Italian Herb and Sundried Tomato Breadmix

I pick up this pack of breadmix from Sainsburys in a whim. I remember previously bought something similar from Singapore for triple the price!

It is convenient if you are living in temporary accomodation like me.... without the usual baking stuff.

The pack come in 500gram bags and almost contain every thing you need. I simply added olive oil and water then knead by hand... just follow the instructions on the back and you can't go wrong.... or so I thought.

First the instruction say rub oil with mix until it "resembles fine bread crumbs", - well, I am sure i measured the amount of oil correctly but I never get to that stage. In any case, i am skeptical about the purpose of this step. In the science of bread making - the oil will coat prohibit the formation of the glutten. I dun recall having adding oil as the first step in making bread back at home but who cares, i continue with step 2 even though is it far from fine bread crumbs.

Next, the instruction says to knead for 10min. Ok fine. Then cover and wait for 1 hour. I do not know if they mean 1 hour for the 16C weather in London - my bread didn't rise sufficiently until 3 hours later. Even then, I had to place the dough next to the electric heater.

Once it is proofed, I briefly knead againm and leave the dough to rise AGAIN for another 30 minutes!!!! Nope, 90min to be exact.

By the time, the bread is baked, I was dead tiring. Fortunately the effort was worth it - the bread is light and soft. It is deliciously tasty with the bits sun dried tomato and flavour of olive oil.

The only problem is that the loaf doesn’t keep fresh for long. 24hour is the max. After that the bread is dense and heavy like Lady Gaga's makeup!

Until my shipment of all the baking equipments arrive, I will stick to the Tesco 95 pence loave which is fresh, soft, and effortless!

Steamed Pau - 莲蓉包

It's been a while since I pick up this packet of lotus paste. I used to think that we use the same type of lotus paste for mooncake and for the pao but obviously I was wrong. So when I saw this packet that was meant for pao filling, I grabbed a pack... and it sat in my fridge until now I need to clear the fridge before we leave SG.

My sister and brother are taking their family over for a swim last evening, so the grand plan is to have the piping hot steam bun ready when they are back from the swim. Imagine holding the scorching hot bun when the body is shivering... Agh, good plan.

Only that I didn't get the timing right. The pao was over an hour late... and the first tray only ready when they are having dinner. Haha, just in time for dessert!

Luckily my family is always supportive and finish up praise eveything that I make. I only keep 2 for my phototaking today (will be uploaded soon).

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Basic Yeast Dough
Recipe Source: cookingmomster

Ingredients:
500gm pau flour, sifted ( I use Blue Key Brand Pau flour )
6gm instant yeast (I used 11g)
100gm sugar
50gm shortening (I used crisco)
250gm water

Method :
1. Mix instant yeast in the water. Sprinke some flour (from 500g) over it. Wait till it is frothy (about 15min). The orginal method provided was to dissove the yeast with sugar and water. But I am a little skeptical so I followed the my same old method. Her method may also work, so it could be just a personal choice.

2. Mixed all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour the yeast liquid. Mix well with a spatula (or your hand). Slowly work the shortening into the dough. knead until it is smooth and elastic. I used a little more than 250g of water but it all depend on the type of flour and few other factors. So "feel" as you work the dough.

3. Leave the dough to proof until it doubles in size. Cooking Monster divide into small piece then proof. Again, I think it is a personal choice.

4. Deflate the dough and divide them into 40gm piece (you can get about 18 portions). Flatten it into a small round disc. Place some lotus paste onto the centre and pleat the top. Place each dough on a piece of baking paper. Set aside and let it prove again until double its size. Estimated about 10 minutes.

5. Steam pau with high heat (with rapidly boiling water) for about 15 minutes or until the pau is cooked. Serve hot.

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Notes:

• I added a few drops of Lemon Emulco (from Phoon Huat) to make it the bun pale yellow. This also gives a light citrus flavour.
• The lotus paste for pao is softer and "wetter" than those for the mooncake. It is not as sweet as the mooncake lotus paste.

Happy Easter!

Hot Cross Buns are a seasonal yeast bread traditionally served on Good Friday. Like pineapple tarts to Chinese New Year. Tang Yuan to Winter Solastic.

The usual hot cross bun is made with spices like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves and has lots of raisins or other candied fruit.

