Celebrating G'Gina's Kitchenette's Fourth Blogiversary: Mango Jam Rolls with Cremé, Fresh Mangoes and Jam filling #BreadBakers

This challenge could not have been announced at a better time when Mangoes are in plentiful! So I got to try many a recipe involving the delicious Mango this year.

It is Monsoons here now as I type this so the number and variety of mangoes have significantly dwindled. I explored recipes with at least 4-5 types of mangoes this year.

I could not post my Bread Bakers' recipe in time for May's event of theme ' Rolls' owing to the issue with the Daylight savings time. I had made Cinnabon-style Cinnamon Rolls. I missed by an hour or so. So this time I posted well in advance.

Easy-Peasy Garlic-ky Mini Rolls #BreadBakers #NoBake

I am thankful to our Good Lord for showing His Mercy on us. My dearest Daddy had a mild chest pain last Thursday and my little girl and I rushed over to Dad and Mum's home which is a little away from the city where we stay.

I did not remember about this BreadBakers' event as a result as I was too stressed having just lost Mummy 11 months ago. My sisters who are abroad were petrified and asked me to leave at the soonest. Luckily Dad's initial cardiac results were normal. He has to go through a TMT on Tuesday and so I am scheduling this post ahead of time. We also have to drive back to our apartment with Daddy as he plans on staying with us for a bit so I may be settled only by evening hours to complete the updated post links which is ok owing to the time difference which will still  meet the event challenge time. Since it is my first time at scheduling a post, I am a tad nervous it may not happen on time. Nevertheless, family is the most important, Food always takes second place to Family, so Karen please excuse me in case this does not happen on time.

I would like to thank my good friends (you know who you are) for checking in on Daddy's health and my well-being during this trying time even if for a day or two. Also thank you for cheering me up with shared laughter and moments via calls, visits and messages. You are amazing! Just goes to show who true friends are and the love that you bestow on me is irreplaceable. God bless your families and you abundantly.

Since I did not bake ahead of time and if you have been following my posts since last May, you would know that Mum's oven is at our other home which does not make it easy for me to go over just to bake these rolls. As although we have a full fledged kitchen there all the ingredients and tools are at this home . So what started as my experiment to make Garlic Dough Balls turned out to be Garlic Mini Rolls. We had a rough Sunday night with my little girl feeling ill and so when I made this on Monday afternoon, I was pretty groggy. Sorry about the last day name change of my recipe title Karen.

My husband and I consume raw garlic as a part of our morning routine. This was started a few years ago, when a nutritionist asked my husband to have it as he seemed to have a borderline high cholesterol value back then. Then it became a habit and when we learnt of the many benefits of garlic, then it just became a part of our daily routine.

So the last time I tried this technique of baking is when I was at home after Mummy's passing away and had committed to making Whole Wheat Pita Bread. Trust me when I say that this is not only an easy technique of baking but gives almost the same results as the oven if done right. For those of you who have an oven, I will provide instructions as to how to bake it normally in the oven as well.

Garlic happens to be my favourite condiment so I could not resist participating in this event. I would like to thank the lovely Karen H Kerr of Karen's Kitchen Stories for choosing this theme.

You can serve these mini rolls with your favourite soup or simple as an appetizer as well. 

The Verdict: My 6 year old gobbled up most of these rolls as a snack! :D


You need:

• 1 pod of a medium sized garlic, peeled and cleaned; half the pod sliced finely, other half minced or microplaned
• 2 tbsp of butter / ghee (Clarified Buter) / Olive oil
• Salt - 1 tsp + a sprinkle
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour 
• A pinch of sugar
• Luke warm water  -  to knead
• 1 tsp Yeast

The Make:
Makes 8 mini rolls | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Rising Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes

