So we (led and directed by Himanshu) planned a picnic... After a lot of debate discussion and research (addition of Peanut has changed the rules of engagement) it was decided that the picnic spot would be Sundar Nursery. Mits has been planning to go there for more than a year and I am sure she had a big role in the decision (post the extended debate discussion and research). The weather was perfect, bright & sunny and after a great republic day parade and flypast nothing better to celebrate the republic than a picnic- the first outing post Covid.
Must have been brainfreeze, I volunteered ( forgot the old academy saying "never volunteer) to make garlic bread. This is not my original, my able (forced into the job) photographer missed out the middle, but the end result was fabulous. It's a quick recipe and pretty simple.
So here's the recipe...
Ingredients (for bread)
Maida (all purpose flour) : 2 1/2 cups
Sugar : 3 tablespoons (tbsp)
Salt: 1/2 teaspoon (tsp)
Active dried yeast.: 1 tbsp
Garlic powder: 1 tbsp
Milk (warm) : 1 cup
Egg: 1 (and some2 tbsp for the egg wash)
Butter/olive oil: 3 tbsp (this recipe calls for a lot of butter, so here you have a choice to make it rich or use olive oil, the resultant product is almost the same)
For the filling
Butter (softened) : 1 cup
Salt: 1 tsp
Green onion: 1/2 cup chopped
Garlic ( chopped fine): 1 tbsp
Garlic powder : 1 tsp (optional)
Note: no rules for the filling, amount of garlic is optional, I also add oregano or mixed herbs depending on what's available at home)
Method
Mix in the dry ingredients. Proof the yeast (If you doubt if it's still active, if not you can directly add it all in the flour). Add the milk along with the yeast. Mix it with a wooden spoon, add the egg and the oil/butter. The resulting dough is a shaggy one.
Note: for some reason, the dough this time was pretty dry so I ended up adding another half cup of water. So go by your feel. A little bit of extra water/milk is okay I feel, as the Indian flours tend to soak up a little extra.
Knead till the dough is soft and elastic.
Keep aside for proofing (in an greased container) for an hour or till it doubles in size. I used a trick today to hasten the process- put it in the oven on preheat for 100°C (5min).
While the dough is proofing, make the garlic butter mixture. Mix in all the ingredients and set aside.
Once the dough doubles, take out the dough, punch our the air and fold it (not knead) for about 5 min. Then roll it out to about 5mm thickness (doesn't really matter to be precise here). Get the garlic butter mixture, it should be soft enough to spread but not too liquidy. Spread out the garlic butter on the rolled out dough.
Out the oven to preheat at 200°C.
Now roll the dough like a swiss roll. Cut even sized portions. And place the slices (of the Swiss roll) into a greased bread tin. Remember that the dough will rise again to almost double, so don't stuff it in the tin excessively.
Once the second rising has taken place, brush a mixture of egg whites and milk over the bread (this is only to give the lovely brown glossy colour to your bread)
Bake for 30 min at 180°C
Check at around 15 min, in case the bread is browning excessively, cover the bread with aluminium foil and continue baking.
Once done the bread has a hollow sound to it when tapped.
Take out from the oven and keep to cool in the tin for about 15 min and then take out and cool on the rack for another 15 min.