Sheen & daddy don't like the taste of a real hot cross bun. So I did my own version - using my favourite recipe here with custard filling. Ya, it is more like a pudding bread.

I only added the symbolical "cross" on top of the buns using the custard mixture (see C below) after the 2nd proofing.


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Pudding Bun

(A):
~800g bread dough, of your choice.


(B) Filling:
100g instant custard powder
250g cold full cream milk

Combine the 2 ingredients and mix well.


(C) Topping:
Take 50g of (B), mix with 1tbsp of plain flour.


Method:

1. divide bread dough into 40g each portion. rest for 10min. roll into round shape and rest for 5 min.
2. flatten the dough with hand, wrap sufficient filling. Seal well.
3. arrange the dough in a baking pan. proof until the dough double in size.
4. Just before baking, using (C) pipe a cross on top of the bread.
5. bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20min.

Black Sesame Bun with Luncheon Meat

Ever since the tainted milk powder saga, I won't touch processed food from China with a 10 foot pole. That means forgoing my favourite MaLing luncheon meat.

We have it with everything during the growing up years. Eat them with bread, with porridge, with beehoon, with fried rice. For breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper!

C'mon tell me who don't grow up with luncheon meat???

Once I bought an ang-moh brand which, despite the high price, lack the x-favour. Recently I saw tins of locally produced luncheon meat on the shelf, I quickly pick up a few tins. There's even a cheese luncheon meat. Yeah, Sheen loves everything with cheese.

This discovery lead me to whip up something with our childhod comfort food again!

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I used the bread recipe from here . Just add 45g of ground sesame powder into B.

Just the bread for new year...

Over new year, my brother visited me in the morning. And this is what I made for our breakfast - Cranberry Wholemeal Bread. Cranberry gives me a festive feeling, besides, the pink hue is just right for chinese new year. Don't you think so?

I used the same recipe from Chef Alex Goh. Actually the book has many many variations of bread, but I am too lazy to take out the book each time. So I kept a photocopy of the basic recipe in my kitchen... and make my own modification along with my whims!

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Cranberry Wholemeal Bread

A
100g bread flour
70g boiling water


B
200g bread flour
100g wholemeal bread flour (I use Waitrose, avail from Cold Storage)
100g plain flour
80g sugar
6g salt
20g milk powder
9g instant yeast


C
210-220g cold water


D
60g butter


E
60g dried cranberry, soaked in warm/hot water.

1) Add boiling water from A into flour, mix until well blended to form a dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Keep it into fridge for at least 12 hrs.

2) Mix B until well blended. Add in C and knead to form rough dough. (add 210g water first... add more if dough is too dry) Add in A and knead till well-blended.

3) Add in D and knead to form elastic dough.

4) Let it proof for 40mins. (mine took over 90min, thanks to the year end rains and cold nights. Just make sure the dough double in size, no matter how long it takes.)

5) Meanwhile drain E, and lightly pat dry on kitchen towels.

6) Once dough is fully proofed, divide the dough into required weight and mould it round. Rest it for 10mins.

7) Flatten the dough, add some cranberry from step 5, and roll it up like swiss roll. Round the dough, and place it on a baking tray, with about 1cm spacing.

8) Leave it to proof again until it doubled in size again. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20-30min (timing depends on how big the baking tray).


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Tempting as it does, try to resist eating the bread when it is still hot from the oven. It is difficult, I know, as my family will all be lured to the kitchen when the bread is almost done.... and grab one as soon as it cool enough not to burn their hand.

I am less concern with the old wives' tale that eating bread right off the oven causes diahorrea. But in terms of texture, I find that somehow the bread tends to stick to the gum when eaten fresh in the first hour. It is a much more pleasant chewiness when eating 2 hours later!

Do you have the same experience?

Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia Bread (Bread Mix)

Once a while my itchy fingers will pick up the ready mix at the supermarket shelf. Not that I can;t make this from scratch, but the thought of assembling the various herbs (garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried basil etc) is quite daunting besides there's also economics considerations.

Instead of using those herbs once off, I suppose I am better baking with such bread mix. Excuse excuse and excuse. LOL.

It is really easy, just add water and olive oil. Knead and done.

The only problem I had at baking is that the proofing seem to take forever. I waited for 1.5hour, still the bread is pretty much the same size... so I kept it in the unplugged oven and went to bed.

