Hi there,

I'm new to the forum, but I've been an avid fan of The Fresh Loaf for quite a while.  My father was a professional baker for quite some time, and I've picked up the "baking bug" from him.

I have a question about a recipe that I just formulated.  I am trying to make reasonable "ladi pav" (also known as "pao").  They're basically soft buns with a relatively soft but golden crust.  The closest comparison would be decent hamburger buns.  I used the following ingredients:

3 cups maida, 2 tsp instant yeast, 1.5 tsp sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup milk, 1.5 tbsp butter, 1.25 tsp salt

I proofed the yeast in the water, into which I'd dissolved the sugar.  I mixed the flour (maida) and salt in a separate bowl, and once the yeast had done its thing, I poured that, the milk, and the melted (but not hot) butter into the flour mixture and mixed well.  I kneaded it with quite a lot more maida (I would say that I added at least another cup, most likely a cup to a cup and a half) - it was exceedingly wet and sticky, and I couldn't have kneaded for a full ten minutes without that much of an addition.

It was still quite soft and a bit sticky by the end of ten minutes' kneading.  I greased a bowl and proofed the dough for two hours.  It rose very well. 

I punched it, kneaded it a few times without any additional flour, and formed it into eight small balls. The dough was still quite soft, but not very sticky. I let this rise for just under an hour - again, it rose very well.  I baked the buns at 365 F (approximate) for 35 minutes.  They baked through properly, and tasted quite nice, but I'd like to improve the recipe in the following ways:

-make them softer and moister

-make them hold their shape better (they spread out quite a lot), and rise a bit higher

Any suggestions at all would be fantastic! 
Thanks in advance,

Sarah