{5 Recipes} Assorted Homemade Bread Part II

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First of all, sorry for not being able to update more posts for the past few weeks as I was very busy with work, upcoming events as well as my boy's school term examination. But despite of all those busy days, we also starts to enjoy making our daily Handmade Bread(Part I, HERE) which I would like to share with you some of the modified recipes that I have tried and tested.

When it comes to Handmade Bread, I think the most difficult part will be on the mixing and kneading of the dough. Personally I find it quite tedious to knead till the stretchable membrane stage which sometime takes about 20 - 30 minutes using hand instead of mixer or bread machines. But these hard work will payoff when your get to see your soft and fluffy bread that is well-received by the family. As for those who still cannot achieve that stretchable stage for your dough or having problem/unsuccessful Bread even though you follow all the steps to the dot, please do not give out. I am sure with more practice and proper guidance from those of your friends who had succeed, you too will be able to overcome the problem soon.

HOKKAIDO MILK LOAF

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I still remember vividly, a few years ago this Hokkaido Milk Bread(北海道牛奶土司) is one of the popular bread recipes circulate among bakers and I first notice this recipe at Angie's Recipes HERE which using a different method. And I have never thought after few years later, I would able to  try out this popular bread using Tangzhong(烫种) method.

Although we might not be able to get hold of Hokkaido Milk to make this milk bread but definitely with any brand of full-cream fresh milk that we have in the local supermarket we can also bake  a similar milk bread/bun that is soft, fluffy and fragrant to taste. And if you love anything with "milk" taste, this is sure to be a "MUST TRY" recipe for you.

Recipe adapted from Christine's Recipes, HERE.

Ingredients: (makes 2 loaf of bread, 17cm x 8cm x 6cm)
220g Bread Flour
50g Extra Bread Flour, set aside for kneading
50g Caster Sugar
3g Salt
1 Tablespoon Milk Powder
5g Instant Yeast
92g Tangzhong(烫种)
30ml Beaten Egg
50ml Whipping Cream
30ml Fresh Milk
25g Unsalted Butter, soften

Toppings:
1 Tablespoon Dried Cranberry And Raisin Mixture
1/2 Tablespoon Mini Chocolate Chips
1 Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge

Method:-

1. Combine all dry ingredients such as flour, milk powder, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl and mixed well.

2. Make a well in the center stir in wet ingredients such tangzhong, beaten egg and soft butter then follow by milk till it form a sticky dough.

3. Next turn the sticky dough out on to lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough by pushing the front half away with one hand, knead and constantly dust with the extra bread flour that is set aside.

4. Fold the stretched part of the dough back on itself, give it a quarter turn and repeat for 15 - 20 minutes, until the dough has been turned full circle several times and is a smooth and elastic ball. (Knead until stretchable and pass the window panel consistency)

5. Place the kneaded dough back into the lightly floured mixing bowl and leave it in a warm place to prove for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

6. Test your proofed dough by pushing your floured finger deep into the risen dough whereby it will leave an indentation that does not spring back.

7. Punch the risen dough with your fist to deflate it, re-shape the dough into oblong shape and divide it into 4 equal portion and let it rest for 10 minutes.

8. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Fold 1/3 from right and left edge to the middle and press down. Turn seal downward.

9. Roll flat and stretch to about 15 - 20cm in length, scatter with desire toppings and with roll from the top far end towards you. With seal facing down place in the loaf tins and repeat the same procedure to the next 3 portions.

10. Prove doughs for another 45 minutes or at least double the original size. Brush dough with egg wash and bake in pre-heated 175 oven for about 20 - 25 minutes depending on the size of the loaf/bun.

11. Remove loaf IMMEDIATELY from the pan and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

BAMBOO CHARCOAL AND MILK LOAF

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Get this idea from a bread post that I saw from Cathy's Joy website on her "Moo Moo Bread". Initally I was thinking about making something similar to hers but since we are using a totally different recipes, I ended up having a checker design rather than moo moo. This is the 1st time I am using 2 coloured dough and I think I have sort of over knead it as the texture seems to be a bit dry after a few hours later. But overall it still taste good with that extra dose of almond flakes on top.

Ingredients: (makes 1 loaf)
135g Bread Flour
*40g Extra Bread Flour, set aside for kneading
5g Milk Powder
3g Instant Dry Yeast
30g Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
30ml Beaten Egg
60g Tangzhong(烫种)
60ml Fresh Milk
15g Unsalted Butter, soften

Colour Dough:
3/4 Teaspoon Bamboo Charcoal Powder

Toppings:
Egg Wash
Almond Flakes

Method:-

1. Refer Steps 1 to 4 of the Hokkaido Milk Loaf recipe above.

2. Divide dough(about 400)into 2 portions weighing, 200g each separately.

3. Slowly knead Bamboo Charcoal Powder into 1 portion of the dough (200g) for a few minutes till colour is even.

4. Place both the kneaded doughs into two lightly floured mixing bowl and leave it in a warm place to prove for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

5. Test your proofed dough by pushing your floured finger deep into the risen dough whereby it will leave an indentation that does not spring back.

