Marble Black Bamboo Charcoal Bread

What happens when you can't make up your mind whether to use the black charcol powder?

I stared at the powder, and remembered seeing my neighbour drinking the ashes of a talisman. :-)

Anyway, by the time I decided to try it out, the bread is almost done with 1st proof. So I just try to knead in the as much charcoal powder as I could.

Luckily it turned out to be quite ok. More importantly, Sheen loves it!

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 )

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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....

Yeast... the soul of bread

I happened to find fresh yeast, or cake yeast as it is sometimes called, at a bakers' supplies in Hong Kah Point. Adventurous as I can get, I bought a block. It's 500g for $2.50.

I know 500g is helluva yeast but now that my electric stand mixer is broken, bread is the next thing I can make.

Also, if you read recipes like a novel as I do, you will know that every baker raves how fresh yeast produces bread with better texture and flavour. I guess its time for me to validate the claims now ;-)

If you are also keen to make your life more difficult by ditching the instant yeats, here's the some guidelines I have gathered:

• To convert recipes calling for fresh compressed yeast to instant yeast: Use 0.4 times the weight; e.g. 10g dry yeast = 25g freah yeast
  
• Cake yeast should be white or light brown in color and crumble easily. It should have a pleasant yeasty smell. If it is dark brown, moldy, soft or gummy, it is either spoiled or has been stored improperly; simply discard.
>

• Cake yeast must be kept refrigerated or frozen because cake yeast is highly perishable. It must be used before the expiration date if stored in the refrigerator, but you have more leeway if stored in the freezer. It has a refrigerated shelf life of about three to four weeks from the date of manufacture and can be frozen up to three months. (my notes: some website says if frozen, shelf life is infinite)
  
• Do not leave fresh yeast out of the refrigerator for more than 30 minutes.

I have already calculated the yeast qty in all my favourite recipes :-)

Waitrose Organic Wholemeal Bread Flour

A close colleague had something to say about my routine bread-making sessions. She reminded me how cheap bread is, at $2+ a wholemeal loaf, she could not comprehend the logic (and economics) of my labourious kneading and time waiting for proofing. Haha, not to mention the utilities bills!



Yeah, she right. So I decide to go "upmarket" with my ingredients - I went out to buy the best flour I can get from supermarket:

The commercial value of Organic Wholemeal Bread is much higher... so I suppose this more than justify my efforts! :-)

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Quick Organic Facts:
Merely using organic flour does not bring it to the organic league. Accordingly, bread is organic when 95 percent of its ingredients come from organic farming and has no added improvers or bulking agents. i.e. Bread Improver, sugar and flavouring are no-no.

Rapid Light Wholemeal Roll

It could be the middle age weight gain, it could be all the rich and sinful cakes that I have made, it could be the inviting breakfast tables at the hotels.... I have been putting on so much weight that I desperately need to lose some weight before these extras find a permanent home on me.

The easiest (and least sacrificial) step to take is make simple healthier switches, e.g. brown rice vs. white rice, broiled vs. fried, soupy noodle vs. fried noodle. Then of course, bread instead of cake and wholemeal flour instead of white flour.

Wholemeal flour is called wholemeal simply because it is made using the whole wheat grain, including bran and the wheat germ. Since it contains 100% of the wheat grain, including the bran and germ, it has a higher fibre content than plain flour which is a healthier option than white bread.

White bread contains refined carb which take a longer time for your body to break down, plus the fact that wholemeal contains more fibre, gram for gram, you are likely to filled with lesser bread, hence better off for weight management!

Size of dough before 1st proofing

Dough after the first proof - doubled in size.

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Rapid Light Wholemeal Loaf
Taken from “The Bread Book”, Sara Lewis
Yield a 500g loaf

Strong wholemeal flour 175g
Strong white flour 150g
Caster sugar 2 tsp
Salt ½ tsp
Instant yeast 1 ¾ tsp
Sunflower oil 1 tbsp
Warm water 200ml
Bread Improver 1/2 tsp (optional, not in the original recipe)

1. mix flours, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add oil & gradually mix in enough warm water to make a soft dough.


