Pav is a part and parcel of Mumbai street food. Be it buttery pav bhaji or vada pav or samosa pav or be it bhajji pav or misal pav or kheema pav or just a pav laden with butter. This is a must if you think of street style Mumbaiya khana. Soft bread with lot of butter is loved by all. We all get these pav’s easily at stores and which hardly costs anything. But making it at home is worth millions. Making of pav goes into few steps – yeast activation, kneading the dough, proofing the dough, making it into desired shapes and allowing it to proof for more time and finally baking it. Ahhh, I know that sounds difficult and tedious and you would wonder why would one do so much hard work when you can get them at stores easily for a penny? The reply is – it gives immense pleasure to bake all by yourself and the most important thing is you know the ingredients going into it and can take care of the health of your family too. For avid bakers, baking is a stress buster, happiness and learning new things is always welcome. So ready steady and let’s get baking.

Ingredients

Refined flour -1.5 cup

Oil – 2 tsp

Sugar – 1.5 tsp

Yeast – 1.5 tsp (I used active dry yeast)

Milk – 3/4 cup (Full cream milk)

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Warm the milk in a microwave for 40 seconds.

2. Take half cup milk and add the sugar and yeast and mix it vigorously for 30 seconds. Then cover and keep aside for ten minutes.

3. You shall notice that a frothy layer has appeared over the milk and this means that your yeast is activated and ready to use.

4. In a mixing bowl, add refined flour salt and mix. Then add this milk and yeast mixture and start kneading the dough. Gradually add milk and knead to a soft dough. This will approximately take ten minutes.

5. Then add 1.5 tsp oil and coat the dough well with the oil and knead for three more minutes. Tuck the dough well and keep it covered in a greased bowl for an hour or till it rises.

6. After the dough has risen well, add some refined flour in your hand and start punching the dough to remove the air. Knead the dough for five minutes. Roll it like a log and divide into equal portions.

7. Take each portion and tuck it well and keep it in the greased container you wish to bake. Do not leave lot of space between each pav. Cover and leave it for about 30 – 40 minutes or till it rises.

8. Now, once the dough has risen brush with milk or butter. I have used full cream milk to brush the pav. This ensures good color to the top of the pav and also does not harden the top.

9. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius and bake for 20 minutes.

10. Once done you may rub butter if required and cover it with a damp cloth for half an hour. Serve as you wish.