6. Punch the risen doughs with your fist to deflate it, re-shape the two doughs into oblong shape and cut each dough into 5 equal portion and let it rest for 10 minutes.

8. Roll each individual portion of the doughs into an oval shape about 10cm x 5cm, roll the flatten dough towards your direction starting from top down. Further divide the rolled dough into half and set aside. Repeat the same process for the remaining doughs.

9. Arrange the cut doughs(10 plain doughs and 10 black doughs) into a grease loaf tin in alternate colours of two layers. Prove the loaf for about 45 minutes or double its size.

10. Brush dough with egg wash, scatter some almond flakes and bake in pre-heated 175 oven for about 20 minutes. Remove loaf IMMEDIATELY from the pan and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.

PUMPKIN CINNAMON BUN

Since I have some left over pumpkin in the fridge from making pumpkin soup. I decided to try out this Pumpkin Cinnamon Bun from one of the Chinese website known as "袅袅烘焙香". Since we are using a different cooked dough recipe, I have changed a bit on the original recipe which I replaced her "scalded-dough" to water roux method and cold water to cold milk.

Indeed this is a very sticky dough to knead till smooth and elastic as we have added to 3 liquid items such as water roux, mashed pumpkin and cold milk. I think out of the doughs that I have kneaded so far, this is the most difficult dough to knead as it took me about 30 minutes or more. And sad to say the final result is not very good, from the step-by-step photos below you will notice that the 2nd proofed dough seems to sink after the egg wash and the surface texture became crumpled too.

Recipe adapted from 茄子, 袅袅烘焙香, Pumpkin Bread HERE.

Ingredients: (makes 6 buns)
170g Bread Flour
30g Extra Bread Flour, set aside for kneading
30g Caster Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1 Tablespoon Milk Powder
4g (1 Teaspoon) Instant Yeast
65g Tangzhong(烫种)
60g Mashed Pumpkin
75ml Cold Milk
30g Butter, soften

Topping:
Sesame Seeds, optional

Method:-

1. Combine all dry ingredients such as flour, milk powder, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl and mixed well.

2. Make a well in the center stir in wet ingredients such tangzhong, mashed pumpkin and cold milk till it form a sticky dough before mixing in the soft butter till well combined.

3. Next turn the sticky dough out on to lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough by pushing the front half away with one hand, knead and constantly dust with the extra bread flour that is set aside.

4. Fold the stretched part of the dough back on itself, give it a quarter turn and repeat for 15 - 20 minutes, until the dough has been turned full circle several times and is a smooth and elastic ball. (Knead until stretchable and pass the window panel consistency)

5. Place the kneaded dough back into the lightly floured mixing bowl and leave it in a warm place to prove for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

6. Test your proofed dough by pushing your floured finger deep into the risen dough whereby it will leave an indentation that does not spring back.

7. Punch the risen dough with your fist to deflate it, re-shape the dough into oblong shape and divide it into 6 equal portion and let it rest for 10 minutes.

8. Roll each portion of the doughs into an oval shape about 12cm x 5cm, roll the flatten dough towards your direction starting from top down. Place the seal side facing down on a greased tin. Repeat the same process for the remaining 5 doughs.

9. Prove prepared buns for about 45 minutes or double its size. Brush dough with egg wash and bake in pre-heated 175 oven for about 20 minutes.

10. Remove loaf IMMEDIATELY from the pan and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.

PANDA BREAD

Finally gets to lay my hand in trying out this cute Panda Bread which I adore very much.The original recipes from the internet called for 3 different coloured dough to distinguish between the face, features and background. But here using my reliable "Milk Bread" recipe which we love, I only used black and plain dough for this design. 

But as you can see from the photos below I didn't quite get the wrapping steps correct which cause my Panda Bread to be out of shapes for its ears and eyes.

Recipe adapted from Not Quite Nigella, HERE.

Ingredients: (makes 1 loaf, 20cm x 10cm x10cm high)
220g Bread Flour
*50g Extra Bread Flour, set aside for kneading
50g Caster Sugar
3g Salt
1 Tablespoon Milk Powder
5g Instant Yeast
92g Tangzhong(烫种)
30ml Beaten Egg
50ml Whipping Cream
30ml Fresh Milk
25g Unsalted Butter, soften

Colour Dough:
100g Knead Dough
1/2 Teaspoon Bamboo Charcoal Powder

Method:-

1. Refer Steps 1 to 4 of the Hokkaido Milk Loaf recipe above.

2. Divide dough(about 540g)into 2 portions weighing, 100g and 440g separately.

3. Knead 1/2 Teaspoon of Bamboo Charcoal Powder into the 100g of dough for a few minutes till colour is even.

4. Place both the kneaded doughs into two lightly floured mixing bowl and leave it in a warm place to prove for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

5. Punch air out of dough and prove for another 10 - 15 minutes.

6. 1st Layer: Use 90g plain dough for the face and 2 pieces of 30g bamboo charcoal dough for the eyes and fill the hollow of the eyes with 30g plain dough. (refer to the photo above)

7. Roll another 100g of plain dough over the 1st layer of patterned dough.

8. 2nd Layer: Divide the remaining bamboo charcoal dough into 2 pieces (20g each) for the ears and place another 70g of plain dough to fill up the hollow between the ears. (refer to the photo above, last row)

9. Wrap the rest of the plain dough all around the patterned dough, place dough into a well-greased loaf pan and cover it with a lid and prove for 50 – 60 minutes or till double its size.

