kalpana’s la cucina..... spice 4 all seasons: BRAIDED BREAD

_________________I am Mrs. Kalpana Mhaske, a Home-Maker, from the city of 52-Gates, one of the famous heritage- destination of the world- Ajanta - Ellora Caves, Bibi-Ka- Maqbara (The Taj of Deccan) and Deogiri Fort. i.e. AURANGABAD. I admire cooking - tryout and innovate different cuisines. Basically, both of my gorgeous daughters are foodie, they have always encouraged me in the kitchen and forced to carve a Food Blog, that’s why, I am happy to share the makings with you. I am an artist too. Painting – especially, Canvas-Painting is my one more hobby. In total - Ours is an ART-FAMILY, my husband is an Architect. In the end, I keep the same belief with Louise Fresco - “ Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It's not about nutrients and calories. It's about sharing. It’s about honesty. it’s about identity ”

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

BRAIDED BREAD

Today we had this delicious pizza braid for dinner. It was soo good. It’s like pizza and bread sticks all in one. This is my first attempt at making a braided bread and look how it has turned out. Really happy with the outcome. I tried baking ladi pav a few months back and guess what , it was a super flop. This time followed the recipe carefully and here is the result. A beautifully braided pizza stuffed with pepper, onion, black olives, homemade pizza sauce and grated cheese. An east dinner or quick game-day appetizer. I can’t wait to see what other foods I can make into a braided treat! Hope you like my recipe, if yes then don’t forget to comment in the comment box below.

INGREDIENTS:
For Braided Bread:
3 cups All-purpose Flour
7 grams Dry Active Yeast
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Water
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Chilli Flakes
1 teaspoon Dry Oregano
1 teaspoon Dry Rosemary
1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
For Filling:
1/2 cup Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Boiled Corns
1/4 cup Black Olives
1/4 cup Yellow/ Red Bell Peppers, finely chopped
1/4 cup Mushrooms, finely chopped
Salt as per taste
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
1 teaspoon Dry Rosemary
1 teaspoon Dry Oregano
2 tablespoon Pizza Sauce or Tomato Sauce
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil

METHOD:
STEP 1 - Heat water and milk in a saucepan. Add sugar and let it dissolve completely. Make sure, the liquid is lukewarm, neither hot nor cold.
STEP 2 - Add in the yeast in this lukewarm mixture and let it activate which will take around 7-8 minutes. You will know that yeast has activated when the liquid gets frothy.

STEP 3 - In the meantime, sift in all-purpose flour along with salt and other spices.

STEP 4 - Next, add in oil and yeast mixture to the flour and knead it to a pilable dough.

STEP 5 - Smear dough with some oil

and cover with a kitchen towel, keep it at a warm place and let rise for about 1 to 1.5 hours.

STEP 6 - Till the time dough rises, make the filling.
STEP 7 - Heat oil in pan. Add in all the vegetables and let for 3-4 minutes. Next, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, herbs and pizza sauce.

STEP 8 - Let the stuffing cool completely.
STEP 9 - By the time, dough would also have been risen. Knock off the air from the dough and again knead for about 5 minutes.

STEP 10 - Divide the dough in two equal portion.

STEP 11 - Dust the platform with little flour

and roll out each portion in a long oval sheet.

STEP 12 - Put a tablespoonful pizza sauce in the center, add the stuffing along with mozzarella in the centre of the rolled dough.

STEP 13 - Next, make the cuts as shown in the image below.

STEP 14 - Now, start sealing the stuffing by bringing together the strips from each side alternatively, sort of making a braid. See the image below.

STEP 15 - Place the braided pizza on a baking tray and let it rise for additional 30 minutes.

STEP 16 - In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
STEP 17 - After 30 minutes, smear the breads with some melted butter and sprinkle some oregano over it.