I wrote and rewrote the introduction to my bread, Bhatura, for this post. You see, this post is for the “Bread Bakers” group. And I did join the group to bake breads with them, for I do love baking breads immensely and baking with friends gives me a chance to learn new things. But my today’s bread is not baked! So after writing and rewriting the introduction to it, I just decided it would be better if I told you why I chose this bread. Our first event is hosted by the lovely Renee Dobbs from Magnolia Days and she chose the theme for this month’s Bread Bakers – “Bake your favorite bread”. Needless to repeat that I ignored the Bake part, sorry Renee !! I have a reason – hear me out. I was focussing on the word favorite. And Bhatura is my daughter’s favorite bread. She loves the bhatura with some chole. Always has. Though it is a bread she enjoys a lot and I often make it for her, I never thought about posting recipe on the blog. Because simply said “ everyone has their own recipe” for making bhatura. 
Then, a couple of weeks ago I met a few International friends over for drinks. This is a very well travelled, multi-cultural set of people who have recently made the US their home – just like me. The topic of conversation suddenly was food (surprise!!) and quite a few of them mentioned that they LOVED eating the “puffed up fried bread” at Indian restaurants or homes. It was a revelation of sorts. They did mention the fabled Naan, but most of them said they craved the bhatura and puri. So that settled it. I simply had to make some and share. And I thought, why not share the recipe with them and all of you as well. After all, it is the favorite bread month and I simply chose the favorite bread of friends and family. 
There are various methods people follow to make bhatura. Some add yeast, some knead it in yogurt only, some make a sort of a sourdough starter and some like me simply add baking soda & baking powder. The flavors in each method vary. I personally do not enjoy the yeasty smell in a fried bread so I stay away from yeast. I usually don’t make these preplanned, so there goes the overnight rise. Therefore I use a bit of yogurt and some baking powder and baking soda, and give the dough a couple of hours to rest up. The dough does its magic in the fry pan. 
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here are this month’s favorite breads as shared by BreadBakers. Stop by and enjoy.
- Bhatura – Leavened Fried Bread by Anshie at Spiceroots
- Cinnamon Bread by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands
- Fiona’s Wonderful Bread by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
- Kashmiri Naan by Jenni at Pastry Chef Online
- No Knead Whole Wheat Bread by Holly at A Baker’s House
- Overnight Country Sourdough by Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Peach, Prosciutto and Gorgonzola Pizza by Robin at A Shaggy Dough Story
- Potato Bread with Raisins by Kathia at Basic N Delicious
- Pumpkin Challah Bread by Sophie at Sweet Cinnamon & Honey
- Raincoast Crisps Bread by Kimberly at Rhubarb & Honey
- Yogurt Almond Bread by Cindy at Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Walnut Wheat Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
Bhatura – Leavened Fried Bread #BreadBakers
Ingredients
- 400 gms All purpose flour
- 100 gms Semolina
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 C plain yogurt
- 1 C water
- 4- 5 tsp oil
- Oil for frying Avocado/Peanut/Grapeseed I used peanut oil
Instructions
- Mix the flour with semolina, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- Now add the yogurt and mix.
- Slowly add in the water a few tbs at a time and mix it in. You may not need the entire cup of water or you may need a bit more. This will depend on how the conditions are where you live.
- As soon as the dough comes together and there are no dry spots left, stop adding water.
- Knead for a few seconds until combined, then cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, add in the oil to the dough and knead it in.
- Cover and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
- Now knead the dough until soft and then cover and let it rest for at least 2 hours. Then knead again and divide the dough into 16 portions. Keep these portions covered while you get the oil heated up.
- Heat oil to about 350 *.
- Flatten each portion of the dough and roll it out into a spherical shape of about 3-4 inches in diameter with an even thickness on all edges.
- Deep fry in oil and wait for it to puff up and then turn and fry until brown.
- Serve hot off the fry pan. Ideally with chole, but goes well with curries too.