BM milk loaf

Ever since I received a preloved Zojirushi bread machine, I have been baking homemade bread regularly. The bread machine is very compact and as it doesn't take up too much space I have left it permanently at the corner of the kitchen counter. With it so visibly in sight, I am constantly reminded to bake a loaf of bread every other day.

BM wholemeal bread

I was given a preloved but almost brand new bread machine a few months ago. It came just in time, as my own bread machine refused to work right after the newcomer arrived, 一山不能容二虎 (literal translation: there can't be two tigers in one territory) ;)

This Zojirushi bread machine is very compact in size, much smaller than my China brand bread machine. It doesn't take up much space and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb on the kitchen counter, in fact it is slightly smaller than my rice cooker!

easy does it

Bread making used to be a tedious task when I first started making homemade bread by hand. Kneading bread dough can be very therapeutic, but too often I ended up with very sore arms and shoulder the next day.

Baking bread at home became much easier after I bought my first bread machine. I left the kneading entirely to the machine, no more aching! The machine was so heavily utilised that it went kaput after two years. It was back to kneading dough by hand for a long period before I got another bread maker.

Life couldn't get any simpler when I received my latest kitchen helper, a Bosch kitchen machine. With this new machine, the dough takes a much shorter time to knead as compared to my bread maker.

This wholemeal honey and yoghurt bread loaf was made using the straight dough method, simple and straight forward without having to proof the dough overnight or to prepare any tangzhong or water roux. The recipe is a combination of a few bread recipes...by substituting or replacing ingredients to suit my aim of making a loaf of homemade loaf bread so simple and easy that anyone can give it a go. Shaping was relatively fuss-free too,  just roll out the whole piece of dough and then roll it up to form a log, no special skills or technique involved.

The bread turned out to be very soft, light and airy. Besides kneading the dough to the right stage, I believe both the honey and yoghurt contributes to the tender texture as well. The bread remained soft even on the 3rd day!

There is no doubt that bread making takes time, yet it is not time consuming. Yes, it takes time for the dough to rise and proof, but the actual process of preparing the dough should not take more than half an hour of your time. Easy does it. Go slow and steady, coupled with a little patience and you will be rewarded with a loaf of freshly baked healthy homemade bread, way superior than any commercial store bought ones ;)



Wholemeal Honey and Yoghurt Bread

Ingredients:
(makes one loaf using a 7.5"x4"x4" loaf pan)

270g bread flour
30g wholemeal flour
40g caster sugar
2g (1/4 teaspoon) salt
4g (1 teaspoon) instant yeast
70g non fat plain natural yoghurt, room temperature
30g honey
120g fresh milk, room temperature
20g unsalted butter

some rolled oats

Method:

(Note: The bread dough is made with Bosch MUM5PRO HomeProfessional Kitchen Machine MUM57830, read my review here.)

Place bread flour, wholemeal four, caster sugar, salt, instant yeast, yoghurt, honey and milk (except the butter) into the mixing bowl. Attach the kneading hook and set the MUM 5 to speed 1 to mix the ingredients for about 1 minute. Turn to speed 3 and let the machine knead for about 5 minutes.

Add in the butter and continue to knead at speed 3 for another 18~20 minutes. To test whether the dough is ready, pull and stretch a portion of the dough. It should be elastic, and can be stretched into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.

Remove dough from mixing bowl. Dust hand with some flour and shape the dough into a smooth round. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover the bowl with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degrees C) for about 1 hour, or until double in bulk.

Remove dough from the bowl. Dust work surface with some flour and give the dough a few light kneading to press out the gas. Smooth into round, cover with cling wrap or damp cloth and leave it to rest for about 10mins.

Flatten the dough into a disc and roll out into a rectangular shape about 7" by 12". Roll up the dough along the shorter end like a swiss roll to form a log (with a length of about 7" or the length of the loaf pan you are using). Pinch and seal the seams tightly. Place dough seam side down in a well greased loaf pan. Cover with cling wrap or damp cloth and leave dough to proof for the second time for about 40mins to 1 hour, or until double in size. Brush the top with water and sprinkle rolled oats all over.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 190 degrees C for 30 minutes or until the surface turns golden brown. Remove from oven, unmold and transfer to rack to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container and best consumed within 2 to 3 days.