1. Proof the yeast by taking the yeast with a pinch of sugar and mixing it with some lukewarm water in a small bowl. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes till it froths.
2. Next in a large vessel, add the yeast, flour and salt and knead well with the lukewarm water added in bit by bit to form a smooth dough ball. Allow to rest in a warm, dark place for at least 30 minutes. The dough would have doubled.
3. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the finely sliced garlic pieces with the butter, ghee or oil. If you do not have a mortar and pestle you can do this with your grinder/blender and if using the oil, slowly trickle the olive oil in during the grinding process. The resultant will be a creamy garlic butter. Add a sprinkle of the salt and mix well. Set aside half of the garlic butter. If you are using a blender, do not exceed a minute.
4. Next knead in half of the garlic butter in the dough and roll the dough within your palms to a longish log, as evenly as possible. Cut out pillows of dough as even as possible and roll the dough into balls or in my case pillow-shaped. Repeat till the entire dough is used and placed on the vessel with some distance between the dough pillows to allow it to expand.
5. The dough bits will expand further. Next brush the top of the dough rolls with the remaining half of the garlic butter and place the minced garlic on top and lightly press down.
6. After brushing, heat the remaining garlic butter in a pan and place the dough rolls on the pan. Cover with a lid with a steam outlet or slightly left open to allow steam to pass. Heat each side for 2 minutes.
7. For those using an oven, butter the baking pan with the remaining garlic butter after brushing the dough bits and line the dough rolls at a distance from each other. Bake for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Flip over in case you do not have top heat in your oven.

Serve hot aside your favourite soup or as it is with some butterspread/cheese spread.

April 2016's #BreadBakers' event : Our ingredient of the month is GARLIC, in celebration of National Garlic Day in the United States - 19 April - and one of our favorite food holidays. Black garlic, white garlic, elephant garlic, smoked garlic; powdered, roasted, raw, crushed or whole, include some garlic in your bread!

Now for some lovely Garlic breads from our #BreadBakers family of amazing bakers:

• Black Garlic Parmesan Sourdough Bread from Magnolia Days
• Buttery Garlic Cheddar Rolls from Kylee Cooks
• Buttery Garlic Knots from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Buttery Garlic Pull Apart Bread from Cook's Hideout
• Caramelized Garlic Chèvre Stuffed Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Cheddar, Garlic and Jalapeno Beer Bread from A Palatable Pastime
• Cheddar Garlic Dinner Rolls from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Cheese and Garlic Biscuits from A Baker's House
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Garlic Rolls from Herbivore Cucina
• Domino's Style Garlic Bread from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Easy-Peasy Garlic-ky Mini Rolls from G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Garlic Batard from Hostess at Heart
• Garlic & Gorgonzola Focaccia from Baking in Pyjamas
• Garlic, Herbs and Cheese Bread from La Cocina de Aisha
• Garlic Naan with Green Chiles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Garlic Pull Apart Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Garlic Sunflower Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Gluten Free & Vegan Garlic Breadsticks from What Smells So Good?
• {Gluten Free} Seeded Black Garlic Flat Bread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Green Garlic Parathas - Flat Bread from Sneha's Recipes
• Herbed Garlic Butter Garland Bread from Ruchik Randhap
• Multi Grain Garlic Naan from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pissaladière from The Bread She Bakes
• Roasted Garlic Focaccia from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Triple Garlic Knots from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Whole Wheat Garlic Ciabatta Bread from Cooking Club

 #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Herbert's Traditional Overnight Bread Loaf #BreadBakers

I am still very much a novice where it comes to baking breads. Mum was always good at baking and she never failed where it came to rising dough of any sort.

This month's theme at our #BreadBakers family is hosted by the lovely Holly Baker of A Baker's House. I love the way you have Baker built into your name Holly! Thank you hosting the 'Overnight  Breakfast Bread' theme. I just loved working with this theme as it gave me some experimentation to work with and I have always mentioned in my blog that I work best with experimentation. My best creations have come from some of the wildest experiments I conducted at various Kitchenettes.

This time I decided to work with an experienced baker's tips. Thomas Herbert baked at a time when yeast used to be pretty expensive (can you believe that?). So during those time of economic necessity, people had to come up with innovative ways to make their bread rise. Herbert used 1/10th of the quantity of yeast that was used in a modern day commercial institution. And hence the concept of overnight bread rose. Overnight breads makes for a mean toast which my little one and I had with melted cheese. The lush flavour comes from the long, slow, overnight fermenting process. The best part of the overnight bread is because only a tiny bit of yeast is used in the process, it actually last a longer time than most bread loaves and it is easy to digest by almost all people owing to the tiny amount of yeast. So yes it should also be called a 'Win-Win Bread Loaf'.

I admit that I had to try this bread a couple of times before it turned out right. I had to borrow a bread loaf pan from my neighbour Joshia for the second try. Yes I have lovely neighbours now and they are very good bakers as well. Ah my luck! :) So now I have the option of having them taste my creations and get candid and clear feedback as to how to improve on my next batch.

