Braided Buns

Happy New Year
These roses in my balcony inspired me
to post this first blog of 2008.

Ingredients

Maida (plain flour) -3 ½ cup
Warm water - ¼ glass
Dry yeast -3tsp
Warm milk - ¼ glass
Egg -1
Sugar -4tbsp
Butter -4tbsp
Salt - ¼ tsp
Sesame seeds

preparation

Sieve maida and keep aside.
Take quarter glass of water in a tumbler
and dissolve yeast and one table spoon
of sugar in it.
Cover the tumbler and keep aside for
15 to 30 minutes to act.
In a bowl pour warm milk,dissolve 3table spoons of
sugar and salt. Beat in egg and butter.
Pour the rising yeast into this bowl
and mix in the flour.
Kneed for 15 minutes into a smooth dough.
If the dough is dry, add few drops of
warm milk and butter.
Cover this with a warm moist cloth and keep
in a warm place to rise for four hours.

Divide the dough into three or six balls
and roll in your palm to braid it;
keep in a greased and dusted pan
for another two hours to double in size.

Bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degreeC
first for 20 minutes
and then take the pan with buns out of
the oven and brush with beaten egg and
sprinkle sesame seeds on the top.
Bake it again for 5 more minutes.

Serve the buns hot with honey or strawberry jam.

Tips

While covering the dough with a cloth,
take care the cloth does not touch the dough.
Use very fresh yeast.
All ingredients should be in room temperature.
You can shape the dough into a duck, a crab or a knot.

Your kids will surely say ...o mommy great..