Pagnotelle Farcite

Do not be scared by the name of the dish. In Italian parlance Pagnotelle basically means a small round loaf and Farcite means stuffed. So basically these are stuffed round bread. Now when we think f making a bread the first thing that comes to mind is that it must be really hard work. Plus there is no guarantee that the bread will turn out to be soft and tasty. Now all this fear is just in the mind. Baking bread is quite easy. You simply have to master the technique, use the right ingredients and be aware of certain tricks and rest assured that every time your bread will turn out “A perfefcto”. Sure there are some artisan breads that require  a higher degree of expertise and knowledge but then you can always start at the basics and then reach higher.

Ingredients

1 cup flour+3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tbsp dry instant yeast

3 tbsp granulated sugar

½ cup warm milk

1 egg

2 tbsp butter

Pinch of salt

For the filling

Now basically your filling can be anything of your choice. I have used a chicken keema filling here.

200 gm chicken keema

1 onion, chopped fine

3 green chillies, chopped

1 tbsp soya sauce

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp parsley

Salt to taste

Start with the bread dough first.

Mix together milk, yeast, 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp flour. Stir it well and keep aside for 30 mins.

In another bowl mix together 1 tbsp sugar, egg, butter, salt and flour.

After 30 mins the yeast mix would be all frothy. Add it to the dry ingredients and mix well. Knead it well so that the gluten is activated. If you are doing it by hand then knead on a kitchen counter for about 10 minutes. Now this is where the technique comes in. First is how to knead by the stretching and pulling method. Second is to do the window pane test to see if the gluten has been activated. The window pane test means that you take a small ball of the dough and start to stretch it gently. It should stretch to an opaque film without tearing. If it tears easily then it means that you have to knead some more.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rise for about an hour or two.

Make the filling. Saute the onions and green chillies. Add the keema, salt and sauces. Cook till the keema is done. Sprinkle the parsley on top. Let it cool down.

This is a very basic filling. You can choose your own filling to stuff the buns with.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Divide the dough into 12 balls. Slightly roll out each ball, stuff with filling and roll into a round shape again. Place the balls on a baking mat. Keep some space between the balls as they will go in for second proofing. Once all the balls are ready, cover them with a kitchen towel and leave for about 15 mins to rise again.

Apply some egg wash and pop into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes. 

Enjoy them hot out of the oven.