Fuss Free Wholemeal Loaf

This is a relatively simple, straight forward wholemeal loaf which I baked a couple of weeks back. There is no need to prepare water roux or tangzhong since the recipe is taken from a bread machine cookbook. This is something I could make on a whim...whenever I feel like having a slice of freshly baked homemade bread or whenever I miss the cozy feeling from breathing in the wonderful aroma of bread baking in the oven.

As usual, I left the bread maker to knead the dough put left the dough to proof in room temperature. A quick roll out and roll up of the dough, and in in no time, it was sitting inside the loaf pan ready to bloom. The raw dough rose beautifully, and it ballooned even further once it got into the hot oven...a phenomenon known as 'oven spring'.

The finished loaf looks pretty much like a crusty country loaf isn't it?

It is actually a soft sandwich loaf! This is a classical case of what you see is not what you get ;) The bread is pleasantly light and fluffy, something I didn't expect from a loaf made using the straight dough method and not to mention with wholemeal flour! I believe the secret ingredient is none other than yoghurt! Do give it a try if you have a bread machine at home or a standing mixer to do the kneading. If you choose to knead by hand, be prepared to wrestle with a wet and sticky mess, even though I have not done it by hand, I am sure the efforts will pay off.




Wholemeal Yoghurt Bread Loaf

Ingredients
(makes one loaf using a 9" loaf pan)

260g bread flour
115g wholemeal flour
15g unsalted butter
30g caster sugar
6g salt
100ml natural plain yoghurt
150ml water
5g instant yeast

some rolled oats (optional)

Method:

to knead dough by bread machine:
* Place water, yoghurt, sugar, salt, butter, bread flour and wholemeal flour flour in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Make an indentation on the flour and add in the instant yeast. Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. Let the machine knead the dough for about 10 mins. Stop the machine. Select the Dough function and start the machine again. Allow the machine to continue kneading until the kneading cycle stops after 20mins. Total kneading time is 30mins. (Note: Leave the lid open through out the kneading cycle to prevent over heating.) Remove dough from the bread pan.

* Dust dough with flour, shape into a smooth round dough. Place dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about 45min to 1 hour, or until double in bulk.

* Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Dust the dough with some flour if it feels sticky. Smooth into round and leave it to rest for about 10mins.

* Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape about 9" by 15". Roll up the dough along the shorter end like a swiss roll to form a log (with a length of about 9" or the length of the baking pan you are using). Pinch and seal the seams tightly. Place in a greased 9" loaf pan. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave dough to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size. Brush the top with water and sprinkle rolled oats all over, this is optional.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 190 deg C for 25 ~30 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container.

Recipe source: adapted from 幸福面包机

又闻面包香

It has been a long while since I made a loaf of bread. Ever since my bread machine broke down 2, 3 years back, I find it more and more difficult to make bread from scratch. Since I don't have a standing mixer (and no intention to get one), the kneading process although rather therapeutic, will make my arms and shoulders hurt for days. I have been looking around for a replacement, but have no luck as I wouldn't spend more than what I paid for my previous bead maker. It so happened that I manage to get a new machine at about the same price when we were in Beijing last year. The design and functions is just like my previous machine, a very basic and economical machine that is affordable and reliable...well, at least for a couple of years.

Here's my first loaf of bread for the year. I followed the tang zhong method and bread rose high and mighty. It rose more than an inch over the top of the rim of my pullman pan that it couldn't fit into my standard bread loaf air tight container. I can't complaint much since it is really a happy problem for me =)

Do pardon me from bragging, but the loaf was very nicely baked, the crust colour was just right! From the picture above, I hope you could imagine how pillowy-soft and fluffy the bread loaf turn out.

'拉丝' a commonly used term to describe a feathery soft loaf of bread...where the crumbs tears off like strands of silk...

The bread tastes delicious even on its own as it is a sweet bread. It remained soft and light for three days, in fact the loaf was so cottony that I had problem cutting it into slices. It is time I get a new bread knife since I don't know how, or whether it is possible to sharpen a serrated knife?

What better way to eat scoops of ice cream than to sandwich them between a slice of homemade bread! I could almost hear the sounds of bells jingling from the ice cream cart...