10. Brush dough with egg wash and bake in pre-heated 175 degree oven for about 20 - 25 minutes. Remove loaf IMMEDIATELY from the pan and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

WHOLEMEAL CRANBERRY WITH MULTI-GRAIN LOAF

I love Wholemeal Bun/Bread with either assorted nuts, dried fruits or multi-grain toppings. So making this wholemeal loaf is something which I look forward to at least once or twice a week. Before attempting this recipe, I have read a few posts mentioning that wholemeal dough is rather more tricky to handle by hand compared to plain dough. So after much hesitation, I finally get myself ready to make my favourite Wholemeal Cranberry With Multi-Grain Loaf.

Although the dough was rather sticky but thank God I already have some experience in kneading the pumpkin dough so I was rather mentally prepared to knead longer for this. To my surprised the dough became more and more manageable after about 15 minutes or kneading and finally it works out after almost 30 minutes of turning, folding, stretching and turning. And I am glad  that I have made the decision to try out this bread as it is so light, fluffy and delicious with those dried fruits and multi-grains hidden in between the layer of the wholemeal loaf with a slight crisp outer crust. MUST TRY!

Ingredients: (makes 1 loaf of bread, cm x 8cm x 6cm)
110g Bread Flour
*30g Extra Bread Flour, set aside for kneading
100g Wholemeal Flour
5g Instant Yeast
30g Caster Sugar
60g Tangzhong(烫种)
30ml Beaten Egg
70ml Fresh Milk
25g Unsalted Butter, soften

Toppings:-
60g Chopped Dried Cranberry And Raisin
1 Tablespoon Multi-grain Toppings

Method:-

1. Refer Steps 1 - 6 of the Pumpkin Cinnamon Loaf recipe above.(this wholemeal dough is very sticky compared to the rest, but just keep on knead and you will get the same smooth and elastic dough result)

2. Punch the risen dough with your fist to deflate it, re-shape the dough into oblong shape and divide it into 4 equal portion(about 115g each) and let it rest for 10 minutes.

3. Roll each portion of the doughs into an rectangle shape about 15cm x 5cm, scatter each dough with some chopped cranberry and raisin roll the flatten dough towards your direction starting from top down.

4. With the seal side facing up, flatten and into another rectangle then roll dough towards your direction starting from top down again. With seal side facig down, place dough in grease loaf tin for 2nd round of proofing (around 45 - 60 minutes) or until double in size.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining 3 doughs.

6. Brush final dough with egg wash and scatter evenly with multi-grain and bake in pre-heated 180 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

7. Remove loaf IMMEDIATELY from the pan and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Lastly I hope that you won't get bored with this 2nd "lengthy" post on bread making but instead this will strengthen/boost up your confident in making Homemade Bread for your family which you gets to control what you like for your ingredients to suit their taste buds.

For more PHOTOS on these HANDMADE BREAD, please refer to the facebook link HERE.

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{Cook And Share A Pot Of Curry} Indian Fish Curry plus Prepacked Spice Paste Giveaway

About two weeks ago, I received a facebook invitation through friends regarding about this "Cook And Share A Pot Of Curry" event which request participants to cook and share a pot of curry on Sunday, 21 August 2011(from 11:00am - 11:30pm), in Singapore or anywhere of the world in order to share/introduce this wonderful cuisine together with your family or neighbours from another culture.

And sad to say, this event is also a silent protest over a recent "Curry And Neighbours" disputes which hits media headlines and upset many Singaporean. It all happens between what a Singaporean Indian family had to put up with, due to a request from their neighbour, who has just recently moved in from China. (You can read more about the disputes from TODAYonline HERE)

Today I am contributing this "Indian Fish Curry" to the Cook And Share A Pot Of Curry event to support our local culture food which might just disappear one day if nobody appreciate the way it is prepared. And to make this a fun and interesting dish, I actually bought my son to the wet market and share with him the different between fresh and prepacked spices as well as the ingredients to prepare this dish. I believe in order for others races to accept our food and culture, we ourselves must first do our parts to educate and share this local food with our kid(s) and if possible get them involve in the preparation process too.

In Singapore although we can easily find prepacked Indian Spices in most supermarkets or provision shops, I still like to patronize this type of typical Indian Spice stall that is available in most wet markets. As you can see apart from those commercial prepacked cooking spices/paste, you can also request for freshly packed mix-and-match curry pasta that are suitable for either meat or seafood.

