mayurisjikoni

Its good to be back    For the past few months I'd been so busy that baking challenges from the We Knead to Bake group took a back seat.I was busy preparing for my daughter's wedding. The wedding went well and now I'm back to my routine. I've got quite a bit of catching up to do... Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec. Oh dear!  I managed to bake the challenge set for the month of January by a co- member of the group Amruta Kapileshwar Gaikwad. She asked us to bake Cilantro Scallion Rolls. Initially I did frown at the combination of tahini, honey, scallion and cilantro. While cilantro and scallion were not too much of a problem, I was wondering how a combination of honey and tahini would taste. Anyway, plunged into the deep end and decided to bake the rolls as given. Thank you Amruta for the challenge, loved the taste of the rolls.       I must say the rolls tasted so delicious with a bit of the honey. I added chilli flakes. Don't know why but ever since I've ...

Sometimes you need some spice             Its time to post our bake for the 'We Knead to Bake' group. For the month of July our host for the #41st bake was Ankita Dave of Anki's Cakery . She requested us to bake Vegetable Masala Buns. Whatever international cuisine is made in an Indian kitchen has to spiced up. Bread also is spiced up to give it that typical 'chatpata' taste. Ankita suggested we could use pizza sauce. However, I thought of using a typical Indian option. What better 'sauce' to use then a chutney.Besides being a masala or spicy bread, what was unique about these buns is the way they were shaped. Loved the shape.          We Knead to Bake is a group of enthusiastic bakers who bake a chosen bread every month. Previously, the initiator of the group Aparna would choose the type of bread we should bake. But now members participate by hosting. They choose what sort bread others have to bake. Its through this group that...

Flatbreads are fun to bake     Our We Knead to Bake group has taken a new turn. Aparna, the starter of the group, suggested that members take turns to decide on the type of bread the rest can bake. I hosted the #40th bake. Barbari had been on my long list of bakes for a long time. Since we hadn't baked a flatbread for eons,I decided to challenge the group with Iranian Barbari Bread.        Barbari or barberi means our fathers ‘of or related to the Barbars' in Persian language. The Barbars live in the Khorasan region, near the eastern border of Iran. The word Barbar means uncivilized, foreign, barbarian) . The Barbars hated being referred to by such a name and Reza Shah granted them the name Khavari (Easterners). However, the name of the bread remains. It’s a very popular bread baked in Iran. It’s made in traditional brick ovens. The bakers make it about 70-80cm long and 30-45 cm wide. It’s usually served with tea and a soft cheese called lighvan cheese whi...

Hot on the heels    My last post was a veggie pizza and this post is a pizza swirl bread. Now don't get me wrong, yes I do love pizzas but can't have it everyday. Pizza Swirl Bread was the May challenge for the We Knead to Bake set by fellow member Niv Mani of Panfusine . Niv wanted us to use the recipe for the dough and the filling and sauce was our choice. This time I managed to bake it a few weeks ahead but I was not happy with the result. It baked well but because of the twists, the bread was not slicing well. However, hubby really enjoyed the bread with an olive dip. Usually my bakes turn out good so it really bothered me that this loaf didn't turn out so nice. So the bread was still on my 'must do list'. I managed to bake it again yesterday and was happy with the end result. Nice crusty loaf and good slices. Though the baked loaf does not look pretty, the slices looked really good. Each slice has a different pattern. This bread can be served with a soup, a sal...

Cocktail or Cock tail???     We Knead to Bake's #38 bake for the month of April are Coconut Buns or Chinese Cocktail Buns or Gai Mei Bao. These buns were supposedly created in the 1950s in Hong Kong. The owners of a local bakery were left with unsold buns and instead of throwing them away they decided to ground the buns, added sugar and used it as a filling for new buns. These days left over bread has been replaced by a sweet buttery coconut filling. There are two meaning to the cocktail buns. One is that the exotic mixture of filling deserved the name cocktail much like the cocktails created in bars and pubs. The second is that Gai Mei Bao literally means cock's(chicken) tail bun. The buns are soft and slightly sweet filled with a buttery sweet coconut filling. These buns are typical Hong Kong style buns. The topping, a mixture of flour, butter and sugar is usually piped, 2 lines, on the buns before baking.     Try out this tasty, delicious buns and a must for coco...