 1/2 cup of warm milk. Set it aside for 5-7 minutes for proving. Keep aside.
2) In a large mixing bowl, add all purpose flour and wheat flour. Mix well.
3) Add salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix again roughly.
4) Add the yeast and milk mixture to the flour mixture. Add the remaining milk slowly using one hand and simultaneously mix the flour using the other hand. Make a smooth dough. Take care to add only sufficient milk to make soft dough.
5) Knead it for 10-15 minutes in kitchen surface. The dough should spring back when you touch the surface of the dough at the end of kneading.
6) Grease the bowl and coat the dough using 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil. Place the dough inside the bowl and cover using a cling sheet.
7) Keep near the warm place for an hour or till the dough raises double in size.
8) Meanwhile, prepare stuffing as prescribed above of the these steps and line the parchment paper in the baking tray. Sprinkle some cornmeal or semolina over it for rolling the bread(Optional). Set aside.
9) After an hour, push back the dough and knead again for 5 minutes. Then, divide it into 2 equal portions.
10) Take one ball and roll it in a kitchen surface into a oval shape. Use flour to help the rolling.
11) Place the potato masala in the center of the oval shaped dough leaving space around it.
12) Using a sharp knife, make inclined cuts of about an inch wide as shown in the picture. Make sure there is an equal number of slices on each side and to make proper strips/fringed ribbons which helps for braiding.
13) Start braiding now. Fold the bottom and top of the dough towards filling and begin folding the strips over the filling, lapping them alternately as shown in the picture. Finish the folding and transfer the loaf into the prepared baking tray.
14) Repeat the same procedure for other dough ball and place it in the baking tray. Cover the tray using cling wrap.
15) Let it sit for 30 minutes for second rise.
16) Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
17) After 30 minutes, brush it with milk and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of it. Keep inside the oven.
18) Bake it for 10-12 minutes or until the top of the bread changes into golden brown.
19) Once the bread is ready, remove from oven and sprinkle some grated cheese on top(optional) of it and cool for 5 minutes.
20) Slice into pieces and serve warm or hot.
Note:
1) Stuffing can be varied as per your personal preference.
2) You can also roll the dough into rectangle shape instead of oval and proceed with the remaning steps. In this case, cup the ends of the bread after braiding with your palms and compress the bread into an oblong, well shaped loaf. Prefer as per your comfortability.
3) The baking time vary with respect to oven. It might sometimes take 30 minutes to get the breads done.
4) You can refrigerate/freeze this bread for future use.