The next morning, it seemed to be a little puffy though still far from being double. I told myself, Goner.

I went on to bake it nonetheless (but didnt want to waste time poking the signature dents on the bread). Fortunately, there's oven spring, and it rise further when baked.

The bread turns out to be very flavourful and yes, very heady aroma of herbs. I took the whole tray to work as I have no time to wait for it to cool and cut it.

It was quite well received at the office. Very quickly, the happy souls at 4 West spirited away all the bread! I was only left with the cooling rack and knife to take home :-(

Black Bamboo Charcoal Bread

After the last indecisive bread , I finally got down to make a proper one. The charcoal powder is tasteless, so only the look is different. Taste and texture is dependent on the bread recipe you used.

The flavour of the month is Alex Goh's Magic Bread . I only replace the 20g of flour with bamboo charcoal powder

Here's the recipe for anyone who is up for the black beauty!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basic Sweet Bread dough
Recipe from Alex Goh "Magic Bread"


A
100g bread flour
70g boiling water

B
300g bread flour
80g plain flour
20g bamboo charcoal powder
80g sugar
6g salt
20g milk powder
9g instant yeast (I used 25g fresh yeast)

C
175g cold water
60g cold egg

D
60g butter

1. Add boiling water from A into flour, mix until well blended to form a dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Keep it into fridge for at least 12 hrs.
2. Mix B until well blended. Add in C and knead to form rough dough. Add in A and knead till well-blended.
3. Add in D and knead to form elastic dough
4. Let it proof for 40mins. (Just make sure the dough double in size, no matter how long it takes.)
5. Divide the dough into required weight and mould it round. Rest it for 10mins and ready to use.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I realised that people here are not so used to the black food. I packed it for Sheen breakfast. In the evening, he came back to tell told me his teachers and friends stared... one kind teacher came to check if the bread is ok for consumption. *LOL*

Making magic again...

Here's another go at the Alex Goh's magic bread :
A little glitch in this session - i acccidentally overdosed the salt - put in almost double the requried quantity!

Though I tried to compensate with a little more yeast, still the proofing took forever. 14 hours to be exact - 8 hours for the 1st proof, and 6 for the final.

A lesson for us is to make sure we pre-measure out all the ingredients carefully. I was lazy so I added everything into the mixing bowl. But luckily, the bread turn out good and well after all the anticipation!

This is the one with sardine and onion filling:

Chef Alex's Magic Bread

I had such a tiring day at ICA on last Tuesday. I was there since 10am, and didn't get the papers done until past 6. A torturously long 8+ hours!



Well, just a day before I am due to leave for another work trip, I discovered to my horrors that my passport is just 1 week shy of the required 6 months validity. After making a few checks, I decided to get a Temporary Travel Document from ICA. The doc was supposed to be a couple hours job, but I brought my luggage along thinking it would give me plenty of time to get into the airport and any possible delays at the Immigration department.



The first to get the TTD was the pass the interview. For this, I waited 2 hours for my number to be flashed on the board. When I entered, I the office still talking to another elderly couple. So I back out and waited patiently outside the door.



During the 3omin wait outside the door, I saw several numbers behind me already went in and out of the door. I was quite frustrated that I am still waiting despite having a earlier number.

Finally when the couple left the room, I quickly entered, only to find that the office is not in the room. So again I back off and waited at the door. I peeped my head in and out checking if the officer is back. Finally I decided to do my feet a favour by waiting in the interview room.

Then another guy who walked past saw my sitting alone, and asked why I am in the room. I explained, then he walked away without a word.



15min later, another staff entered. Only then I learnt that the officer had gone off for break without logging off. Alamak, I was made to wait for nothing just becos of someone's silly negligence!!!



Then, the canteen was closed for renovation - so I have no means to get lunch/refreshment in the long hours there. Most people walked out to the nearby coffeeshop but it is difficult for me with the full pack luggage. Good detox day for me, I console myself.



To cut the long story short, the day at ICA must have been 1 of the more stressful one in my 30 plus years! At the end of the day, I just have to call up to make arrangements to cancel my flight and hotel reservations.



When I got home in the night, I head to the kitchen to make bread. I need my therapy!

Fortunately, this recipe didn't disappoint me.

