Panini

In most of the English speaking countries, Panini (singular panino) refers to a grilled or toasted sandwich made with breads like ciabatta, baguette, focaccia or so on. Panini is a word of Italian origin which simply means “small bread” or “bread rolls”. The filling ranges from vegetables to ham, salami etc and topped with cheese. The grill markings on top is a characteristic of panini. These sandwiches are made using a grill also called as panini grill with contact on both sides.

These are baked at a relatively lower temperature than the traditional bread loaves. Also we do not bake till it forms a crisp crust. The best part is, these breads can be freezed for a couple of days by storing them in good ziplock bags. You can fill it with any ingredients of your choice and grill them for a quick fuss free sandwich. You can make them in any size or shape that you like. It’s also far more easier to eat than a subway style loaf 🙂 As always, I have used a 240 ml cup. Please feel free to add or reduce the amount of liquid ingredients as each flour absorbs liquid differently. You may use butter instead of olive oil. So, what are you guys waiting for? Why not make it for tonight’s dinner? Please do not forget to share your experiences and feedback in the comments section. Stay

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour 125 gm
• Fine semolina 125 gm
• Salt to taste
• Milk 180 ml (3/4 cup)
• Sugar/jaggery 1 tsp
• Instant yeast 1/2 tsp
• Oil 1 tbsp
• Fillings of your choice for the sandwich

Method:

• Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a mixing bowl.

• Add lukewarm milk to this and start kneading using stretch and fold method.
• Drizzle oil while you are kneading so that the dough doesn’t strick to your handa. Increase the amount of milk or add little water so that the dough is very soft.
• Knead for around ten minutes or so till the dough bounce back on poking.
• Transfer the dough into a well oiled bowl and allow it to double in volume.

• Now, punch out the gases and divide the dough into six or eight equal parts.

• Roll them into ovals or rectangles or around half centimeter thickness.
• Arrange these on a parchment lined baking tray and spray some water on top to prevent drying out.

• Allow these to puff up (not necessarily double) for maybe 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile preheat the oven at 170-180 degree Celsius for ten minutes. (yes these breads are baked at s slightly lower temperature than the regular breads).
• Bake these for 15-16 minutes or till it looks fully cooked. No meed for the top to turn brown.
• Remove from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes.
• Slice it horizontally and fill it with your favourite sandwich ingredients.

• Grill it using a sandwich maker and serve hot.

Notes:

• For our dinner, we stuffed it with lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, grilled paneer, onion and cheese. This was accompanied by a bowl of hot carrot tomato soup.
• For the following morning, hubby had a yummy breakfast of masala omlette, cheese and lettuce.
• My sandwich maker, doesn’t have these horizontal lines, so I grilled these on my grill pan, pressing it firmly using a spatula.
• Be creative and use vegetarian or non vegetarian filling of your choice. Enjoy.