Mumbai's bakers, homemakers tell you why baking bread is a cinch

When Aparna Surte an architect for an engineering firm returned to Mumbai from the US after having spent 10 long years there one of the first things she missed about the country was its hearty bread ldquoI went around looking for the kind of bread that you get in the US here and always used to ask how come there arenrsquot any artisan bread hererdquo remembers Surte ldquoA couple of times I also got bread that looked homemade but clearly wasnrsquot once you bit into itrdquo Homemade multigrain bread Pics Courtesy Aparna Surte Surte finally decided to do something about her longing for good bread She enrolled herself for a oneday baking workshop conducted by food consultant Saee Koranne Khandekar where she was taught to use locally available ingredients to bake the Mediterranean olive and zarsquoatar bread focaccia multigrain cinnamon pullapart rolls and Grissini breadsticks with dried spice On returning home that very evening she baked olive focaccia bread which turned out well Since then Surtersquos baked challah bread several times and canrsquot stopmarvelling about how easy it is to bake bread ldquoOh my God It tasted wonderfulrdquo she exclaims when asked about the bread But the intriguing part about Surtersquos experiments with bread is that she doesnrsquot even have a mixer at home Or any fancy equipment whatsoever Challah loaf with sesame seeds Baking has the reputation of being an exact science that is tough to crack But food consultants and baking enthusiasts insist that this is just a rumour Baking a simple loaf of bread requires no fancy oven and not even a weighing machine if the ingredients of your recipe are weighed in grams ldquoBaking bread is a more forgiving science when compared to baking cakesrdquo explains Khandekar ldquoIf you add a couple of extra grams of ingredients you can still get a good loaf of breadrdquo She also points out that recipe books tend to have exotic sounding ingredients quotPeople have approached me asking what multipurpose flour is On knowing that it is simple maida they have wailed saying that they have wasted their whole life not bakingrdquo says Khandekar who once helped a student bake focaccia bread with an oven and a steel thali instead of a baking tray Cinnamon rolls by Aparna Surte Richa Lulla who blogs at kneadwithlovewordpresscom explains that apart from kneading the dough one can also make calzones pizza bases and Irish breads on a tawa with an iron vessel covering the bread With her simple oven Lulla has so far baked focaccia whole wheat bread cinnamon rolls and chocolate pullapart rolls to name a few with cups and spoons which cost between Rs 10 to Rs 50 as weighing gadgets ldquoAll ingredients that you want such as maida oil ghee butter salt and spices are available at your local grocery storerdquo says Lulla Recipe by Saee Khandekar Mumbaibased food blogger and baker Anuja Sule has been baking for eight to nine years but tried baking bread only two years ago due to a lsquophobiarsquo ldquoI was not getting the technique right and so had this blockrdquo she adds Sule explains that the trick to baking a good loaf of bread lies in its soft dough ldquoYou should knead stretch and fold your doughrdquo explains Sule who now makes cheese and garlic bread focaccia bread Danish bread herbal masala bread and dinner rolls among others ldquoThe dough must be softrdquo she explains adding that at one point during the baking process the dough must be able to stretch from one end of the working area to the other Aditi Handa of The Bakerrsquos Dozen points out that there is this great sudden need to demystify baking bread as people percieve it to be tougher than it actually is ldquoAll you need is an oven and a baking trayrdquo says Handa adding that a few of her customers have tried baking bread in a convection microwave with good results u00a0The kitchen of The Bakerrsquos Dozen has seen couples fathers and daughters and friends elbow deep in flour baking gourmet bread during several workshops ldquoThe only tedious part is waiting for the bread to proof And kneading physically takes energy without any equipment at home But thatrsquos about itrdquo says Handa ldquoThere is something about baking a good loaf of bread People find it therapeuticrdquou00a0 Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients Baking timeu00a020 minutes Baking temperature u00a0200 degrees celsius u00a0 gtgt 200 g flour gtgtu00a02 tsp yeast gtgtu00a01 tbsp sugar gtgtu00a0frac12 cup lukewarm milk gtgtu00a015 tbsp butter gtgtu00a01 tbsp castor sugar gtgtu00a015 tsp cinnamon ground gtgtu00a03 tbsp raisins gtgtu00a02 tsp butter for brushing gtgtu00a01 tsp salt Method gtgtu00a0Place the yeast and sugar in a bowl and top with the lukewarm milk Leave in a warm place to froth for 510 minutes gtgtu00a0Make a soft dough using the frothed yeast and the flour adding more milk if necessary Work the dough on a clean surface such as a counter top gtgtu00a0Rub the salt and butter together and work into the dough Knead well Rest covered with a plastic wrap or moist muslin for 15 minutes or until double in size gtgtu00a0Punch the dough and knead again gtgtu00a0Roll out onto a floured surface until about frac14 inch thick gtgtu00a0Mix the butter castor sugar and cinnamon powder gtgtu00a0Spread the cinnamon butter on the rolled out dough Sprinkle raisins gtgtu00a0Roll the dough into a spiral log gtgtu00a0Cut the log into twoinch pieces and place cut side up in a round nineinch pan with some space in between for the rolls to rise Leave to double in size again gtgtu00a0Bake for about 20 minutes at 200 Celsius gtgtu00a0Remove and brush with the melted butter when hot gtgtu00a0Cool before serving Baking tips gtgtu00a0Keep the dough of your bread soft gtgtu00a0If you are using cups and spoons to measure your ingredients be sure to know how many grams each can hold gtgtu00a0You donrsquot need fancy equipment to bake A convection microwave and a steel thali will do gtgt A short course in baking can help you learn the technique of doing it rightu00a0