Basic Sweet Bread dough
Recipe from Alex Goh "Magic Bread"

A
100g bread flour
70g boiling water

B
300g bread flour
100 plain flour
80g sugar
6g salt
20g milk powder
9g instant yeast (I used 23g fresh yeast)

C
175g cold water
60g cold egg (I replaced with cold water)

D
60g butter


1) Add boiling water from A into flour, mix until well blended to form a dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Keep it into fridge for at least 12 hrs. (I only left it in fridge for 1 hour)

2) Mix B until well blended. Add in C and knead to form rough dough. Add in A and knead till well-blended.

3) Add in D and knead to form elastic dough

4) Let it proof for 40mins. (mine took over 90min, thanks to the year end rains and cold nights. Just make sure the dough double in size, no matter how long it takes.)

5) Divide the dough into required weight and mould it round. Rest it for 10mins and ready to use.

I made them in my new pullman loaf pan (baking time 50min @180C). Based on the calculations, I should need 665g of dough which it didn't really filled up the pan. I think it's becos I didn't wait long enough for the 2nd proof. They should have raised to at least 80% of the pan before putting into the oven. I waited for over an hour, then decided to call it a night while keeping my fingers crossed.

When I sliced the bread, the centre part is a bit dense, without the airy holes like the sides. Luckily it is only the centre... The overall bread is still good.

On the way to the airport on Wednesday, I brought the whole loaf to my parents. My mum told me over dinner just now that my dad finished up the bread on the very same day. He said the bread is too good... he had to have bread for dinner.

Music to my ears!

It is a great combination - sweetness from bread + spiciness from the otah!

For the extra dough I made them into sausage roll for Sheen. You see, i am still practicing hard on the shaping. Thanks to blessedhomemaker's help, I am making some progress in the pleating.

It's a wonder how much happier one can get after a breadmaking session! Magic indeed!

65°C TangZhong Sesame Bun

Sesame seed is such a common sight here. And we often take them for granted. Before I bake, all I know about sesame seed is "that thing" on the kueh and chee cheong fun!

Only when I picked up baking that I start to make a point to understand what each ingredients do. Like this one...

Benefits of Eating Sesame Seeds includes:

• renders a reduction in swelling and pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, proving beneficial in relation to inflammatory systems.


• supports blood vessels and bone health.


• Offers relief to those suffering from asthma attacks


• Reduces migraine - yeah, this will do me good!


• Lowers blood pressure


• Can reduce bone loss
  

In addition, sesame could possibly reduce cholesterol, at the same time protects the liver from oxidative damage.

(source: Arthritic Association, and holistic-nutrition.suite )

****************************************

65°C TangZhong Sesame Bun

Step 1: Prepare 65°C TangZhong
80g water
15g flour
Combine flour and water in a small (preferably heavy bottom) saucepan. Stir until the mixture smooth. Place it over low heat. Due to the small qty, it will burnt easily so you have to watch carefully and keep stiring with a heat-proof spatula or whisk.
Use the thermometer to check when the mixture reaches 65°C. Alternatively, try writing a number "8" with the whisk - it should stay visible.
You will have ~90g of tangzhong now.

In the past, I add them directly into the mixing bowl which I am going to use for preparing bread dough later. But recently I read from a book that keeping the tangzhong at below 24C for at least 12 hours will improve the flavour of the bread. So I am going to do just that.

Step 2:Prepare the main dough.

You will need:
250g bread flour
20g grounded black sesame seed
1 tbsp skim milk powder
~90g TangZhong (I use all I get in step 1)
105ml warm water
4g salt
25g sugar
12g fresh yeast (or 5g dry yeast)
25g sunflower oil


Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients with a spatula.
2. grease (or flour) your hand lightly and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Form a ball, then leave it to rest in a cover bowl until it doubles in size. Timing will depend on the ambient temperature.
3. Remove dough and lightly deflate the dough. Divide the dough into 50g portion, shape round and leave to rest for 10 min.
4. Roll out the dough, and wrap some filling before sealing the dough. Careful not to let the filling touch the edge; if it does, the dough will not seal properly.
5. Place dough pieces into baking tray and let it prove till about almost double in size.
   Bake at 175 - 180°C for about 20 minutes.

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This will be the last post for the month. I will be off for a week-long holiday... I have been looking forward to this trip; the picture you see below is the one and only kind of room in this resort. Count my lucky stars to get it :-)

this is where I can have a real break... I mean a real holiday cos there's no mobile coverage on the island. No emails, no sms, no phone calls....