During the Christmas and New Year months, you may want to couple your roasts with a loaf of this traditional bread loaf. 

What you need:

• 560 gms white flour (maida)
• 10 gms salt
• 10 gms sugar
• 2 gms dried yeast
• 4 gms butter
• 100 ml full cream/full fat milk
• 200 ml cold water

The Bake:
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Rising time: 2 hours + 8 hours + 1-3 hours | Bake Time: 55 minutes

1.  In a wide, large bowl, mix all the ingredients together for 15 minutes by hand or until you have a smooth and stiff dough. (Tip#1) Cover and allow to rest in a cool place for 2 hours.
2. Mould to fit in a large tin. Cover and leave it overnight to rise in the fridge.
3. After the 8 hours, in the morning, the loaf would have slightly risen. Remove it from the fridge and leave it to continue rising in a warm, dark place. This could take anywhere between 1-3 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 240°C or to the highest temperature up to 240°C. Lightly dust the risen dough with flour and given it five slashes (you can add more or less slashes but I thought Herbert's five slashes were in sync with the size of my loaf and also is my fave number :D )  with the tip of a sharp knife or kitchen blade.
5. Steam the oven (Tip#2) and bake the loaf  for up to 10 minutes on the same temperature. Lower the heat to 180°C for about 35 minutes or until baked to a beautiful golden colour and it rings hollow when tapped on the bottom.
6. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Your fabulous overnight bread is ready to be toasted and used with your favourite spreads. In my case, my little girl and I had some fine melted cheese sandwiches..ah bliss!

Tip:
1. If the dough comes together in the 15 minutes stop. Please do not over knead as you will come up with a dense bread. However if you do not knead enough (the 15 minutes maximum) to bring the dough to a smooth, stiff texture you could end up with a flat and not so fluffy bread.
2. How to steam your oven: there are several methods to do this but I chose the most natural method of them. Cover the baking bread with a large bowl or pan for the first 10-15 minutes of the bake to trap naturally released steam.

As I mentioned a little earlier, the #BreadBakers theme this month is Overnight Breakfast Breads. This includes yeasted breads that you prepare the night before then bake in the morning as well as quick breads that you prepare ahead of time then mix and bake in the morning. December is a busy time for celebrations and getting together with family and friends. It is always nice to think ahead and to make dishes ahead of time so that you-- the baker-- can enjoy the fruits (or breads!) of your labor with your loved ones. Here is what the group is sharing today, enjoy!

• Braided Holiday Stollen from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Bran Muffins from Cali's Cuisine
• Christmas Morning Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Christmas Morning Sticky Buns from Sara’s Tasty Buds
• English Muffins from Ruchik Ranhap
• Fruity Butter Bread from Magnolia Days
• Gingerbread Breakfast Loaf from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Herbert’s Traditional Overnight Bread Loaf from G’Gina’s Kitchenette
• Old Fashioned Doughnuts from Cooking Club
• Onion Bagels from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Overnight Apple Fritters Monkey Bread from I Camp in My Kitchen
• Overnight Belgian-Style Yeast Waffles from A Baker’s House
• Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls from Hostess at Heart
• Overnight Pecan Sticky Bread from Cook’s Hideout
• Stollen Muffins from Baking in Pyjamas

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Pumpkin, Poppy and Papaya seeded breadsticks #BreadBakers

Woohoo another fabulous Bread baking event that I am glad to be a part of and ever-so ecstatic to be a part of this beautiful heart warming family of bread bakers. This month's event 'Hearty Fall Breads' is hosted by the lovely Wendy Klik of the 'A Day in the Life on the Farm'. Thank you Wendy for this lovely baking opportunity. I am so excited that I could dish out these breadsticks despite my doubts and apprehensions.

Breadsticks in my opinion need to be nice and crunchy and shared over a big bowl of healthy soup. I made almost 3 batches of these breadsticks but the best ones are those that I rolled out thinner. Of course the thicker ones actually tasted better with some dressing/cheese even. So you can actually serve up two makes out of this recipe a thicker wholesome one and a thinner crunchier one. I served these breadsticks with Chef Donna Hay's 'Roasted Pumpkin soup' for the soul. What's best was when I made these breadsticks and soup, it was heavily raining and there was this chill in the air.

If you have followed my earlier recipe on 'Papaya Pudding', I did mention how Mum had planted these amazing Papaya seeds which then gave its first crop just a month ago, I saved the seeds off this Papaya fruit that Dad shared with me. I have added these seeds in the bread. So I am super glad that these breadsticks turned out the way they did.

