Popular in Irani cafes and bakeries in Mumbai, India, brun bread has a golden brown crispy crust with a fluffy centre. As kids, this was our favourite bread for breakfast. Slathered with butter, we dunked it into our cup of milk, satisfied and full, we went off to school. My dad, a sailor, used to bring marmalade jam, which in those days, unavailable in Mumbai. We used to smear this jam on top of the butter and enjoy the crunch of the bread along with the goodness of butter and sweet bitter taste of the marmalade. This bread also makes a great accompaniment for soups, stews and gravies.
The bread dough is prepared with flour, lukewarm water, active dry yeast, sugar and salt. When proofed, it is shaped into round balls, which are set aside to double in size and then baked. A baking dish filled with water is kept on the lower rack or base of the oven. Simultaneously, water is sprayed at intervals during baking. Some even add ice cubes in the hot oven to create steam, which helps the bread to rise in volume. This causes the starch on the surface of the dough to gelatinize for a crispy crust. As there is no fat and preservatives in the dough, brun dries out fast. Hence, it tastes best when consumed fresh.
The bread dough is prepared with flour, lukewarm water, active dry yeast, sugar and salt. When proofed, it is shaped into round balls, which are set aside to double in size and then baked. A baking dish filled with water is kept on the lower rack or base of the oven. Simultaneously, water is sprayed at intervals during baking. Some even add ice cubes in the hot oven to create steam, which helps the bread to rise in volume. This causes the starch on the surface of the dough to gelatinize for a crispy crust. As there is no fat and preservatives in the dough, brun dries out fast. Hence, it tastes best when consumed fresh.
Brun/Broon/Kadak Pao or Pav/Gutli
(Yields 6)
Ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour or maida + 2 tablespoons for dusting
2 and 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
Method:
Add the yeast to the lukewarm water along with sugar and set aside for 5 minutes to foam and froth.
Note: The water should be slightly warm to the touch not hot.
Sift the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast and mix to form a dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 5 to 8 minutes to a soft, smooth dough. It should spring back when pressed with two fingers.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Grease and flour a 12" x 10" x 1" baking tray.
Once risen, punch the dough down to deflate the air. Weigh dough and divide into 6 equal smooth balls. Place each ball in the tray by pressing and flattening them, 1 1/2 inches apart.
Note: The dough was 965 grams so each ball weighed 160 grams.
Cover tray and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes or more.
Preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C.
Place a baking dish or pan with some water on the base or lower rack of the oven.
Once the bread is placed in the oven, spritz the sides of the oven using a spray bottle every 3 to 5 minutes for 15 minutes to create steam until you see a nice crust forming on top of the bread.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully, remove from pan and invert onto a wire rack to cool.
Serve warm.
Note:
(Yields 6)
Ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour or maida + 2 tablespoons for dusting
2 and 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
Method:
Add the yeast to the lukewarm water along with sugar and set aside for 5 minutes to foam and froth.
Note: The water should be slightly warm to the touch not hot.
Sift the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast and mix to form a dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 5 to 8 minutes to a soft, smooth dough. It should spring back when pressed with two fingers.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Grease and flour a 12" x 10" x 1" baking tray.
Once risen, punch the dough down to deflate the air. Weigh dough and divide into 6 equal smooth balls. Place each ball in the tray by pressing and flattening them, 1 1/2 inches apart.
Note: The dough was 965 grams so each ball weighed 160 grams.
Cover tray and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes or more.
Preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C.
Place a baking dish or pan with some water on the base or lower rack of the oven.
Once the bread is placed in the oven, spritz the sides of the oven using a spray bottle every 3 to 5 minutes for 15 minutes to create steam until you see a nice crust forming on top of the bread.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully, remove from pan and invert onto a wire rack to cool.
Serve warm.
Note:
- Since the outside temperature in Canada is below zero degrees at the moment, though we have heating indoors, it is not very warm for the dough to rise. So I placed the dough in the oven with the lights on. With the heat generated from the two bulbs, the dough rose beautifully in 1 1/2 hours. After shaping the dough into balls, I placed the tray covered, again in the oven. When they doubled in size, I removed the tray from the oven and then preheated the oven. If your oven has a feature where you can put the lights on without turning the oven on, you can proof the dough using this method.
- Once the bread is baked, do not leave it in the pan. It will sweat and turn soft. If they do turn soft, just place them on a flat baking sheet and put them back in the oven to crisp. Then, ensure to cool them on the wire rack.
- The dough was kneaded by hand. If desired, you can mix the flour in a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment.
- Use baking tray you have on hand and place balls accordingly.
- The bowl was greased with extra-virgin olive oil.
- The tray with dough balls was covered with a deep silver foil tray similar in size.
