Did you use Bread flour or All purpose flour? If the latter, then can you please refer to my Tips section right below ingredients --DK

It is 1 and 1/4 cup milk --DK

Hard surface is cos you overbaked it. Its possible you waited until the top looked brown. Egg wash usually gives that classic bakery shone, anything else tends to provide a pale color. --DK

Bread flour is not same as Maida. Bread flour makes excellent breads but you can use all purpose /maida as well. Using just Wheat flour will make for a dense bread. --DK

Pls refer step 11 --DK

Two possible reasons -1) The dough did not rise. And/or 2)Baked it too long or in too high heat. --DK

Really? Never knew that flour comes with yeast already packed in!! How do they know how much yeast to add? Are you sure about that? Wud luv to know more info --DK

Please refer my Tips section below ingredients --DK

Technically I would just make an equal substitution or add 2-3 tbsp more all purpose flour. But few people who have tried making this with all purpose tell me that they needed 2-3 cups more. Given that I personally haven't tried with all purpose flour for this recipe, I have to go with what they say. I wud suggest trying equal and/or plus 1/4 cups and then take it from there. I also have a nagging doubt that there might be instances when people add more flour than necessary. The dough should be lightly sticky to begin with but if you knead it well it will be replaced with elastic and smooth dough. And this, in my opinion makes for a delicious fluffy bread. --DK

Wheat flour does make the end result dense. But since you used Atta which in my opinion is equal to whole wheat pastry flour, it should not be as dense as using regular wheat flour. If your dough rose well, then it should be spongy. Kneading is always good for developing gluten. Another thing - for the browning, applying a thin coating of butter or egg wash would get it browned better than baking it longer :) --DK

If its hard, then you are over baking it. May be your oven is getting heated faster (and higher) than 350. Reduce the temp or bake for a shorter time and see if it makes a diff. --DK

I think its the Oven. I personally dunno about the numbers but I located this in the Internet - http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_gasmark.htm. Is this what you are referring to? Hope it helps if it is. --DK

Thanks a bunch Raji for the feedback. I am so glad you liked it :) Now I am craving Pav Bhaji :( --DK

I think you baked it longer than it required (and/or it was close to the heating element) --DK

You shouldn't get an yeasty smell. I have heard that you would get in case where one uses more yeast or let the dough ferment for way too long. To get the golden brown color on your rolls, brush them with egg wash or use butter before baking. --DK

Of course! The title says "Pav" not "Pav Bhaji" --DK

Anywhere between 2 to 4 hours depending on the weather/humidity of your place

It is 2-1/4 "TSP" (teaspoons) and not "cups". Yes it is 2 tsp + 1/4 tsp.

Brush some butter on top of the pav before baking for the color. If you are OK with eggs, then brushing it with egg wash (1 egg with 1 tsp water - beaten) which will give it a golden brown color. There wont be any eggy taste to the finished product.--DK

Did you use All purpose flour or Bread flour? The bread flour makes it v light and gives it that amazing spongy texture

No, the all purpose flour still makes a spongy bread (not as well as bread but with a wonderful texture nevertheless) Possibly 2 reasons. 1) Over baking 2) The dough was not risen enough. Did your dough rise well ?

Really!?I am surprised to hear that. I have tried it so many times and also as you can see many CIY members have tried this recipe too. I have never had this issue..

Guess the bread flour and all purpose flour make the difference..Try adding the liquid little by little next time

Thank you so much for the kind words. Made my day :) For the browning on top, brush the top with butter/one beaten egg. It will give it a shiny golden brown finish. The hardening of the first batch could be cos of 2 reasons - "Too much heat that the bottom cooked faster then the top", "Baking for too long".

Its hard to pinpoint a time limit since the weather/humidity/season in your area will decide that. It can take anywhere between 45 minutes to another hour and a half for second rise

Please refer to the substitution link I have provided in the Ingredient section for further clarification for substituting yeast

I used Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Yeast

I use an US cup which is 240ml

You can use "Email to a friend" link just below my post to send a copy of this to your mail :)

There can be two possible reasons - 1) Your oven temperature was too hot. So it cooked fast and hard without properly baking it. 2) The dough did not rise well. Usually its the yeast action which brings that texture of sponginess. 3) The color on top can be achieved in two ways - by applying some beaten egg on top or melted butter which gives it that rich brown color.

