Pav/dinner rolls are usually made with all-purpose flour along with yeast as a main ingredient. These small soft pav breads are famous all over India, especially in Mumbai. In Mumbai, these pav are commonly found in street foods like a pav bhaji, vada pav, samosa pav and so on. These pav can be find any super markets but nothing better taste than homemade freshly baked pavs, and my son is a big fan of these freshly made pavs. I have already shared the veggie pizza pav bread. This recipe is simple and very easy to prepare but the most important part is the dough consistency and kneading of the dough. The pav dough should be very sticky and should be well kneaded until gluten is formed in the dough which makes the pav soft and fluffy. This recipe made using maida ( all purpose flour) but you can also use wheat flour, however, the texture will be slightly different. Enjoy these tasty pav at home with bhaji, vada pav or just a cup of tea.
- 4 cup All purpose flour( maida)
- 3 tbsp Milk powder
- 1/2 tsp Dried thyme optional
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1-3/4 cup Milk
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 2-1/2 tsp Dry active yeast
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp Unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup Milk for milk brushing 1/2 tsp sugar
- To measure flour.... Scoop flour in a measuring cup until it's overflowing. Lift off the top of the flour using a butter knife or your finger.
- Pour measured flour into a mixing bowl; add salt and dried thyme. Also dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk along with sugar. Mix and cover it in warm place for proofing.
- To Use The Stand Mixer: Attach the bowl and dough hook, then turn it on with the speed set to medium ( about 1 minute). Add yeast liquid to the flour and knead the dough until it is nicely mixed and sticky (about 3 minutes). Add butter and knead the dough at low to medium till the butter gets mixed into the dough, then speed up to medium-high.
- And the kneaded dough until it gets smooth (about 10 minutes). Dough will be very sticky.
- Once it is done, grease some oil on your palm and place the dough on a silicon mat. Knead the dough using your hands for about 5-6 minutes till the gluten is created and the dough gets smooth and elastic.
- Return the kneaded dough into the greased mixing bowl. Cover it and keep it in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 2 hrs).
- Punch the dough down and knead the dough for another minute. Divide the dough into three equal parts. Roll it using your hands and cut it into 24 equal pieces of dough using a knife. Also grease a 12''x 7'' baking tray with butter and dust with flour. Keep it aside.
- Roll the dough balls one by one on the silicon mat by squishing it in a rotary motion until it forms smooth dough balls. Make sure there are no cracks in the dough.
- Place rolled dough balls into the baking tray closely packed. Once it is done, cover it and keep in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 1 hr).
- Preheat the oven to 425 degree F. in baking mode. In a bowl, mix sugar and milk. Gently brush the milk over the top of the dough.
- Place the tray into the preheated oven in the middle rack. Let it bake for 10 minutes or till it turns golden brown on the top. Once it is done, remove it from the oven. Grease some butter on the top of the pavs. Let it cool down for 10 minutes.
- Spongy soft homemade pav bread is ready to be served.
- Keep it covered in an airtight container.
- The pav can be eaten with bhaji, any Indian curries or aloo bonda with three type of chutney.
- or just enjoy it with a cup of tea.
- Measuring flour makes a big difference for any recipe. Make sure the flour is correctly measured.
- For making pav bread, the dough should be very sticky.
- Make sure the dough is well kneaded and gluten is formed.
- After cooling down, keep the pav covered to avoid dryness.