The Pumpkin is also homegrown and was shared by Dad. I love being so close to home where I can get to taste all of Mum's and Dad's fresh grown produce of fruits and veggies.

This is such a simple make if you stay calm throughout the bake :) My first batch I was super nervous for some reason..hmmm! I think I am watching too much of Masterchef Australia :D

You need:

• 3 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1.5 cups of plain white flour
• 1 tsp of dry active yeast
• 2-3 tbsp of lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Luke warm Water to knead
• 100 gms of poppy seeds
• Seeds from a medium size pumpkin, cleaned and air dried 
• Palmful of papaya seeds, cleaned and air dried
• Olive oil to brush
• Reserve white flour for kneading

The Make:
Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Resting Time: an hour | Makes enough for 4-5 adults or more depending on the size of the roll

1. In a small bowl, combine both the dry active yeast and the sugar and 2-3 tbsp of lukewarm water to mix well. Allow to activate and if it does not fluff up, then use a new batch of yeast and repeat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours, salt, the proven yeast and knead. Then add some lukewarm water and knead to a sticky albeit mouldable consistency.
3. Allow to rest in a dark, warm place for an hour in a well-oiled bowl and cover with cling film or until the dough almost doubles in size. My oven or microwave oven is almost always a sure bet esp. in cold weather when I preheat my microwave for a minute and then allow the bowl to sit in the switched off, preheated oven.
4. Meanwhile dry roast the papaya and pumpkin seeds separately.
5. Sprinkle some white flour on a clean surface, place the doubled up dough and punch out the air off the doubled up dough.
6. Knead the pumpkin and papaya seeds into the doubled up dough.
7. Line a baking tray with some parchment paper or brush some oil onto the surface of your baking tray.
8. Grease your palms with some oil and keep a bowl aside with some oil to repeat in between rolls. Roll the dough into breadsticks between your palms in horizontal manner to the thickness you prefer, to avoid the dough from lengthening and breaking off on its own. Place the palm-rolled dough onto the baking tray, leaving some gaps between each piece allow room to rise.
8. In a smaller bowl combine some olive oil and the poppy seeds and brush over the rolled dough pieces.
9. Preheat the oven to 180°C and place tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Keep a close watch between batches to avoid any burning. After the first batch, the subsequent batches would require less than 15 minutes.

Serve this up with your favourite soup or in my case this time was the Roasted Pumpkin soul for the soul.

Let's take a look at the other Fall Flavors being shared today

• Apple Crumb Quick Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Apple Raisin Bread from A Shaggy Dough Story
• Browned Butter Semolina Pumpkin Bread from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Buttermilk Wheat Bread from Magnolia Days
• Eggless Apple Sage Cheddar Scones from Spill the Spices
• Fall Harvest Bread from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Fig Focaccia from My Catholic Kitchen
• Harvest Grains Bread from Hostess At Heart
• Mr. Potato Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Multigrain Bread With Seeds from Sneha's Recipe
• Pumpkin and Apple Cornmeal Griddle Cakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pumpkin Bread from la cocina de Aisha
• Pumpkin Bread from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Pumpkin Bread Rolls from Spiceroots
• Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls from Recipes Food and Cooking
• Pumpkin Dinner Rolls with Cinnamon Butter from Bread Therapy
• Pumpkin, Poppy & Papaya Seeded Breadsticks from G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Pumpkin Raisin Bagels from Cook's Hideout
• Pumpkin Saffron Yeast Biscuits from The Schizo Chef
• Pumpkin Scones from A Baker's House
• Pumpkin Sourdough Bread from Passion Needed
• Schiacciata Con L'uva (Tuscan Style Grape, Olive and Goat Cheese Focaccia) from Ruchik Randhap
• Sesame Seeded Semolina Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Pumpkin Yeast Bread from Mayuri’s Jikoni

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread #BreadBakers

"Baking is such an emotional process...a lot of memories come flowing through with each rise and fall."

"Mummy, every recipe I will ever start to make or write will always take your name first! Even the famous Sanskrit quote (that Daddy has always quoted..) Matha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam starts with the Matha (Mother).I miss you like crazy. A huge part of my being has gone with you. I hope I told you enough number of times of how much I love you and though you have probably not argued with anyone more than me, I have told you that without you Mummy I am nothing. Your every advice and words are engraved in my heart and soul forever. I will wait to see you as I know now that Lord has taken you for His Purposes and I am no one to question that but please don't ever leave my side. I pray that though He has taken my Guardian Angel on earth, He always allows you to be my guiding force through Him as you were when you were physically here. Waiting to see you Mummy!"