And while queuing to buy the fish curry paste, I overheard some customers in front of me chatting about their preference in this type of freshly packed spices which taste more authentic and fragrant compared to those prepacked. From their conversation I was feeling rather upset relating it to a current Nation Hot Topics on "Curry and Neighbours" disputes. Do you really think curry STINKS whenever your neighbours or your family member(s) prepares it at home? For those of us whom grown up in Singapore (a multi-racial country), I am sure these mouthwatering curry cuisines definitely have whet our taste buds with it's aromatic fragrance from the spices used.

Ingredients: (serves 3 - 4)
1 Packet of Fresh Fish Curry Paste
3 Medium Pieces of Mackerel Steaks, about 500g
2 Medium Tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 Medium Potato, peeled and cut into chunks
3 Small Egg Plants, cut into quarters
8 Lady Fingers, cut into diagonal half
6 Long Beans, cut into 8cm sections
1 Medium Onion, chopped
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1/2 - 1 Teaspoon of Sugar(if too spicy)
750ml Hot Water
5 Leaves of Curry Leaf, optional
50ml Coconut Milk, optional

NOTES:-

~ I bought my fish curry paste (S$1.50) from an Indian spice stall in the wet market at my area.

~ You can replace Mackerel Steaks with Fish Head or firm fish fillets.

Method:-

1. Rinse and marinate the fish steak with some salt and cornflour for at least 5 minutes.

2. Shallow fry the fish pieces till slight golden brown, drain and set aside.

3. Using the same frying pan, saute the egg plants and lady fingers with 1 tablespoon of oil for a minute, remove and set aside.

4. Next repeat the same procedure for potato chunks till slight brown in colour, remove and set aside.

5. Using either the same pan or another soup pot, saute onion with 1 tablespoon of oil till soft, add in curry pasta and curry leaves and continue to cook over low heat till fragrant and paste has thicken and change to darker colour. (refer to the step-by-step photo above)

6. Add in 750ml boiling water and potatoes to the cooked paste, when the mixture comes to boil lower the heat and simmer for 8 minutes, add in the egg plants and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.

7. When the potatoes starts to soften, add in lady fingers and long beans and Mackerel Steaks. Cover and simmer for another 7 minutes or until fish and vegetables are cook through.

8. Turn off the heat, slowly stir-in coconut milk at one corner of the pot and mix it into the curry. Serve hot with steamed rice.


TIPS:
~ For shortcut method, you can first steamed the fish steak together with the vegetables for 8 - 10 minutes. Set aside.

~ Add the cooked fish and vegetables into "steps 6" and simmer for about 5 minutes, switch off the heat and stir in coconut milk.

Although occasionally I did use prepacked spices to cook my dishes for convenient purpose due to my busy timelines, I still prefer using the traditional curry paste from freshly grind spices. I love the aroma when sauteing the spice/paste with chopped onion or lemon grass which perfume the whole kitchen and living room area. And the taste of the curry will be more home cook and authentic taste compare to prepacked spices. But however if you cannot find most of the fresh ingredients over at the place where you stay, I guess by using some of those prepacked spices will be great too.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE THE

PREPACKED CURRY SPICES GIVEAWAY

In order to encourage more people cooking/trying "Curry Dishes", I would like to Giveaway 3 Packets of Instant Curry Pasta which can be use to cook with Fish, Poultry and Beef. This Giveaway opens to ALL readers around the world, if you are keen to try these curry pasta just leave your NAME and a valid EMAIL while filling the COMMENT box, also tell us more about your favourite Curry Dish(s). (example: Ellena, cuisineparadise@hotmail.com, My favourite curry dish is Fish Head Curry as I love the xxxxxxx)

I will pick up ONE lucky winner after the contest ends on Wednesday, 24 August 2011(12 Noon) and he/she will get 3 complimentary packets of prepacked curry spices(Rendang Curry, Chicken Curry and Fish Curry) from Cuisine Paradise. You can also find a related post of mine on how to cook with the Seah's Singapore Chicken Curry Spices shown above at this LINK.


Have Fun and Enjoy homecook CURRY!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~
{Updated on 24th August 2011}

GIVEAWAY RESULT!!!!!

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{5 Recipes} Assorted Handmade Bread Using Tangzhong Method

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I have never thought of one day I could write a long post base on my homemade bread because firstly I am not good in baking or handing anything with yeast especially "bread". But Sherie's homemade bread and her lovely Guest Post changed my view and doubts on bread making totally. With her easy to follow recipe, I managed to make all these Assorted Buns and 3 different flavour of Bread Loaf within a week all using TangZhong, or water roux method.

So I hope this can be a useful post for those who do not own a bread machine at home but yet interested in making some homemade bun/bread. Furthermore I also included some step-by-step photos in order to boost up your confident in trying out some of the recipes with your family during coming weekend.

