Laadi Pav: (honeycomb bread)

Laadi pav is so often eaten on the streets of India with Pav bhaji, wadaa pav or missal pav. But, since I came to the US, I couldn’t find good and non sweet pav anywhere. All the pav/bread was either sweet or very fatty with maida in it.

So, I decided to try out a laadi pav recipe using wheat/spelt flour. The original recipe uses all purpose flour (maida). At least now I know what ingredients go in this recipe and I am happy eating this pav instead of loading myself with butter, maida and sugar.

I have tried this recipe twice- once using spelt flour and second time using durum wheat flour. Both the results were awesome and the pav turned out soft and fluffy.

spelt/wheat flour

spelt/wheat flour

Adapted from Shital's Kitchen
http://shitals-kitchen.blogspot.com/2014/03/pav-bread.html

Ingredients:

3 cups spelt flour or durum wheat flour

1 dry yeast packet

Salt as per taste

2 tablespoons of clarified butter or you can use oil

1 tablespoon sugar

Oil spray to grease pans

The method for both the flours is exactly the same.

Step 1: Mix one packet of dry yeast with 1 ¼ cup of warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add a pinch of salt and 3 cups of flour and 2 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter) in the bowl and mix to form a soft dough. Keep kneading the dough for at least 10 minutes.

Step 2: Now keep the dough aside in a greased bowl and let it rest for 1 1/2 hours. You will notice that the dough has doubled in size. Now start kneading it again and knead well for 10 more minutes.

Step 3: Now, grease the pans in which you will put the pav to bake. After kneading the dough, make about 15-18 small balls out of the dough and lay them in the greased pan about 1 inch apart from each other. Let the balls rest in the pan for about 1 more hour.

Step 4: You will notice that the balls have risen again and doubled in size. Now bake them for 10 minutes till they change color on 400 F.

Eat with Potato wadaa, missal, or pav bhaji.