Ladi Pav - Eggless Dinner Rolls
Ladi Pav or dinner rolls are pillowy soft, light, and fluffy breads. These taste so good with so many Mumbai dishes like Pav Bhaji, Bhajiya Pav, Vada Pav, Misal Pav, and many more.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Bread flour or all purpose flour
- 1.5 tbsp Milk powder non fat
- 1 tbsp Active dry yeast
- 1 1/4 cup Milk I used 2%
- 2 tbsp Butter unsalted
- 1 tsp Oil to coat the dough
- 1.5 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
Activating The Yeast
- In a large bowl, add warm milk (about 105℉), sugar, and active dry yeast. Mix and cover it. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes and allow the yeast to bloom.
Making The Dough
- In another mixing bowl, add bread flour, milk powder, and salt. Mix everything well. Add the flour mixture little at a time to the yeast mixture.
- Begin to mix the dough with your hands or use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
- Knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes at medium speed until it is smooth and elastic.
Kneading The Dough With Hands
- Turn the dough out onto your clean kitchen countertop and start kneading the dough. Personally, I use a dough mat. Knead the dough by pushing with the base of your palm and bring the dough back to you to reform into a ball. Keep kneading the dough for about 8-10 minutes or until it feels soft and pillowy. It should have a stretchy and smooth exterior.
- You can drizzle a few drops of oil on the work surface if the dough is too sticky to handle or add 1-2 tbsp water if the dough is too dry.
- Add 2 tbsp butter to the dough and combine everything together. If you find the dough is sticky, add sprinkle some flour and keep kneading it until the dough forms together into a smooth ball for about 4-5 minutes.
Proofing The Dough
- Grease some oil into a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl. Spread some oil on the top of the dough. Cover it with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to proof in a warm place for about 1 to 1 ½ hours or until it rises double in size. In colder temperatures, you can keep the bowl covered in an oven by keeping the light on, which will help the dough rise faster.
Shaping The Bread
- Lightly punch the dough down with your fist and transfer it to your clean countertop or dough mat. Lightly knead the dough for 1 minute and divide it into 12 equal parts using a sharp knife or dough cutter.
- To get an even shape and size you can weigh the dough on a kitchen scale. Divide it evenly to get 12 equal sized pav.
- Roll each dough ball and set aside.
- Grease a square baking pan or line it with some parchment paper.
- Take one part of the dough, lightly knead it for 10 seconds, and pinch the dough at the bottom to form a roundel.
- Cover the roundel with your palms and make circular movements to create a smooth and round-shaped bread. Gently flatten the pav a little with a dough scraper from the top and straighten the sides for the perfect shape.
- Transfer the pav to the greased baking tray. Repeat these steps with the rest of the dough balls, keeping very little space between them so they will stick to each other.
Proofing The Bread
- Cover the baking pan with a kitchen towel and allow the pavs to proof for about 45 minutes or until they double in size.
Baking The Bread
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃
- Bake them for 17-20 minutes, or until they turn golden on the top and sound hollow when lightly tapped. Take them out of the oven and let them sit for 2 minutes on the countertop. Brush some milk on the top of the pav before baking.
- Transfer the pavs on a cooling rack, brush some melted butter on the top if you like, cover them with a kitchen towel, and let them cool completely before slicing.
How To Bake Ladi Pav In The Pan?
- In a large pan, add some salt at the base and preheat the pan on medium heat for 12-15 minutes by covering with a lid.
- Gently place a trivet and a baking pan with the proofed pavs, cover the pan with a lid, and bake the pavs for 15-20 minutes. Make sure that the baking pan is fitting into the large pan before proofing the pavs.
Notes
- Activate the active dry yeast before proceeding to the next steps. If the yeast is not active do not proceed.
- Measure the ingredients correctly. Do not add too much flour or else your bread will turn hard.
- Milk powder will help the bread remain soft and fluffy. Do not skip adding it.
- The dough should be soft, smooth, and not sticky for making perfectly soft pavs.
- Grease the work surface with a few drops of oil before kneading the dough. I highly recommend using a dough mat for kneading the dough - I have found that the dough will not stick to it and is easy to handle.
- Use a sharp knife or a dough cutter for dividing the dough into equal parts and avoid tearing the dough with your hands - it will reduce the gluten strands which you have formed while kneading the dough.
- Brushing some milk before baking the pav will give a brown color to them. If you skip brushing the milk, it will give a pale color to the pav.