So I joined this lovely group of BreadBakers last month. Unfortunately even as I got ready to post my first ever recipe as per the BreadBakers theme, I heard of the tragic demise of my dear, dear Mummy who has been my everything all through my life and my prime inspiration of all my cooking and baking. She along with our Lord has been with me through thick and thin and every rise and fall in my life. So I can only pray they continue being with me even more strongly from now on.

This month's host at BreadBakers is Mireille Roc of The Schizo Chef  who chose Yeastly 
Flatbreads. This is an amazing theme to contribute towards as my first post to #BreadBakers as I always have seen Mum love her Zaatar manakish or flatbreads such as Kuboos or Pita Bread with Hummus and Garlic paste. Thank you Mireille for hosting this event and for choosing this theme.

I made the Whole Wheat Pita Bread in my Mum's Kitchen this time as I am with my Dad now. And since we are on Lent till Mum's 40th day of demise, I accompanied this Pita Bread with Hummus. 

You can bake your Pita Bread but this time I chose the stove top as the oven is not handy at the home we presently stay at. Baking in the oven definitely would be the better option. I will try and include that make the soonest possible as G'Gina's Kitchenette is getting ready to make a new change/ announcement in the weeks ahead that may affect my presence at the next BreadBakers event as well (that will have to wait for now as I am taking each day as it comes during this heartbreaking time).

Pita or Pitta bread is famous to the Mediterranean or Middle Eastern regions and is what I grew up eating as a staple next to Chapati. I have always loved the smell and taste of toasty Pita Bread with Cheese as a filling or topping...yumm! Also known commonly as Khubz or Kuboos, Pita bread is a soft, slightly leavened wheat bread that has this marvelous pocket as you cut/tear it open that can be filled with a whole herd of fresh and delicious ingredients such as Falafel, Cheese, LaHm (meat) of your choice.

Ever since Mum's passing there has been rains every now making it quite dark and lacking enough natural light. And also the dusk comes in quite early. So I have to admit that whilst I would have loved to take brighter pictures, I just about managed to come up with these photos of my make with alternatives. The heart wouldn't allow to go on trying as it is quite heavy with the loss of Mummy. She used to make me these warm and toasty Pita/Khuboos breads with my favourite spoons of cheese. I was born and raised in Dubai, UAE which is why Mediterranean / Middle Eastern food is close to my heart always and just the smell of which is laden with sweet memories.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

You need:

• 3 (quarter litres) cups whole wheat flour
• ½ tbsp active dry yeast
• ½ tbsp salt
• A pinch of sugar
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1¼ cup warm water

The Make: 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes + 2 hrs resting time | Cooking Time: 24 minutes-36 minutes | Makes 6 Pita breads

Making the dough:

1. Add ½ cup of the warm water into a small bowl along with a pinch of sugar and the yeast and stir to dissolve. Set aside for 15 minutes in a dark, warm place (at room temperature in warm weather). Note 1*
2. In a fairly large bowl, add the rest of the warm water followed by the flour, olive oil, salt and mix lightly with a large spoon.
3. Check to see if the yeast has frothed, otherwise discard and begin again. If frothed, then add it to the flour mixture bowl. Knead well into a soft and smooth dough.
4. Grease the same large bowl with olive oil. Ensure that the dough has the oil applied all over it. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or napkin and allow it to rest for at least an hour and a half or even up to 2 hours in case of cooler weather.

5. Uncover the bowl and you would see that the dough has doubled up.

*Thought twice about adding the above pic and decided to give you the 'real' view of the doubled dough.

6. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a neat working surface and deflate the dough by gently punching into the dough.
7. Divide the dough into 6 equal medium-sized balls. Cover with the kitchen towel again and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

8. Dust the working surface with flour and roll each ball into round circles of 6" each in diameter and about ¼" thick.

9. Again cover the rolled out circles with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 10 minutes separately (not stacked up) on parchment paper or even just on a large plate.


Making the Pita Bread on the stove top:

1. Heat a skillet.
2. Place the bread on to the skillet and cover and cook each side for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Try to cover the skillet using a transparent lid to see the rising action.
3. Cut the Pita bread in half and you would find pockets as described above. Stuff it with your favourite fillings or just use it as a dipper with hummus. It is quite comforting esp. with the downpour outside.

