BREAD

Bread is one thing that I really love since my childhood and I still am very fond of it. In my early years, I distinctly remember eating the softest bread not in Mumbai, where I lived then but in my native place, Mangalore. I could never figure out why the giants like Brittania, Wibs or Modern could not bake such soft breads like the local bakeries in Mangalore. A fresh loaf of bread from Ganesh or Vrinda Bakery in Mangalore would be like sponge literally. The irony is that Brittania bread continues to be on the store shelves but the local bakery bread has almost become extinct. Sometimes makes me wonder why a better and cheaper  product  became extinct while something which was more expensive and not so good continues to be available almost in every store.

In the early years of life, bread was eaten mainly in the form of sandwiches in India. The  varieties of bread available in Mumbai were the brun (eaten with 'maska' or butter), kadak (crisp outer crust) pau and the small local bread or 'pau' eaten with the 'vada' and 'bhaji'.

Some old Irani restaurants in Mumbai still offer the brun maska and chai. They are slowly becoming a part of the history of the city of Mumbai and will be soon only found in history books.

Mumbai city gets the credit for presenting two extremely popular creations the 'vada pau' and the 'pau bhaji' to the world. Vada pau is also called the Bombay Burger or common man's burger.

Over the last few years, one has been fortunate to stay in cities where one is spoilt for choice. The supermarkets now have a full menu of bread in all major cities in India for the last few years. From the ubiquitous brown bread to multi-grain, kraft corn ( a dark malt bread consisting of cereals and oil seeds like: malt, wheat, rye, oats etc) , norlander (a rye bread with sunflower seeds and nuts), ciabatta ( Italian yeast bread with moist crumb and a crisp crust dusted with flour) to the baguettes (a long thin loaf of French bread distinguishable by its length and crisp crust). There are so many other varieties available now that it is not possible to cover them all here in the blog.

I wanted to share some simple delights that one can rustle up with some basic ingredients which are usually at home.

1. 

   Extra Virgin Oil & Balsamic Vinegar dip..

   Olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip: This is something common which most good Italian restaurants will usually serve.This dip goes best with the focaccia bread but not to worry, you can also enjoy it with any other easily available bread like the ciabatta or the french baguette. Please do not use the sliced sandwich bread though -as you will not get the same pleasures. You need a good Extra Virgin Olive oil to begin with and some good balsamic vinegar. Balsamic Vinegar originates from Italy and if you get it, the balsamic vinegar from Modena is the best. Recipe :- Mix 2 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar ( in fact, balsamic vinegar can be just a small drizzle of a few drops). Adding too much of balsamic vinegar will make the dip sour.

          Your dip is ready in a jiffy, isn't it?

     2.  Now that you had the basic done, we can go to the next variation which is a build up

         from the above without the balsamic vinegar. You can make your own flavored oils for

         the dipping, simply add some fresh herbs and spices to the extra virgin olive oil.

         Dried red chili flakes or oven roasted garlic or sun dried tomato’s or rosemary go well.

         Simply allow the flavors to blend in the oil for at least 12-15 minutes before you serve.

         

         If you need to serve immediately, place the dipping dish in the micro-wave and heat

         for 8-10 seconds.

          

          Both are best served in porcelain dishes. Bread dipping is a healthy alternative due to

         the use of olive oil.

     3. Chili Garlic Toast with Cheese (my version) : Take a french baguette and cut it into

        thin slices. Take some butter (quantity depends on the number of slices), add a pinch

        of  salt and some pepper. Mix all these well together with the help of a small spatula.

         Use a grater to grate 2-3 fresh garlic cloves, use the same grater to grate one green

         chili. Mix the grated chili and the garlic in the butter. Let this mixture remain for 10

         minutes and then apply it on the baguette slices. Pre-heat the oven for around 10

         minutes so that it is ready to welcome the bread into its warm fold. If you do like

         cheese on it, add some grated cheese on it before putting it in the oven. A couple of

         minutes in the oven and you should get crisp, yummy slices.

    4. Bruschetta :is an antipasto or appetizer from Italy.It is basically a roasted bread topped

        with garlic and extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. The most popular topping with this

        is the basil and tomato. It is easy to make and is bursting with flavours.

Recipe :- In a bowl, mix together 4-5 diced tomatoes, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 t-spoon lemon juice, fist full of basil leaves,  salt and pepper; set aside. Slice the baguette bread into 1-inch slices. Pre-heat the oven for 10 minutes on about 450 degrees F. Brush one side of each slice with extra virgin olive oil. Place the slices oil-side down on a cooking sheet, and toast them in the oven until golden brown.

You can serve the tomato mixture in a bowl with a spoon with toasted bread slices or top each bruschetta with the tomato mixture and place on a large serving plate. Beware if you do the topping too early, the bread will become soft and soggy.



Bon appetit and enjoy with a hot bowl of soup this winter....