Delicious Goan Poee, Easy Recipe

Goan Poee Recipe with Useful Tips

Of all the various kinds of breads available in Goan bakeries, perhaps the most popular of them all is the poee. It’s an old and traditional favourite. Now let me show you an easy recipe for Goan poee or cunneachi bhakri as we call this in south Goa. You could say it’s the Goan version of pita bread, for poee too have that characteristic pocket.

In the past, this traditional bread was made from whole wheat flour and wheat bran. Nowadays, however, in Goan bakeries, poee are made from all-purpose flour or maida because maida makes them fluffier and softer. But they add some wheat bran to the dough and then add in some more wheat bran while rolling out the bread.

I use a mix of whole wheat flour and maida like in many other poee recipes. However, my recipe has a little more of whole wheat flour than maida. And as in the traditional recipe, I’ll use wheat bran to roll the bread out. Do follow my step-by-recipe and make this tasty and nutritious Goan bread at home. You’ll be so glad you did.

And who in India hasn’t tasted the famous Goan pao or pav, now available in almost every Indian state. Do check out my easy recipe for these soft, pillowy Goan pao / ladi pav and you’ll find they’re not that difficult to make at home at all.

Ingredients

1 cup (125g) whole wheat flour

¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour (maida)

¼ cup lukewarm water

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp instant dry yeast / 1½ tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp oil

Approx. ½ cup more of warm water

Approx. ¼ cup bran

Makes 6 poee

Procedure

1. We’ll begin by activating the yeast. (Not necessary actually when you’re using instant dry yeast.) Transfer the ¼ cup of warm water and the sugar to a small bowl. Stir this for a few seconds to dissolve most of the sugar.
2. Add the yeast to this mix. Stir everything and then cover the bowl and set it aside for around 10 minutes to let the yeast bloom.
3. Sift the whole wheat flour and maida into a mixing bowl. Mix in the salt.
4. Add the bloomed yeast and mix this in too.
5. Next, add warm water (around ½ cup), a little at a time, to the flour mix and make a soft, slightly sticky dough.
6. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead it well for around 5 minutes.
7. Then, grease the same mixing bowl used earlier with a little oil, and transfer the dough to it. Apply a little oil to the top of the dough ball as well. Cover it and keep it in a warm place till it doubles in size. (Around 1 to 1 ½ hour) The proofing time with active dry yeast could be a little longer.
8. Punch the dough down and then transfer it to a clean work surface dusted with maida. Knead it very lightly and divide it into 6 equal parts.
9. Shape each part into a ball. Roll each ball into a disc over a sprinkling of bran to a diameter of around 5 inches and to around twice the thickness of a chapati. Transfer the discs to parchment paper lined trays. Cover the discs with a kitchen towel and set them aside till they begin to puff up. (Around 40 minutes)
10. After that, bake them in a preheated oven at 240 C / 460 F on one of the lower racks for around 6 – 7 minutes or till fully puffed. Don’t over-bake them or they’ll turn crisp and hard. Once fully puffed, let them stay in the oven for just around 30 secs and then immediately take them out. This is especially essential if you’re using a small oven.
11. If yours is a large oven, once fully puffed, bake the poee on the middle rack for 1 minute to let them brown slightly on top and then take them out.
12. After the poee cool a little on a wire rack, wrap them in a kitchen towel to keep them soft.
13. To pan-bake poee, heat the pan or tawa on a medium-high flame till it’s nice and hot. After the second proofing, transfer a rolled-out disc to it As soon as it starts forming bubbles on the top, flip it over. When it starts puffing on the other side, flip it again, and heat it till it puffs completely. Sometimes, if a poee puffs up only partially, you could help it puff completely by pressing the puffed part gently.
14. There will be a slight difference in texture between the poee baked in the oven and the ones baked on the tawa. Also, the ones baked in the oven will stay puffed longer. The pan-baked ones get deflated on cooling but remain hollow inside. Both however will be equally delicious.

Enjoy!