2. knead well on a lightly floured surface for 10min until the dough is smooth and elastic. Put into a greased loaf tin


3. cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise for 45min or until the dough reaches just above the top of the tin.


4. remove the clingfilm and bake in a preheated oven 200C for 25min for small loaf.


5. hold the tin with oven gloves, loosen the bread with a palette knife. Trf to a wire rack to cool.

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Baker's Notes:

• the beauty of the recipe is that it requires no knock back and 2nd proofing. But I didn’t read carefully, and did it the traditional way!
  

• Forgot to remove it from the loaf pan, bun ended up with wet bottom. Hope you won't make the same error like me. To remedise, I turned the bread upside down and toast it lightly for about 5 min.

• The bread is soft enough – though you can’t beat the white bread. It could be attributed to the 1/2 tsp of Bread Improver (avail from Phoon Huat) that I have added. Some purist may snarl at the addition of extra chemical to the otherwise healthy bread, I believe if it can entice my family to accept the diet switches, it will be well worth.


• For shaping, I divided the dough into 60g each. It is not obvious in the picture: I get very full rounded bun for this portion.


• I added a dope of cream cheese spread as the filling – my parents, though they are non-cheese eater, like the filling!

Some of the filling "leaked" due to the poor shaping.

What is 1 stick of butter?

In Singapore, we are all used to measure butter by weight where baking is concerned. I scratched my head when the recipe says 1 stick of butter? Or 1 tbsp of butter? I was so puzzled as to anyone would do a cumbersome thing to pack their butter into tablespoon agh!

After I bought the Clover Organic Butter which is made in the states, I come to realise how the stick and tbsp measurement fits in!



It's all in the culture, isn't it!

Btw, if you do see this butter, buy it! It costs more but the freshness and buttery taste far make up for the price!

Fondant, my playdoh!

Some one asked me about the fondant... I know many make their own fondant. But for convenient sake, I just buy the ready made ones. I am currently using the Wilton fondant which comes as part of the student pack for one of the Wilton class I attended. Taste yucks.

I read from KC and other forum that this Bakels Pettinice is better than Wilton.



If you "atas siket", then try Massa Ticino from Switzerland. This is what the true blue and top notch bakers use, so I was told.

If you have other fondant lobang, pls leave me a comment. I am sooo in love with fondant now... it is my playdoh!

Fig Fig Hurray!

Go ahead to call me sua-ku; this is the first time I come across fresh fig. I used to see the dried ones but never the fresh one.

When I saw them at SunnyChoice, an organic food store at RailMall, I knew I must buy. It is not cheap but I like my tastebud to experience something different.




Health & Nutritional Benefits of Eating Figs : (extracted from IloveIndia.com)

• The rich potassium content of figs helps to maintain the blood pressure of the body.


• Figs are rich in dietary fiber, which makes them very effective for weight management program.


• Eating fig leaves helps diabetic patients reduce the amount of insulin intake.


• Consuming figs helps to reduce the risk of breast cancer.


• Calcium and potassium present in figs prevent bone thinning and help to promote bone density.


• Tryptophan, present in figs, induces good sleep and helps get rid of sleeping disorders like insomnia.


• Eating figs relieves fatigue and boosts memory power.


• Drinking fig juice helps to soothe irritated bronchial passages.


• Consumption of figs with milk cures illness like anemia.


• Due to their laxative effect, figs are helpful for treating chronic constipation.


• Daily consumption of soaked figs (2-3) is an effective remedy for curing hemorrhoids or piles.


• The soluble fiber, called pectin, in figs helps in reducing blood cholesterol.


• When applied on skin, baked figs can cure inflammations like abscesses and boils.


• Due to their high water content, mashed figs act as a very good skin cleanser and help in preventing and curing acnes and pimples.


• Figs are rich in calcium and are excellent calcium alternatives for people who are allergic to dairy products.


• Consuming figs also helps in aiding digestion and taming various stomach and bowel-related problems.


• The juice obtained from green figs is effective for softening and treating corns.


• Figs promote the overall well-being of an individual and are excellent aphrodisiacs.