CHEESE AND MAYO BUN

This is my 1st bread making session after about 3 years and I am so glad that I actually takes the courage to try out this Guest Post RECIPE by Sherie two weeks back. As you can see from the photo on the left, the texture of the cheese bun is so soft and fluffy for a handmade result. And with Sherie's detail explanation and step-by-step photos it actually simplify the process and boost up a lot of my confident.

Recipe adapted from Sherie, Maameemoomoo, 1/2 a food blog, HERE.

Ingredients: (makes 8 buns)
350g Bread Flour
10g Milk Powder
6g Instant Dry Yeast
50g Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg(60g), lightly beaten
120g TangZhong (refer to the tangzhong recipe below)
125ml Fresh Milk
30g Unsalted Butter, soften

Toppings:-
Japanese Mayonnaise
Smoke Slice Sandwich Cheese/Shredded Cheese

Method:-

1. Mix all the ingredients (according to your recipe) in your mixing bowl for about 3 minutes and make sure that all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

2. Next turn the sticky dough out on to lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough by pushing the front half away with one hand.

3. Fold the stretched part of the dough back on itself, give it a quarter turn and repeat for 5 more minutes, until the dough has been turned full circle several times and is a smooth and elastic ball.

4. Place the kneaded dough back into the lightly floured mixing bowl and leave it in a warm place to prove for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

5. Divide dough into 8 pieces. From the 8 pieces, further divide each dough into 3 pieces. Then roll each pieces to 15 cm long rope.

6. Place the rope side by side and start plaiting. (refer to the step-by-step photos above)

7. Continue to plait until you reach the end. Place the ends together and tuck them neatly under the bottom of the plait. Repeat for the remaining 7 pieces.

8. Place the completed plaited bread onto baking sheet that has been floured. Let doughs proof for 45 minutes or until double in size.

9. Squeeze or spread ample mayonnaise on the each of the bread doughs before topping them generously with grated cheddar cheese.

10. Bake at the preheated oven at 175c for 18 - 20 minutes until the bread is browned. Remove immediately.

MATCHA AND CHESTNUT LOAF

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Matcha and Chestnut combination is always one of my favourite when comes to baking. If you have follow this blog you will notice the "Japanese Steamed Matcha Cake" and "Matcha and Chestnut Chiffon Cake" where I have incorporate these two ingredients. So with the same concept I tried to replicate mum's favourite "Green Tea Bread" from BreadTalk. Although the colour of the bread is not as "green" as those from BreadTalk but the texture is definitely light and fluffy which we all loves.

Ingredients: (makes 2 loaf of bread, 17cm x 8cm x 6cm)
350g Bread Flour
10g Milk Powder
1 - 1.5 Tablespoons Matcha Powder
65g Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
7g Instant Dry Yeast
1 Egg(60g), lightly beaten
120g TangZhong (refer to the tangzhong recipe below)
125ml Fresh Milk
30g Unsalted Butter, soften

Topping:-
100g Ready-to-eat Roasted Chestnut

Method:-

1. Combine all dry ingredients such as flour, milk powder, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl and mixed well.

2. Make a well in the center add in wet ingredients such as beaten egg, tangzhong and soft butter and and slowly stir the mixture till it form a sticky dough by adding the milk to it.

3. Next turn the sticky dough out on to lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough by pushing the front half away with one hand.

4. Fold the stretched part of the dough back on itself, give it a quarter turn and repeat for 5 more minutes, until the dough has been turned full circle several times and is a smooth and elastic ball.

5. Place the kneaded dough back into the lightly floured mixing bowl and leave it in a warm place to prove for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

6. Test your proofed dough by pushing your floured finger deep into the risen dough whereby it will leave an indentation that does not spring back.

7. Punch the risen dough with your fist to deflate it, re-shape the dough into oblong shape and let it rest for 5 minutes.

8. Divide the rest dough equally into TWO portion(mine was about 400g per portion), flatten one portion of the dough into a rectangle, scatter some roasted chestnuts on the dough and fold 1/3 of the top part down and follow by 1/3 of the bottom up. (refer to the step-by-step photos above)

9. Lastly tuck in both side of the flatten dough and seal the shaped dough with your finger tips.

10. Place the loaf in an oiled and lightly floured pan for second proofing of 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough rises just above the top of the tin.

11. Bake bread in preheated 175 degree oven(or as per instruction) for about 20 - 25 minutes. The bread should be well risen, golden brown and sound hollow when tapped with fingertips.

12. Remove the loaf IMMEDIATELY from the pan and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD LOAF

I used to buy Chocolate Bread loaded with chocolate chips from supermarkets which my boy loves. But now with my new hobby on bread making I able to bake my very own Chocolate Chips Loaf which is quite well-received by those who tried and it really makes me feel those kneading and proofing time is worth working on.