I am not sure of the machine was the cause, I wud think its more the quality of the flour. Yes, I think adding the milk as needed , slowly as you are kneading would surely help :)

To answer both your questions : Yes, you can substitute with rapid yeast. In that case, just add the equal measure of rapid yeast to the flour directly. There is no need to proof it in the water like for active yeast. Lukewarm water varies depending whether you are using active yeast/Rapid yeast. Just check your package - it will give you the temperature with which you need to warm your liquids. Also You dont need to rise the bread twice like I do in this recipe. Only once is usually enough in Rapid Rise yeast. Hope this helps :)

Hey lalitha, Thanks for your feedback. I have sent you a mail. As for the query, of course you can try adding masalas or even stuffing to the recipe to give it a savory twist. Get creative and wild - it will surely work cos its v flexible recipe. As for as substituting wheat flour goes, to get the same sponginess would be a tad difficult. But you can use the substitute guideline I have provided here: http://chefinyou.com/2009/07/substitutes-in-baking-101/. Here in the US of A you get something called as "Wheat Gluten" which is nothing but wheat protein extracted while grinding the wheat into flour (usually its ground away and wasted). Its immensely healthy and protein rich. Adding a tablespoon of that whenever you use wholegrain in baking gives it that amazing texture similar to all purpose flour. If you don't find its fine - try the substitution table to try with wheat flour. Hope this helps :) --DK

The doubling and yeast action depends on the climate you enjoy. The more warm and humid it is, lesser the time like say 40-45 minutes. The cooler and lesser the humidity more the time - say around 1-1:30 hrs. :) --DK

Thank you so much RJ - luv these rolls myself. Do lemme know what went wrong with Khaman - may be I can help? :)--DK

Thank to you, I just realized that my comment for Deepali seems to be missing for some reason inspite of me remembering to answer hers! Anyways - the hard getting hard is owing to the Oven temperature. It means that your base cooked way faster than the rest of the rolls. You can try the following options - 1) Reduce your oven temperature next time. Suppose I say 350 for 20 min try 300-320F for 30-40 minutes. 2) Another method is placing your baking sheet on another baking sheet - double base so that your sheet doesnt get as hot as with a single one 3) try placing your baking sheet on top rack instead of the bottom one (in short as far away from the heat source). Since all Oven temperatures are not alike ( electric, gas, company make, outside weather), do adjust it accordingly. Hope this helps :) --DK

That could be cos you placed the baking tray in your lower rack or cos of your too much heat from the oven. Just place these in double sheets. That is, place another baking sheet, one top of the other and bake them. That way the heat will not get harsh for the bottoms to burn. Hope this helps --DK

If you are using white flour, then it will double in size (the original recipe will mention it). If it is wheat flour, the rise will be v less but if you touch the dough after resting and it springs back, then its ready :) --DK

Yes, bread flour has more protein and it gives beautiful spongy texture to all yeast based breads. You can certainly use All purpose flour instead of the bread flour - the results will be little less spectacular than with bread flour. If you can get your hands on Vital wheat gluten, you can add 1 tbsp to the all purpose flour to achieve that fabulous texture.:) --DK

Just brush them with little beaten egg/ melted butter before baking them. That gives the color. I am not too sure about the M/W though since I have never made anything in it. Hopefully it might just work with m/.w too :) Thanks for your beautiful feedback. Glad to hear that :) --DK

Hi NB - thank you so much for the feedback. I am glad that it came out well enough to break ur myth! I am sure this is just the beginning of many many more to come :) --DK

Thanks BB :) The rolls will continue cooking for few minutes after you remove them from the oven. That's why you will find most recipes call for resting period. The one you removed earlier - that would have been completely cooked if you had let it sit for few minutes after removing from the oven. So next time you find them turning brown, just remove from the oven and let them rest outside for few minutes. Then see - it would be perfect :) --DK

I think it has to do with the oVen..raising the heat can also make the bottom the burn faster before the it cooks....Keep the rack on top level and do the same....check to see if this works --DK

The commentator just meant Baked. Egg wash helps to give color to your baked goods and has nothing to do with softness. As for that I can think of only 2 possible reasons - 1) The flour - Did u use bread flour or all purpose flour? The bread flour helps to give it even more softer texture than all purpose although that really should matter at all in this case since I have tried with both of the flours and they have come out almost equally soft. 2) Did the dough rise? A good rise is mainly the cause for softness...did you let it rise twice like I mentioned in the recipe? ---DK

Steam bread? I did not understand your question Sana - can you explain what you are looking for? --DK

Add it in the first step along with the yeast. Beat the eggs first then add it to the yeast, water and sugar mixture. --DK :)