Breadcraft: Mouthwatering Bread Recipes

Café culture is on the rise all around us, and these cafes are characterised by a menu comprising exotic dishes using artisanal bread. Replicating such bread dishes is often a challenge, as different types of bread are not easily available. This is where our multi-purpose generic slice bread comes to the rescue! With just a few tweaks, you can easily create fancy fusions and exotic bread dishes using our humble sliced bread. 

Regular sliced breads, whether the white option, or the healthier whole wheat bread, or multigrain breads are great alternatives for fancy bread. Check out the following recipes to make lip-smacking bread recipes using regular bread that is easily available. 

Check these recipes, even if you have extra bread at home that can be fashioned into a delicious meal or snack! 

Pav Bhaji Bites 

Pav Bhaji, once a street food popular in Mumbai has now gained popularity and is now loved all across the country and even the world! The tantalizing combination of the spicy bhaji with delicious buttered pav is to die for! 

While pav bhaji is a whole meal in itself, tweak the recipe a bit and make it into an appetizer for your next home party! 

Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4-6 servings 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 tsp garlic ginger paste
• ½ cup chopped green capsicum 
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes 
• ½ cup boiled and mashed potato 
• 2 tsp boiled peas
• 2 tsp red chilli powder 
• 1 tsp pav bhaji masala 
• Salt to taste 
• 1 tsp lemon juice 
• 1 tsp freshly chopped coriander 
• 6 very sliced breads (white or brown)  
• ½ cup butter 
• 2 tsp cooking oil 

Method: 

1. Take a large-size kadhai and heat some oil in it at medium flame. Once hot, add the chopped onions and cook until they are lightly golden. Add chopped capsicum and cook for a minute. 
2. Now add the ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw smell wears off. Now add the chopped tomatoes and add salt to taste. Cover and cook until the tomatoes become mushy. 
3. Now add the red chilli powder and pav bhaji masala and mix well. Add the boiled and mashed potatoes and mix everything well. Add the boiled peas, and use a masher to mash everything into a semi-smooth texture. 
4. Finish it off, with lemon juice and chopped coriander. 
5. Take a pair of bread slices, neatly cut out their edges, slather them with a good amount of butter on both sides and roast on a flat pan for a minute. Now add a small quantity of the prepared pav bhaji inside one slice. Add a bit of chopped onions. Cover using the other slice. Now, neatly cut each sandwich into 4 triangular bite-size pieces.
6. You can close the pav bhaji bites using a toothpick, but avoid it if children are a part of the event. Serve as a snack or an appetizer for your party. 

Healthy Dabeli Sandwich in Multigrain Bread

Dabeli is a beloved snack from the streets of Kutch in Gujrat. It is a simple preparation of sweet, spice and savoury flavoured potatoes in a humble pav, laced with crunchy peanuts, sev and pomegranate seeds. 

Like most street foods, the dabeli is not the most healthy. So enjoy the flavours of dabeli with a healthy twist. 

Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup boiled and mashed potatoes (use sweet potato to make it healthier) 
• 1 Red chilli powder 
• 2 tsp dabeli masala 
• 2 tsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste 
• ½ cup roasted peanuts 
• 1 pinch turmeric powder 
• 1 pinch red chilli powder 
• ½ cup plain sev
• 4 tsp pomegranate seeds 
• 4 slices of multigrain bread
• 2-3 tsp dates and tamarind chutney 
• 2 tsp butter 
• 2-3 tsp finely chopped onions

Method: 

1. We start by preparing the dabeli mixture. Take a kadhai, and heat some oil in it on medium flame. Once heated, add the boiled potatoes in it, add the red chilli powder, dabeli masala and salt, and mix to form a uniform mixture. Once the mixture is cooled, add the dates and tamarind chutney to it. 
2. In a small bowl, make a mixture of a few drops of oil, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and salt, mix the roasted peanuts in it. Mix until each peanut is well coated with the seasoning. 
3. Once the mixture is nicely mixed and cooled, take 2 slices of multigrain bread, spread a generous layer of the dabeli mixture on one slice, and top it with some finely chopped onions, crunchy masala peanuts and a few pomegranate seeds. Cover with the other slice of bread. 
4. Using a little butter, roast the sandwich on both sides until nice and crunchy. 
5. Place the plain sev on a flat plate, Cut off the edges of the sandwich and dip the sandwich in the sev, so that all the edges are coated with sev. 
6. Enjoy this healthy dabeli sandwich while hot. 