Ingredients: (makes 2 loaf of bread, 17cm x 8cm x 6cm)
350g Bread Flour
10g Milk Powder
1.5 Tablespoons Valrhona Cocoa Powder
70g Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
7g Instant Dry Yeast
1 Egg(60g), lightly beaten
120g TangZhong (refer to the tangzhong recipe below)
125ml Fresh Milk
30g Unsalted Butter, soften

Topping:-
100g Mini Chocolate Chips

Method:-

1. Refer from the Matcha And Chestnut Loaf above. Replace the chestnut on "steps 8" to mini chocolate chips.

CHEESE AND SAUSAGE BUN

Cheese and Sausage Bun is always one of the popular pick among kids and adults. Here upon reading a related bread post from Rasa Malaysia and Food-For-Tots, I decided to try using the basic water roux dough method which I am practicing with to make some Sausage Buns for our breakfast. And on top of that, I also use the same dough to make some Cheese and Mayo Bun and Mayo and Spring Onion Bun too.

Ingredients: (makes 8 medium assorted buns)
175g Bread Flour
5g Milk Powder
3g Instant Dry Yeast
30g Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
30ml Beaten Egg
60g TangZhong (refer to the tangzhong recipe below)
60ml Fresh Milk
15g Unsalted Butter, soften

Toppings:-
Mini Sausage
Japanese Mayonnaise
Chopped Spring Onion
Smoke Slice Sandwich Cheese

Method:-

1. Refer Steps 1 to 5 of the Cheese And Mayo Bun recipe above.

2. Divide dough into 8 equally portions (mine was about 50g per portion for this recipe).

3. For Plain Sausage Bun: Roll one portion of the small dough into oblong shape with width around the same length as the mini sausage. Place the sausage at the top part of the flatten dough, roll the dough with sausage toward your direction and place it with seal side facing down on a paper case.

4. For Plait Sausage Bun: Roll the dough into an oval shape, place the sausage in the middle and top it with half a slice of sandwich cheese, cut both side of the dough into strips. Fold the strips alternating the left and right over the sausage. (refer to the step-by-step photo above, or click HERE for more detail.)

5. For Mayonnaise and Onion Bun: Roll the dough into an oval shape about 12cm x 5cm and roll the flatten dough towards your direction starting from top down. Place the seal side facing down on a paper case. After the 2nd proofing, use a scissor to snip an line on the proofed bun and top with generous amount of Japanese Mayonnaise and sprinkle with some chopped spring onion.

6. Proof all the prepared bun for at least 45 minutes or dough double its size before baking in a preheat 175 degree oven for about 15 - 20 minutes depending on the size of the bun.

Note:-
~ You can use this plain dough recipe to make different fillings of bun according to your preference.

BLACK SESAME LOAF WITH CRANBERRY

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This was the first bread that I wanted to make when I first saw it over at Sherie's website @ Maameemoomoo (original recipe HERE). The texture, fragrant and topping of this bread look similar to one of the cranberry bun that I always buy from the bakery near my area.

And after a few attempts on making those loaf and buns shown above, finally during National Day holiday I managed to make this together Celes from Celestial Delish. And this is definitely one of our favourite homemade loaf using freshly grind black sesame powder.

Ingredients: (makes 2 loaf of bread)
350g Bread Flour
10g Milk Powder
40g Black Sesame Seed Powder
65g Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
7g Instant Dry Yeast
1 Egg(60g), lightly beaten
120g TangZhong (refer to the tangzhong recipe below)
125ml Fresh Milk
30g Unsalted Butter, soften

Method:-

1. Refer from the Matcha And Chestnut Loaf above. Replace the chestnut on "steps 8" with 1/4 of chopped dried cranberries and repeat the same procedure on folding and adding of cranberries again before resting the dough for 2nd proofing. (in order to have more evenly spread out fillings, I did the folding and fillings steps twice)

2. Bake in pre-heated 175 degree oven for 25 minutes, remove loaf IMMEDIATELY from the pan and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

TANGZHONG / WATER-ROUX METHOD

Tangzhong, or the water-roux method(烫种法) is the best method if you are looking for some way to retain the soft and fluffy texture for homemade bread which can stay fresh for up to five days. Thus by incorporating tangzhong into your bread it will give bring a soft and fluffy bread that has fine crumbs and springy texture.

For your information, the flour-to-water ratio for tangzhong is always 1 (bread flour) : 5 (water). For instance from the recipe shown below you can make a batch of approximately 150g tangzhong.

Ingredients: (able to make 2 loaf of bread with 350g bread flour)
25g Bread Flour
125ml Water(could be replaced by milk, juice or 50/50 water and milk)

Method:-

1. Mix flour and water in a small saucepan until without any lumps.

2. Cook over medium low heat, stirring consistently with a egg whisk or wooden spoon to prevent the mixture from burning while cooking.

3. The mixture will thicken up (takes about less than 2 minutes) while cooking, so once you see “lines” appear in the mixture or it starts to form a dough. It is done.

4. Transfer the cooked dough into a clean bowl and cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface to prevent it from drying up.