65°C TangZhong Pandan Bun

This is another variation on a basic tangzhong bread recipe which I enjoy very much. I replace the water with half coconut milk and half fresh milk, and add 1 tbsp of pandan paste.

Maybe the proportion that I used is not right, the fragrance is quite subtle... in which case, i feel why bother with the extra calories (from coconut milk).

Btw, the topping is the sugar art which I got from Phoon Huat. Only then I learnt that they are not suitable fo baking... perhaps it is to be sprinkled over the baked and cooled bread.

Tuna Bun

This is basically the same trusty sweet-sandwich bread recipe which have served me well over the past year!

I used this reliable recipe to try out the fresh yeast that I have bought. Also I am trying to make it eggless. Finally I add a little more wholemeal flour to make it look better on the nutritional chart.

As for the filling, I drained the tuna, then add some chopped onions. Simple does it!

65°C TangZhong Cinnamon Roll

Strangely... almost every respectable blog is having a cinnamon bun recently or am I seeing mirages due to my overaching wants?

I was reluctant to make this as J does not like cinnamon... and I usually end up gorging myself the whole lot which ain't too good for the growing waist line! Also, the last round of shaping gave me some grief!

But it's only so long I can resist. Last weekend, I put on my apron and slogged to feed my appetite.

I used the tangzhong bun recipe as a base - double the sugar content to 50g. The speckles on the bun surface is wholemeal flour. I replaced some bread flour with wholemeal flour to increase the fibre content. My last attempt to lie to myself that it is good for me!!!

Of course, it can't be health food... but it feeds my soul. I was a happy soul as the heady cinnamon aroma engulfed my kitchen. To add to the sin, I drizzled the bun with some icing which makes this an absolutely fabulously sweet treat. This is a treat that I deserved nothing more than once in a blue moon!

The bread is the same soft and moist - typical of tangzhong bread. But I do realised that this bread benefit some from light dusting of flour (rather than grease) when shaping. Is this the same experience you have?

----------------------------------

65°C TangZhong Cinnamon Bun

Recipe for the tangzhong and main dough is here. I doubled the sugar quantity.
Or use any of your sweet bread recipe or this from Art of Eating.

As for the cinnamon filling, instead of mixing my own, I took the easy way by using the cinnamon sugar. I got this from Cold Storage, from the section where they carry these bottled berbs and spices.

Shaping: Leave a 1 cm border at the end of the dough. Do not add butter or filling to the border; or it will not seal properly.

After spreading the cinnamon sugar/mixture, roll up like swiss roll. Pinch to seal. It looks patchy now, but it will iron out nicely after proofing. Cut into 1 inch thick pieces, and place onto the pan. I placed them close to each other (1 inch apart) so that I get bread with soft sides.

When out of the oven, unmould immediately and drizzle icing over the bread.

PS: Notice that the 2 trays like slightly differently? I made them on both sat and sundays! Talk about indulgence!!!

Pizza Hut Delivery for Dinner?

No thanks, I have it piping hot from my tiny kitchen! :-)

Pizza is one of the highest value added item - consider that for a bread base, you are paying almost $20 at Pizza Hut.



The day we dined at Pizza Hut, Sheen literally removed all the toppings - the tomato chunks, chicken, ham, capscium... eating only the bread base and cheese. That's when I decided to try my hands on the cheese pizza.

Just use any bread recipe that you like. After proofing, shape into a round and put whatever toppings you like ( i use only the pasta sauce + morzarella cheese). Bake and enjoy!

Just like bread, it is unbeatable when just out of the oven! Yummy!

65°C TangZhong Pork Floss Bun

This is another great bread recipe... very soft bread without any bread improver. Stay soft for 2 days.

I like the puffy rounded shape; not sure if this is a one-time wonder or attributed to the recipe!

----------------------------

65°C TangZhong Pork Floss Bun

Step 1:
Prepare 65°C TangZhong

80g water

15g flour

Combine flour and water in a small (preferably heavy bottom) saucepan. Stir until the mixture smooth. Place it over low heat. Due to the small qty, it will burnt easily so you have to watch carefully and keep stiring with a heat-proof spatula or whisk.