Raisin Loaf (tang zhong method)

tang zhong (water-roux):
25g bread flour
125ml water

bread dough:
285g bread flour
15g milk powder
54g caster sugar
4g salt
5g instant yeast
30g egg, lightly beaten (about half an egg)
81g water
90g tang zhong (water-roux)*

30g unsalted butter
60g raisins

Method:
to make tang zhong:
* Place 25g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 125ml water, mix till smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring constantly with a hand whisk to prevent it from burning. Within 1 to 2 mins, the mixture will start to thicken, stop when you see traces in the mixture for every stir you make with the hand whisk. (Take a look at the video clip here. ) The 65degC tang zhong is ready. Immediately transfer the hot tang zhong into a bowl and cover it with a cling wrap, making sure the cling wrap sticks onto the surface of the mixture. This is to prevent a film from forming on the surface. Leave to cool completely before using it.

to knead dough by bread machine:
* Place water, egg, tang zhong (use 90g), sugar, salt, bread flour, milk powder in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Make an indentation on the flour and add in the instant yeast. Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. Leave the lid of the machine open (this is to prevent over heating). After about 10mins of kneading, add in the 30g of butter. Let the machine continue to knead the dough. After the kneading cycle has stopped (20mins), Stop and Restart the machine. Continue to let the machine knead for another 20mins. Remove dough from the bread pan.

* Place dough in a lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.

* Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each dough into smooth rounds, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 10mins.

* On a lightly floured work surface, flatten each dough and roll out to form a longish oval shape. Starting from the shorter end, roll it up swiss-roll style. Leave the doughs to rest for another 10
mins.

* Flatten each dough and roll it out again to form a long rectangle (around 30cm x 10cm). Flip the dough over and sprinkle the surface with raisins. Roll up swiss-roll style, roll up as tightly as possible. Pinch and seal the seams. Place the 2 doughs, seam side down, against each side of a well greased (with butter) pullman tin.

* Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 50~60mins, or until the dough rise up almost to the rim of the pan. Bake in preheated oven at 180degC for 30mins. (Note: If necessary, cover the top with foil to prevent over browning). Unmold immediately and leave to cool completely. Once cool, store in an airtight container.

Recipe source: adapted from 65度C汤种面包, 陈郁芬

Back to Basics

I think I am almost there...

I don't seem to have much luck when it comes to making loaf bread lately. I always have this problem with dough taking too long to fill up the bread pan during the second rise. Most of the time, the dough rose beautifully within an hour or so, during the first proof. But, after shaping, it took forever before the pan is 80% filled. There was not much of an oven spring too...the bread didn't expand much upon baking. I experimented with different recipes...using straight dough or tangzhong (water roux) method. At first, I thought maybe the dough is too little for my pan, so I even tried increasing the portion, even then, the dough just couldn't fill up the pan.

It soon occurred to me that I should just go back to the very basic of bread making, that is, to make a simple white bread. I went on to choose this recipe using the gelatinised or scaled dough method. Besides the gelatinised dough, an overnight sponge dough is also called for in the recipe. Both have to be done the night before, as they need to be chilled for at least 12 hrs. They were rather easy to prepare, as all that was required was to mix the ingredients to form a rough dough, no kneading was required.

It was a pleasure to knead the main dough...soft and elastic, and not too sticky. I was able to knead until it pass the window pane test...I could stretch it fairly thin before it started to tear away :)

Most importantly, the dough proof very well during the second rise. I am quite sure it has got nothing to do with the yeast as I didn't use a fresh pack. My pullman tin was 80% filled within 50 minutes. It has got nothing to do with the room temperature either, as the weather was just like any other day, around 29 ~ 30 degC.

I was very so pleased with myself when I removed the bread from the pan! What a lovely loaf...with straight sides and yet the edges are slightly rounded and not too sharp. This means the dough was sent into the oven at the right time...if the edges are razor sharp, it implies that the dough was slightly over-proof.

The only problem I had was, the crust was not baked to a nice golden brown. Thanks to my oven! Despite preheating it to 230 degC, the oven temperature dropped by about 20~30 degC, so the loaf was baked at a temperature of 200 instead of 220 degC. The other reason for the slightly under-browned crust was, I lined my pullman tin with parchment paper. I had to resort to using parchment paper as I had difficulties unmolding bread from the pan :(

The crumbs was very soft and light, and the crust was so thin that I wouldn't even consider it as crust. The bread was so tender that a slice would flopped over if I slice it too thin. I tasted one slice of bread everyday, plain, without any jam or butter. The very first slice, a few hours after the bread was baked, was cottony soft and I could even feel the moisture in it. It must be the most delicious slice of bread I have ever made. It was also the first time my untrained palette could detect this nice fragrant from the wheat flour! It tasted better than any store-bought bread. The second slice, 24hrs later, tasted good...just as tender and soft...comparable to any commercial loaf. The third slice, 48hrs later, had aged a little. It felt heavier, and the surface was a little dry. Nevertheless, I still think it tasted good. I had the last piece 72 hrs after it was out from the oven. The bread had aged further. The texture was just like any commercial bread that was just before its shelf life. Even though I could still eat the bread without having to toast it, I had to spread some kaya to make it taste better.