5. Cool it completely before use. (I have tried using it while lukewarm and it works well too)

TYPES OF BREAD FLOUR AND INSTANT YEAST

For the recipes above, I have tried using both "Red Man" and "Prima Flour" BREAD FLOUR which turns out equally good with price ranging from S$2.80 - S$3.00 depending on the supermarkets. Whereas for the INSTANT YEAST I have do a swap on my last two recipes from "Bake King" to "Saf instant"(comes in a box of 5 packets each weighing 11g) upon recommended by Sherie and a few baking friends.

BREAKDOWN OF TIME SPENT 
FOR MAKING THE BREAD

I am sure some of you are just like me, whenever we scan through any bread related recipes we are always hesitate to try out the recipe due to the long proofing hours. But physically what it required is about only 15 - 20 minutes of hands-on such as preparation plus kneading of the dough(for those without bread machine at home) whereas the rest of the time taken is more for proofing of the dough. Below is the breakdown for your reference:-

~ Preparing Tangzhong/Water Roux: 3 minutes

~ Preparation plus Kneading: 15 minutes

~ 1st Proofing: 45 - 60 minutes or double it's original size (you can do other household chore while waiting)

~ Shaping: 5 - 7 minutes

~ 2nd Proofing: 45 - 60 minutes or double it's original size
(Check the dough after 45 minutes by pressing it lightly with a fingertip, it is ready when the dent springs back slowly. But if the dent stays as it is, the bread is overproofed.)

~ Adding Toppings/Baking Time: 20 - 30 minutes depending on the recipe.


Lastly I hope you would like this "lengthy" bread post and if you need more inspirations on bread making you can also refer to all those wonderful Bread Entries in "Aspiring Bakers #8 Bread Seduction (June 2011)" at this link HERE.

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Chocolate and Milk Pudding

This week I have invited Gertrude from My Kitchen Snippets to do a Guest Post for us on a delicious dessert which I am sure everyone would love it. I have follow her blog silently for about 2 years even though I seldom leave a note or two. From a glance at those labels you will be amazed with all the different kinds of her delicious homecook dishes/bakes which makes you drool. As for me I am always very excited whenever she post something related to "Asian Snacks" where I get to learn and see different food along the way. And if you are a dessert lover, don't forget to take a look at her "Dessert" recipes which you might find something interesting to whip up too.

So now let's welcome Gertrude and her homemade dessert which already makes me drool while drafting this post.

CHOCOLATE AND MILK PUDDING

I would like to thank Ellena for inviting me to do a guest post at her wonderful blog. Of course I was elated but at the same time, a little worried because so far I’ve only done one guest post for another blogger. Her blog is one of the very first Singaporean blog I visited when I first embarked into my blogging journey. I admired her skills in cooking, baking, creating Bento boxes and photography skills. Her blog is very popular and recently being nominated for Singapore Blog Award and has been features in Newspaper and magazines.

Since it is summer here and we are going through some heat waves she suggested that maybe I could prepared a cooling dessert or a quick and easy snack. I love the idea of making dessert using agar agar. Making this dessert is a bit time consuming but the end results is just beautiful. I hope you will try it out. Once again thank you Ellena for your kind invites.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Layers

7gram Agar Agar Powder
500ml Milk
150ml Water
170gram Sugar
25gram Dark Cocoa Powder
2 Egg Yolks

Method:-

1. Combined the agar agar powder and water and mix well. Cook it over low heat until agar agar powder completely dissolved.

2. Add in the milk, sugar and cocoa powder. Cook it over medium low heat until it boils and cocoa powder dissolved.

3. Beat egg yolks and slowly add in a few tablespoon of the agar agar mixture into it (tempering) Continue to stir and add in a few more tablespoon of mixture to it. Once it is mix pour the egg mixture back into the agar agar mixture.

4. Bring it up to a boil and turn off the heat. Check the sweetness if it is to your liking. Pour it into small moulds and let it set.

5. Once it is set, take out the pudding, cut out a few segments according to the mould design. Put alternate segments of the pudding back into the mould and leave some of it empty.

Ingredients for White Layers

7gram Agar Agar Powder
500ml Milk
150ml Water
80gram Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Method:-

1. Combined the agar agar and water and mix well. Cook over low heat until the agar agar powder completely dissolved.

2. Add in the milk, sugar and vanilla. Cook over medium heat until it boils. Remove from heat. Spoon the agar agar mixture into the empty sections of the moulds.