NOTES
1* What Mum had taught me was when the weather got cool, to warm up the oven/microwave for a minute or two and turn off the heat. Then set the bowl of yeast mixture in the oven and allow it to rest. 
2* In case the dough becomes too sticky than add some more flour. 
3* While proving the yeast, ensure warm water and not cold/hot water is used. Otherwise the resultant dough would most likely fail.

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com

Yeasty Flatbreads from the #BreadBakers

• Chickpea Moroccan Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Emirati Khameer by The Schizo Chef
• Focaccia by Simply Veggies
• Garlic Naan by Seduce Your Tastebuds
• Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread (Flammkuchen) by Magnolia Days
• Grilled Naan by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Naan by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Hönökaka - Swedish Flatbread by Passion Kneaded
• Kesra - Moroccan Flatbread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Man'oushe - Lebanese Flatbread by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Margherita-Style Grilled Flatbread by Cali's Cuisine
• Orange Herb Pitas by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Paneer Kulcha by I Camp in my Kitchen
• Roghni Roti by Sneha's Recipe
• Sausage Gravy Pizza with Peppers and Onions by Pastry Chef Online
• Simple Pita Bread by A Baker's House
• Spelt Biskers by What Smells So Good?
• Tigelle - Italian Flat Bread by Cooking Club
• Whole Wheat Pita Bread by G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Za'atar & Cheese Manakish - Levantine Flatbread by Ruchik Randhap
• Za'atar Spiced Khobez by Cook's Hideout

A Tribute to my Inspiration, my Mummy - Pie Meat & Mushroom buns with Sesame

Two weeks ago I was happy and excited to let my inspiration, my Mum know of some new developments with regards to G'Gina's Kitchenette and even before I let my readers know, I wanted her to know as she is the very being of my culinary adventures. Unfortunately I did not get that chance and my Dad confirms that she did not know of the new development either. Little did I know that soon after my angel, my inspiration was preparing for the most important journey of her life...her journey to Heavenly Abode!

My mum for all of you who do not know her was way beyond just my mum...She was an angel, a guide, a friend to the needy and all who walked into her life. Never have I heard of such words of praise, respect and gratitude of any other human being. Her leaving us is a big loss to each and every one of us. She has saved lives with just her intuition and experienced advice each time. I feel privileged to be born the child of such a mother. 

Once someone with great vision of things beyond the physical world, told me of how blessed I was as I was born with two guardian angels unlike others who had only one. My mum she said was my guardian angel on earth! I cannot tell you the loss I feel with Mummy going to Heavenly Abode. She is my everything. I only pray that she will be with me every breath and step of the way guiding me as I go through this challenging life ahead!

I have always wanted to bake bread and have to tell you that I was skeptical regarding any success I may have in doing so. I had already started my bread baking adventure with a little success in the past and more successful recently since Christmas 2014 actually. I have in the past mentioned how my culinary adventure began with baking and how I literally burned the house down with my cake bakes when I was all of 12 yrs.

My mother has always been an inspiration to my cooking/baking feats. She has always cooked and baked creations from around the globe and I was always inspired and in awe of her cooking. Although I was never a foodie growing up, I knew somewhere back then that I would want to do something related to cooking (mostly baking). Also a lot of friends and family growing up would ask me to pursue the food line or to even start my own entrepreneurship or write my recipe creations through books (there were no blogs back then!)

Recently a couple of friends of mine have been inspiring me with their recipe creations around #bread. Among them Dr. Reny Thomas, my school friend has been an immense inspiration with her creations with breads, buns, etc. Also my college buddy and fellow food blogger Shireen had recently posted regarding this fabulous and inspiring group called #BreadBakers, a wonderful group of bread lovers who inspire each other every month to bake theme based bread or with a common ingredient. I am proud to be associated with this group and this will give me a chance to whip out some bread baking skills. This was the much needed leap I required to get me out of my shell.

What inspired me to make this bread was the renowned chef Jamie Olivier's pie creation. I always wanted to try a serious savoury pie and though I have made mince pies and the like during school/college days, I still wanted to perfect my pie making skills. The filling for this bread has very much been inspired by Jamie's pie creation whose recipe I will share very shortly with you.

