Oat Pav (Bread)

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Since I have already mentioned what a pav is in this post , I will not go into it again. This rustic Indian bread has a special place in our hearts and I love the texture and softness of this bread. Unfortunately the all purpose flour does not satisfy the health conscious part of my mind and the wheat version does not completely satisfy R's taste buds. With the intention of satisfying both our requirements and making a healthier version of pav, I thought of adding oats to it.

The good thing about adding oats in breads is that it does not make the bread too dense or interfere with the taste of the bread, both of which I feel wheat does, so I like to experiment with oats in my bakes more than wheat. It also helps that oats is an amazing super food and I keep looking for as many ways to include this grain in our diet. I was amazed at how perfect the pav tasted and this one turned out special because it satisfied both my health consciousness and R's taste buds, in short, a real winner :-)

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Ingredients and method to make Oat Pav

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (maida)

1/2 cup oat flour (rolled oats powdered in spice grinder until fine) (store bought oat flour would work just as well)

1/2 cup quick cooking steel cut oats

1 tsp salt

1 cup warm water

3 tsp sugar

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

2 1/2 tsp unsalted butter + a little additional butter to brush on top of the bread

+ 2 additional tsp unsalted butter (optional)

This bread works slightly differently from the usual breads in the sense the kneading is done after 30 minutes of mixing all the ingredients. This lets the steel cuts oats soak up some of the moisture and become a little more soft and cooked.

In a large bowl, mix all purpose flour, oat flour, steel cut oats and salt and keep aside.

In a small bowl add warm water and add sugar and yeast to it and let the yeast rise for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add this warm water +sugar + yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix well . This will be a little sticky at this point. Let this sit for about 30 mins.

After 30 minutes add butter (at least 2 1/2 tsp of butter + additional 2 tsp of butter if you are using it ) to this dough and knead well until the dough is soft and non sticky. Add a little flour if required (I did not need additional flour)

Let this dough rise for about an hour.

When the dough has doubled in size, gently fold it down and divide the dough into large lemon size rolls.

Line a baking sheet/ tray with parchment paper and place the divided dough about 1/2 an inch apart.

Cover this with a moist kitchen tissue and let it rise for another hour.

Pre heat oven to 375 deg F.

When the divided dough has risen and doubled in size, you will find that the dough is joined at the ends.

Place the baking sheet/ tray in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops of the bread begin to brown.

Remove from oven and brush with a little butter on the top of the bread and place back in the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Remove and serve hot with either bhaji (mixed spiced vegetables) for pav bhaji or use in sandwiches or burgers

This healthier version of pav is off to Madhuram's Low fat baking event