3. Let it cool completely in the fridge before serving.


~~~~~~~~~~~

Once again, thanks Gertrude for her wonderful guest post on this Chocolate and Milk Pudding dessert to cool us down on warm evenings. For more recipes on Gertrude's blog, you could refer to the link HERE.

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Mickey Bento Sets - From Breakfast to Dinner

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A few weeks back I received an email from Bee together with invitation to do a Bento related guest post at Rasa Malaysia. I was so surprise after reading her email because for so many years I have being one of her silent readers whom always drool over her mouthwatering photos and recipes which our family enjoys. And today I am so honor to be one of the invited guests to share my bento post with all her readers.

For this post, instead of Angry Birds I will be sharing two Mickey Bento which I have discussed with Bee. First bento set can be used for either Lunch/Dinner as it comes with soup, rice, veggie, prawn and fresh fruit. While the second set will be more suitable for breakfast, tea-snack or field trip outing.

Different Mickey shapes cutout from pumpkin, carrot, Chinese yam(huai shan) and assorted colour of capsicums for making the soup and stir-fry.

MICKEY LUNCH OR DINNER SET

Ingredients For Soup:

300g Spare Ribs
1 Medium Carrot, cut into thick chunks
200g Chinese Yam, cut into thick chunks
200g Pumpkin, cut into 3 portions
1 Sweetcorn, cut into 4 sections and halves
1.2 Litres of Water

Method:-

1. Blanched spare ribs in boiling water for 1 minute remove rinse and set aside.

2. Before cutting the root vegetables into chunk, reserve a small portion and use small assorted Mickey food cutters to cutout mickey face shaped from Chinese yam, carrot and pumpkin. (about 5 pieces from each item)

3. Bring 1.2 litres of water to boil, add in all ingredients except the reserved “Mickey” shaped cutouts.

4. Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, next place the mickey cutouts on a metal soup ladler lower into the simmering soup and cook for 15 seconds. Remove and set aside in serving bowl.

5. Ladle warm soup into the bowl before serving.

Ingredients For Onigiri And Veggies:

3 Tablespoons Cooked Rice
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
1 Thin Slice of Carrot
Nori Sheet
1/4 Bunch of Baby Choy Sum
1 Teaspoon Wolfberries
1/4 Teaspoon Minced Garlic, optional

Method:-

1. Place a sheet of cling wrap on one hand and scoop about 2 tablespoons of cooked rice on it. Shape the rice into a ball.

2. Remove the cling wrap and place it on a paper cup liner while working on the two ears on the side.

3. Using the same cling wrap scoop 1 teaspoon of cooked rice on it and shaped into semi-circle. Open the cling wrap and cover the rice ball with a 4cm diameter round nori sheet to form the ear.

4. Repeat step 3 again. Next place the 1st round rice ball onto a cling wrap, using 2cm long thin spaghetti to attach the ears on the side of rice ball.

5. Shaped these three parts of the mickey features tightly using the cling wrap and your hands.

6. When done remove the wrapper and place it on the paper cup liner into the assigned box and start adding the facial expression using mickey shape cutter, cheese and carrot shown above.

7. To make the eye balls and nose, use a craft puncher on a nori sheet to get small oval shapes and paste it on the cutout cheese.

8. For the vegetables; preheat a small saucepan with 1 teaspoon of cooking oil sauté the garlic till fragrant before adding vegetable. Give a quick stir and cook for 30 second, toss in wolfberries and cook for another 5 seconds. Remove and arrange in another paper cup liner at the side of the Mickey onigiri.

Ingredients For Tomato Prawn:

1/4 Red, Yellow And Green Capsicum
5 Slices of Carrot
5 Medium Shrimps, shells removed
3/4 Tablespoon Ketchup
1/4 Teaspoon Minced Garlic, optional
1/4 Brown Onion, optional

Method:-

1. Using small assorted Mickey food cutters to cutout mickey shaped from the assorted capsicum and carrot. (about 3 cutouts from each items, remaining cut into long strips )

2. Next preheat saucepan with drizzle of oil, sauté garlic till fragrant add in assorted capsicum and onion cook for 30 seconds before adding in the shrimps.

3. Give the mixture a quick stir, add in ketchup mix well cook until prawn changed colour.

4. Turn off the heat, dish up and assemble it on bento container.

Ingredients For Fruit Platter:

3 Slices of Dragon Fruits/Melons
4 Lychee/Cherry, seeds removed

Method:-

1. Using a big Mickey food cutter, cutout mickey head shaped from the dragon fruit and set aside

2. Arrange the serving bento with mickey head dragon fruits and some seedless fresh lychee of any fruits of your choice.

MICKEY BREAKFAST SET

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Apart from the full set of Mickey Dinner Bento shown above, I have also made another Quick and Easy Mickey Breakfast Set using some of the "Bamboo Charcoal Bread" that comes in just in time to shape the face of Mickey. But if you cannot find any Black Charcoal Bread you can always replace it with chocolate bread too.

ARRAY OF MICKEY SHAPES FOOD CUTTER

These are the Mickey Shapes Food Cutter that I used used in making these two bento shown above. If you are interested to get hold of these cutters, you can either purchase them from online bento shop or for those living in Singapore, you can get it from Kai Kai Gift at level 2 of Chinatown Point. Lastly, I hope you would like these two set of Mickey Bento which perhaps could bring back some of your Disneyland trip or childhood memories.

For the FULL Recipes of these Mickey Bento, you can refer to my Guest Post @ Rasa Malaysia HERE.

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