There is no doubt that this recipe is going to be a keeper. It is the perfect recipe for me...the dough is not too difficult to knead by hand, and the finished bread could stay soft for days.

The lure of bread making

There is something magical about bread baking, something that I could hardly express with words...

The mere act of combining the simplest ingredients and kneading them together with your very own hands will set off a chain of magical chemical reactions. As you work your way through the combined mess of ingredients, kneading and stretching repeatedly, will magically transform something shaggy and ugly to something as smooth and soft as a baby's bottom. It is also about the mysterious actions of yeast coming to live, releasing carbon dioxide as it starts feasting on the sugars, causing the dough to rise and expand, all happening under a warm and comfortable environment. The aroma of bread baking in the oven...the moment of satisfaction when a freshly baked loaf emerges from the oven...makes me feel that all the extra effort is worth it. It is such a wonderful and rewarding experience only those who have walked through the entire process would be able to appreciate and enjoy their fruits of labour.

For the past week, I was able to indulge in my favourite past time. I finally got down to made this simple banana loaf bread, a recipe which I have copied down for quite sometime. Yes, my recipes are mostly handwritten as they are mainly copied from books which I borrowed from the library. I use a mixture of English and Chinese, using terms and codes that probably I am the only one on earth who could decipher ;)

As compared to store-bought banana-flavoured loaf bread, this homemade version has got only a slight hint of banana fragrant... it is 'there and yet not there', you know what I mean? Even though this bread is made with the straight dough method, without using any sponge dough or tangzhong, the texture remains soft for two days. Yet, this loaf may not pass a bread making test. I read that it is not the best way to judge a loaf just by its appearance and texture. Although the texture is soft, and the holes on the crumb appear to be evenly spaced out, lots of bread crumbs fell off as I sliced up the loaf. Evidently, I must have over-proof the dough, either during the first fermentation or the second rise :(

I guess, partly because of my repeated failures, I am constantly lured to make the next loaf, again and again. I probably won't give up until one day I am able to churn out a satisfactory loaf from my kitchen.

Matcha Swirl Bread

The first thing I wanted to bake with my fresh tin of matcha, green tea powder, is none other than a loaf of bread. Having tried both tangzhong or water-roux (汤种法) and scalded-dough (烫种法) methods to make bread, this time I returned to my usual straight-dough method (直接法).

The straight dough method is as straight forward as it is. There is no preparation required one day before, great on days when you just feel like baking on impulse :)

This happens to be the busiest month for me. I have two kids who are sitting for their exams one after another. Even though I do feel anxious for them, I still leave them to revise their work on their own. I am pretty hands-off this time, not sure what's the reason, but I guess maybe I am so used to them having one exam after another, I am less uptight about it as compared to the previous years. I even go to the extent to delegate my 'job' to them...the two brothers will revise with each other. The younger fellow, who is more vocal and expressive, will help his brother practise for his oral exams; while the elder one will go through Maths and Science with his brother. It is a win-win situation, as both of them enjoyed each others company, way better than having me around to breath down their necks.

To make myself feel less guilty, I sat down with the little one to go through his studies after I left the dough to proof in the bread tin. I was so engrossed with the revision that I almost forgot about the dough. By then, the dough had already reached the rim of the pan and it expanded further upon baking. Since my oven was so small, I had to cover the top with foil to prevent it from getting burnt.

As a result of over-proofing (close to 2 hrs), the holes in the bread crumb appeared to be larger than usual.

