How to Make Pav Buns? | Homemade Pav Bread

Chat or Indian Street Food has its own unique charm. Ready in minutes, it is magical how just the right mix and combination of simple ingredients make these dishes delightfully tasty. It is one of my favourite cuisines and I can gleefully clean out a serving (or two!) of well made chat at any hour of the day! :D

Now when you combine two of my favourite food items... Bun + Chat together, what do you get? Yes... Pav Bhaji. Vada Pav. Dabeli... to name a few simple yet tasty bun based chat items. In other words, a plateful of yumminess! These dishes, are a combination of mildly spicy sides/filling teamed with a soft and moderately sweet bun... ah, the pairing is blissful!

So, to kick out my baking slumber, I decided to try out making these super simple Pav buns at home. They have been in my to-do list for a long time now and I felt they were just the right ones to work on to get back on the baking track! 

And the benefit of making your own Pav buns at home? 

1. Easy to make. Trust me when I say they are simple to prepare at home.... they really are!
2. You get to sneak in some wholewheat flour and make them healthier! :)
3. And the best part..... you really can make as many as you want! :P

I was pleased with the result and the whole process was extremely gratifying. Even though, I haven't baked for more than 2 months now, my baking friend 'yeast' didn't seem upset with me at all. It made my dough rise beautifully to give me fluffy Pav buns :) 

We enjoyed these Pav buns along with some bhaji to make a wonderful Pav Bhaji pairing.

Makes: 9 Pav Buns

Time (approx): 

• Prep - 15 mins
• Proofing - 60 mins
• Shaping - 15 mins
• Baking - 15 mins

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 1 cup
All Purpose Flour (APF) - 2 cups
Warm Water - 1.5-2 cup (or some more, as needed)
Instant Yeast - 3 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Method:

• In mildly warm water, add sugar and yeast. Allow to sit for 4-5 minutes. The solution should begin to froth up and bubbles should appear on top.

• Mix together APF, Wheat flour, salt, oil,  proofed yeast mix. Add extra water or flour as needed to make a firm, yet slightly sticky dough.
• Keep this dough in a well greased bowl, undisturbed for about an hour or hour and a half, covered with a damp cloth or with cling wrap.
• After about an hour or hour and a half, the dough would have doubled in quantity. 
• Punch the dough down, transfer the dough on to your work floor and roll it into a log. Cut it into even sized chunks and roll them by hand into smooth balls. 
• Grease a square baking tray and place these balls in it allowing a little gap between them to let them swell. Keep aside for another 30 minutes.
• At the end of 30 minutes, the dough balls would have risen and come closer together.

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
• Smear some olive oil over them and bake at 170 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until the crust is evenly browned.
• Take them out of the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool. Smear some milk over them while still hot to soften the buns.
• Your soft, fluffy pav buns are ready to be yummed!

Serve these beauties with Bhaji and enjoy a wholesome Pav Bhaji at home......!! :) 

Here is how you can make Pav Bhaji.