Use the thermometer to check when the mixture reaches 65°C. Alternatively, try writing a 8 with the whisk - it should stay visible.

You will have ~90g of tangzhong now.

I add them directly into the mixing bowl which I am going to use for preparing bread dough later. To save time, I keep stiring it with spatula until it is cool to touch. If you leave it to cool on its own, use a cling wrap cover directly over the surface. This is to prevent a "skin" forming.

Step 2:
Prepare the main dough. You will need:

250g bread flour
1 tbsp skim milk powder
~90g TangZhong (I use all I get in step 1)
105ml warm water
4g salt
25g sugar
12g fresh yeast (or 5g dry yeast)
25g unsalted butter

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients with a spatula.
2. grease (or flour) your hand lightly and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Form a ball, then leave it to rest in a cover bowl until it doubles in size. Timing will depend on the ambient temperature.
3. Remove dough and lightly deflate the dough. Divide the dough into 50g portion, shape round and leave to rest for 10 min.
4. Roll out the dough, and wrap some filling before sealing the dough. Careful not to let the filling touch the edge; if it does, the dough will not seal properly.
5. Place dough pieces into baking tray and let it prove till about almost double in size.
6. Bake at 175 - 180°C for about 20 minutes.
   

Pork Floss Filling:

120 gm. pork floss
50 gm. Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. condense milk or sugar
50 gm. soft butter

1. Toss them up in a small bowl.

My Notes:

I usually like to use Alex Goh's sponge and dough method, but when I do not have time to prove the sponge, I use this tangzhong method. Both gives me soft bouncy bread that last for 2 days (that's the longest I ever kept the bread).

What we had for dinner?

Last Sunday, was intending to bake these for the Monday breakfast morning. Since rain kept all of us homebound, the hungry tummies turned to these bread; were all finished up by my sister's and my family in 1 sitting. End up having to make a 2nd round.... luckily it helps to keep some ready dough in the fridge.

Otah bun, adult's favourite:

Cranberry and Raisin roll:

Pork Floss bun:

There's another tray of sausage roll... all whack by the kids before any pix were taken. Btw, Dot, here's the brand of sausage I used for the bun.

Sweet Sandwich Bread

Recipe from Alex Goh's “Baking Code”

adapted to be eggless.

Overnight Sponge
100g bread flour
60g water, room temp
5g fresh yeast (or ¼ tsp instant yeast)

1. Mix the instant yeast with 20g of water until well blended. Add in the remaining ingredients and knead to form a dough.
2. Let it proof for 30min. Wrap with cling film and keep in the refridgerator overnight or upto 48hours.
3. Yield 152g sponge.

Ingredient A

550g bread flour
80g sugar
6g salt
20g milk powder
25g fresh yeast (or 10g instant yeast)

Ingredient B

150g overnight sponge (i used all 152g)

Ingredient C

320g cold water

Ingredient D

75g butter

Method:

1. Mix A until well blended. Add B, then C, knead to form a dough.
2. Add in D, knead to form a smooth and elastic dough. Cover it with cling film. Allow it to proof for 45 min (or until it double in size).
3. Divide the dough into 50g portion, mould it round. Allow it to rest for 10min.
4. Roll the dough flat, then roll it up like swiss-roll. Allow it to rest for 10min. Repeat the step 1 more time, wrap with filling as desired.
5. Let it proof for 50min or until double in size.
6. Bake at 200C for 20min. Remove it immediately from the baking tray when baked.
   
   

This is one of my favourite basic sweet bread recipe. It is soft but not not cottony soft like those commercial bread - something I dislike cos it contains too much bread softener etc to make it so artifically soft. I have long forgotten how they taste until I had some (cos my MIL bought too much). When it was a day old, it became gummy and stuck to my gum as I chewed.

In contrast, the homemade day-old bread may not be as soft but it does not give the unpleasant taste and texture!

Bak Kwa Bun

Although ABin5 is easy, traditional bread making is fun. I really enjoyed the repetitive motion of folding, turning, and pushing... a perfect way for me to de-stress at the end of a hard day work!

Moreover, the artisan bread in ABin5 is gravitated towards angmoh's eating habit. We people here prefer bread with soft crust and filling.... YES, the filling. The artisan bread is too soft (almost fluid) to hold any filling :-)

So I am getting back to my same old bread that takes a long proofing, kneading and shaping!