I sliced the loaf only the next morning, just before breakfast. The crust was very thin and the bread is very soft and light. It tasted delicious even though I couldn't taste the matcha (^^')

I used a bread slicer which I have asked my DH to get it for me when he was in Tokyo. Finally, I am able to get nice even slices :)

I stored the bread in an air-tight container. After two nights, the bread felt a little dry (by touch)...just like the two end pieces you get from commercial store bought loaf bread. However, they still taste as soft and good and won't stick on to the roof of you mouth. I plan to make another loaf bread using the tangzhong method, just to make a comparison and to convince myself that bread made with tangzhong would indeed fare better.



Matcha Swirl Bread

Ingredients:
(makes one 20x10x10cm loaf)

250g bread flour
25g caster sugar
3g (half teaspoon) salt
4g (1 teaspoon) Instant yeast
145g fresh milk (I used low-fat fresh milk)
35g egg
38g butter (unsalted), cut into cubes

5g matcha powder
2 teaspoons hot water


Method:

1. Mix matcha powder with hot water to form paste, set aside.
2. Stir bread flour, caster sugar, salt, and instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, add in egg. Reserve about 30ml of milk and add the rest into the mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients with hand and slowly form into a rough dough. Add in a little of the reserved milk if the mixture is too dry.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough till smooth. Add in the reserved milk a little at a time, knead well after each addition. (This way, the dough will not be too wet and sticky). Use up all the reserved milk. The whole process should take about 10mins.
4. When the dough is smooth, knead in the butter. Continue to knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. This should take about another 15 to 20 mins. Do the window pane test: pinch a piece of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.
5. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Knead the matcha paste into one of the doughs. Knead till dough becomes smooth and the matcha paste is fully incorporates into the dough, takes about 5 mins.
6. Place each dough (separately) in lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowls, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.
7. Remove the doughs from the bowls and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in each dough. Roll into rounds. Cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 15mins.
8. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each dough and roll out into a rectangular shape, about 20cm x 40cm. Place the matcha dough over the plain dough. Starting from the shorter side, roll up the dough tightly, make as many rolls you can. The resulting roll/log should be around 20cm in length. Pinch and seal the seams.
9. Place dough seam-side down in lightly greased bread tin/pan. Cover with cling wrap. Let the dough proof for the second time, until it fills up 80% of the tin/pan. Brush with egg wash.
10. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 ~ 190 deg C for 30 to 35mins. Unmould the bread immediately when removed from the oven. Let cool completely before slicing. Once cooled, store immediately in air-tight container.

Chocolate Ring Loaf Bread

I made this bread by hand.

Yes it is a loaf bread not a chiffon cake. It is baked in a chiffon cake pan instead of a loaf tin or a round baking pan.

I had to made this bread from scratch by hand as my bread machine has finally decided to call it quits after being subject to three years of abuse ^_^' After I had placed all the ingredients in the bread pan, the kneading blade just refused to move. I thought I had merely over heated the machine while trying to bake that corn flakes loaf a week ago. I left the machine alone for a few days, thinking it should get its act together in no time. I have no luck.

From now on, I will have to knead bread by hand :'( I won't be getting a replacement since the Dough function is the only function I have been using. I do not own a standing mixer and I don't have any intention to get one, yet. A standing mixer has never been in my wish list. A good one will burnt my pocket (which is in fact empty all the time); and I know myself very well, it would probably turn into a white elephant. Even with my frequent baking, I hardly use my old and trusted hand-held mixer (which is already in its late 20s). I convinced myself with a list of advantages of making bread by hand while I was kneading this bread:

• there will be one less item (machine's bread pan) to clean up;
• wrestling continuously for 20 to 30mins with a bread dough is an excellent work out, and it's free;
  
• I will be able to 'connect' to the dough, whether the recipe yields very wet and sticky dough or one that is easier to handle;
  
• I will be able tell when the dough has sufficiently be kneaded...whether it has reached the required smoothness and elasticity;
  
• there will never ever be a danger of over-kneading the dough by hand;
• sinking my hands into a lump of dough is not very much different from squeezing a stress-relieve ball...soothing and therapeutic; not forgetting the frequent slapping of the dough down on the table...a great avenue to drive away any bad memories;
  
• it's a labour of love...I will like to make myself believe that I will be able to impart a better flavour to the bread;
• without using the machine, maybe I could help reduce the tonnes of carbon footprint I leave behind every year.

Let me know if I have left out any other points. Having said that, I think I may have to start looking at making no-knead breads, in fact, I just borrowed a book "Kneadlessly Simple", I hope I will be able to get something out of it :)

Ok, back to this 'