Masala Bun - Braided Bread!

Although the recipe is for braided bread, I prefer calling it as masala bun because it so reminded us of the buns we get in our local bakery shops in Chennai:-)! When He got back from work, I told him I got these masala buns from a new eatery in the Mall and wonder of all he believed it...;-) Now, is'nt that the best compliment I could get..ahem:-)

I was not going to post any recipe for the day but my eyes fell upon the bookmarked recipe event of Aipi's blog US Masala! I had wanted to contribute to it since last week and did'nt want to miss this week too. So, I looked through my bookmarks and made these super yummy and easy masala buns!

Came across a blog Super Yummy Recipes with lots of bread recipes and these braided buns were so fascinating that I immediately bookmarked them. I have never before thought of making breads and buns at home...its kind of weird I know:-) but the thought never occurred to me until I read through this site. So, today I made my first ever bread and here goes the details...

Ingredients:

A- For bread dough

- 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups self rising flour
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp dry active yeast
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water

B- For Stuffing

- 2 cups mixed veggies incld onion
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp chilly powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp oil
- Salt to taste

Prep time: 2- 1/2 hours               Bake time: 20 mins

Preparation:

- In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients under A above. Heat the water and oil together until little hot and mix with the flour. Add water in small volumes. Make a soft yet firm dough and keep it closed in a warm place for 1 1/2 hr to 2 hrs.

 - The dough will rise and double in size.

- Meanwhile, chop the veggies. Heat a pan, add the oil and fry the onions.
- Now add all the other veggies,  the spice powders and salt. Add little water and cook covered.
- Once cooked, remove from heat and let it cool. Make sure the curry is dry and not soggy.

Making the bread

- After 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs you will notice the dough has risen well. Punch the dough to release the air and knead the dough lightly.
- To make the braided bread, make an orange sized ball of the dough and roll it straight on a floured surface.  Stretch the flatened dough to make a rectangular shape.

- Fill the middle of this rolled out dough covering the full length. Now, cut the dough on both sides at every 1/2 inch, with a sharp knife.

- Fold the cut strips one over the other alternatively from either side.

- Similarly, to make a round braided bun,roll the dough into a round shape. Fill the middle of the rolled dough and cut around the sides. Fold in any fashion you like to make a round stuffed bun.

- To have some open faced buns, roll out small portions of the dough.
- In a muffin tray, spray  some baking oil and place the dough around the edges. Fill the center with the stuffing.

- Let them all sit for 30 minutes. The stuffed doughs will again rise to double the size or lesser.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 deg F. Place the stuffed doughs in the oven and bake for 20 mins.
- The muffin trays might need only 10 minutes. The stuffed buns might need 20 to 30 mins. Keep checking after 20 mins. Once it starts browning, remove from oven and let them cool.

- You can glaze the dough with some egg whites or butter before placing them in the oven to bake.
- Enjoy tasty masala buns!

Sending this recipe to Bookmarked Recipes Event by Aipi at US Masala