Basic Sweet Bread Dough (adapted to be eggless)
http://forum.kitchencapers.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1265
Original Recipe from Alex Goh - The World of Bread

Ingredients
(A)
Bread flour 480 gm
Plain flour 120 gm I use self rising cake flour as I ran out of plain flour
Caster sugar 110 gm
Milk powder 20 gm
Dry yeast 4 tsp - I used 2 tsp, sufficient to rise
Bread Improver 1 tsp (optional)


(B)
Cold water 350 ml


(C)
Unsalted butter 60 gm
Salt 10 gm
30g salted butter

Method
1. Mix (A) till well blended (just use a spoon to stir to mix well). Add (B) to form a dough. Add in (C) and knead until dough is elastic and smooth.
2. Gather dough to form a ball and cover dough with cling wrap and let it rest for abt 50-60 mins or double in size.
3. Divide dough into portions of 50 or 60 gm each. Shape into balls and leave it to rest for abt 10 mins.
4. Roll out dough and wrap with desired fillings. Shape as required and let it proof on lined or greased baking tray for another 50-60 mins or until dough is double in size.
5. Egg wash dough. Bake dough at 180-190C for abt 12 mins

To freeze:
1. For those who would like to freezer unused dough. Stop at Step 3. After shaping dough into balls straight away keep the dough properly in container in the freezer compartment for later use.
2. When ready to use, slightly flour the tabletop and take the dough out to thaw. When dough is thawed, roll out the dough and add in fillings and shape it. Leave it on baking sheet to prove for abt an hour or until it is double in size. Bake as per normal.

Baker’s Notes:

• This recipe produces a very pliable dough. There's no need to add more oil or flour when handling it. For this, I believe will be THE recipe for beginners.
• The bread is soft on the first day, but start to get drier thereafter.
  
  

PS: Sheen says the bun looks like a frog with it's dangling tongue! I really have to brush up on my bread shaping.

Sunflower Seed Boule

The same bread... adding a handful of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds is inexpensive yet full of goodness !

To feed my family wholesome food like these seeds, I will have to add them into the food like this.

Cinnamon Bread

Using the same sweet sandwich bread .



I sprinkle some cinnamon sugar , then roll it up. I was thinking of the cinnamon roll but was not up for the extra work it entails. So I simply roll it up & leave them in a baking tray.

Unfortunately I did not bake the bread very thouroughly, the inside (bottom) of the bread is still wet and gummy. *sigh*

Amazingly Easy Artisan Bread

I got to know of this no-knead bread from Laureen - Eat and Be Happy.

I always equate hard work to great taste. You know instant noodle can only taste like instant noodle, right? So I was sooo sooo sooo skeptical about this new bread making technique. I even told J, if this technique works, I am dash out to buy all their books!

Being a suspicious cautious I first trialed with 1/3 of the portion. Here's the recipe I used if you are just as cautious as moi.

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Artisan Bread in 5 minute

lukewarm water 1 cup
granulated yeast ½ tsp
coarse kosher or sea salt 1 tsp
unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour (e.g. Gold Medal) 2 ¼ cup

1. Mix the yeast and water together in a large bowl. Mix in the flours and salt, using wooden spoon, until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Do not knead.


2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses, approximately 2 hours. The dough should have a flat top and bubbling with holes.


3. Cover the dough loosely with a cling wrap and store in refrigerator (not the freezer) for up to 14 days.


4. To bake Pull off however much of the dough you need depending on the size of the pan you use (I used up all the dough, and used a flat baking tray). Flour the work surface generously and shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly greased loaf pan and let it rise at room temperature for about an hour.


5. Preheat the oven to 225C with an empty baking pan on the bottom shelf. Pour about 2 cups of hot water into the baking pan just before you put the bread in. Bake the loaf for about 20 minutes or till golden brown and firm. Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool completely before slicing.

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I made them into 2 boules. The first one has more flour, resulting in smaller holes in the bread:

The 2nd one has much less flour, giving bigger holes:

What I like about this bread is that it is so basic, containing nothing more than flour, water, salt and yeast. No emulsifer + tens of other chemicals as the commerical bread do!

It has crispy golden-brown crust while the inside is soft, moist and spongey. It beats any store-bought gourmet bread! The best part, just need 5 min, and you will be handsomely rewarded with the best bread ever!