Chicks in a Blanket

This recipe is originally made using pork sausages and is a bit more complex than what we will do. But you can enjoy an oddly similar yet different variant of the original recipe. It is a cool snack or a fancy appetizer to serve.

Total Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8 servings 

Ingredients: 

• 4 spiced chicken sausages 
• 4 slices of regular white or brown bread
• 2 tsp cornflour 
• 4-5 tsp melted butter 
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• ½ tsp very finely chopped coriander 

Method: 

1. The first step is to preheat the oven to 300’C. Cut the spiced chicken sausages into equal halves. 
2. Take a bread slice, cut off the edges and cut it diagonally to get 2 smaller triangles. Using a rolling pin, gently flatten the slices to get thinner triangles. Repeat for all remaining breads. 
3. Prepare a cornflour slurry by mixing the cornflour with very little water, to get a slightly thick consistency. Place one half of the sausage on one triangle of bread, and very gently roll the bread around the sausage. Take care not to completely wrap the sausage, and keep a small edge of it visible, for aesthetic appeal. So that the sausage appears to be wrapped in the blanket of bread. Seal the open edge of the bread using the cornflour slurry. 
4. Quickly make a mixture by adding some minced garlic, salt and coriander to the melted butter. Using a brush, brush each piece with the garlic and herb butter. 
5. Place all the pieces on a baking tray, and bake for 10 minutes or until slightly crispy.
6. Serve this spectacular snack with a dip of your choice.

Jugaad Garlic Whole Wheat Bread Sticks

Who does not love those delicious crunchy, buttery garlic bread sticks that are served with fondues, dips, or even with soup at restaurants? These sadly are expensive and tough to make at home. But use some “jugaad” and you can make such crispy and healthy garlic bread sticks at home! 

Total Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8-10 servings 

Ingredients: 

• 2 slices of whole wheat bread or brown bread 
• ½ cup melted butter 
• 2 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 pinch salt 
• 1 tsp very finely chopped coriander 
• ½ tsp red chilli flakes (optional) 

Method: 

1. This recipe can be made using an air fryer, you can also bake the same using an oven. If you use an oven, then set it to preheat to 300’C. 
2. Take the whole wheat bread slices, and cut off the edges. Now further, cut the bread into 3-4 thinner slices. 
3. Using slightly moist fingers, roll each of the bread slices gently so that it gives a bread stick-like appearance. Repeat for all the bread slices. 
4. Make a garlic butter, by simply adding salt, garlic powder, coriander, and red chilli flakes to the melted butter and mix well. Pour the melted garlic butter into a flat plate. 
5. Now dip and roll the prepared bread sticks into the melted butter and coat each stick well. Place these garlic bread sticks in the air fryer and bake or place them on a baking tray and add them to an oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until they turn golden brown and crispy. Enjoy them as it is, with a dip, with soup or any other way you like.

Eggless No Bake Caramel Milk Bread Pudding

If you have some milk bread at home, put it to good use!  Try this creamy and delicious bread pudding that is easy to prepare with minimal steps. 

Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4-6 

Ingredients: 

• 5 slices of milk bread (add or reduce the quantity depending on the size of the bread) 
• 1 ½ cups full-fat milk 
• 4 tsp sugar 
• 1 tsp cornstarch 
• A few drops of vanilla essence 

For Caramel:

• 2-3 tbsp of sugar 
• 1 tsp water 

Method:

1. Cut the milk bread slices into smaller pieces and bits. Now in a pan, add the milk and add some sugar to it, put it on low flame and stir. Once the milk is hot, add the corn starch, stirring constantly to avoid lump formation. 
2. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves and the milk thickens. Now add the pieces of bread to it. Stir and mash well to ensure no bread pieces remain. Add some vanilla essence mix well and keep aside. 
3. In an open pan, make caramel, by adding sugar on low flame, once the sugar crystals begin to melt, add 1 tsp of water and allow the mixture to turn light brown. Keep stirring to ensure an even distribution of heat. Take care to keep the flame low and ensure the caramel does not turn dark brown. 
4. Take a cake mould or any mould you wish to prepare the pudding in, transfer the caramel sauce on it, and spread it well. Now add the milk and bread mixture on top of it and spread evenly. Cover the pan with a lid or aluminium foil. 
5. Prepare a water steamer, by adding some water to a large vessel with a proper lid. Let the water in the steamer boil. 
6. Once the water comes to a boil, place the bread pudding in the steamer and steam for about 30 minutes. 
7. After steaming, remove from the steamer and allow it to cool. Gently unmould the bread pudding on a serving plate. 
8. Enjoy with a dollop of ice cream or even as it is.