You need:

For the stuffing/filling:

• 500 gms beef skirt/ tender beef, cut into 1/2 cm chunks
• Ground pepper
• Olive oil
• Rock/sea salt
• 1/2 of a  nutmeg, grated
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 red onion, peeled and diced finely into cubes
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, separated from the stem
• 125 ml pale ale / non-alcoholic beer / ginger-ale / chicken broth
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp Homemade Tomato Puree
• 125 g button mushrooms, diced small
• 1/2 litre cold water

For the bread:

• 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 300 gms plain flour
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 tbsp lukewarm water
• 1/3 cup Oil
• 2 tbsps Sesame Seeds
• 1 egg, beaten (to brush on the buns)
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 drizzles of oil

The Make:

Preparation time (including proofing/proving time and resting time for the meat): 1 hr, 50 mins  + 3-4 hrs or 8 hrs for resting the meat| Baking Time: 20 minutes | Cooking Time: 1 hr, 53 minutes | Yields 7-8 medium sized buns

For the buns' pie meat filling:

Source for the pie meat filling: Jamie's Olivier

1. In a large bowl, add the beef chunks, 1 tsp of ground black pepper, a good pinch of rock salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil and massage well.
2. Next add the grated nutmeg, toss and coat well. Set it aside.
3. In a wide pan or wide-deep bottomed pot, add a drizzle of olive oil followed by the prepared beef chunks and brown on all sides, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Then uncover and allow and liquid to evaporate over the next 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Simultaneously in another flat pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and cook the veggies including the rosemary over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until caramelised and softened. Stir frequently to ensure even cooking. Remove from the heat.
5. Next add the ale to the beef, turn up the heat to high and allow all the liquid to bubble ensuring you are scraping all the delicious sticky bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Add in the flour and tomato puree and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until a thick paste is formed.
7.  Stir in the softened veggies into the larger pan with the beef and then pour in 1/2 litre of cold water. Add the mushrooms and bring to a boil.
8. Lower the heat to medium, cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Then take off the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes or the liquid has thickened and the beef is tender.
9. Season to taste and set aside for a few hours or preferably overnight in the fridge. The longer you rest the beef the better it gets. 


For the Dough :

1. Remember to use the yeast which has not expired. In a small bowl, mix the yeast and  2 tbsp sugar and dissolve it with 3 tbsp lukewarm water. Mix well and set aside for about 5 mins until it froths. In case it does not froth, throw away and use new yeast.

2. In a large bowl, add the flour,1 tbsp sugar, salt, oil and mix well.
Gradually add the milk and make a loosely formed dough.

3. Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface, take the dough and knead it with your hands until the dough becomes soft and supple. Knead up to 5 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky but still soft.

4. Take a large bowl, add a light drizzle of oil and put the dough and make sure it is coated with oil so that it does not dry out. Cover it with a cling wrap and let it sit at room
temperature for about 90 mins or until the dough doubles in size.

5. Line a flat baking tray with parchment or butter paper. Or you could directly grease the baking tray with a drizzle of oil and use directly (like I did!)

6. This part is going to be fun. Take the doubled dough onto a flat surface and punch down the dough with your hands and knead it well so that all the air held in escapes
from the dough. 

7. Next divide the dough into 8 equal parts.

8. Take one of the 8 parts of the dough, roll it into ball and then flatten it out into a disc about 3-4″ in diameter.

9. Add a tbsp of pie meat stuffing in the center of the disc and fold the corners the disc towards the centre to cover the stuffing well. Keep a kitchen towel at your side to wipe your hands in case your fingers get messy with the filling in the process. Fight the instinct to wash your hands each time as you would get the dough sticky with damp hands.

8. Repeat steps 8 and 9 until the remaining 7 bun dough is formed. Line them on the baking tray, folded side facing down and equi-distant giving enough space for the buns to rise and form. 

9. Set aside the buns at room temperature for about half hour or until they begin to swell.

11.  Preheat the oven to 180°C.

12. Right before popping the bun dough into the oven, whisk 1 tbsp of water with the egg and brush all over each bun. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of each bun.

13. Carefully set the buns in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Trust me the smell emitting from your kitchen will woo you to come in time to open the oven and take these beauties out.

14. Remove the baking tray from the oven and let the buns cool and rest on a rack before serving.

Now for my vegetarian friends, remember you can use other fillings such as Aloo Jeera (Potato with cumin seeds) or Kadai Paneer or mushrooms or the like.

Bon Appetit!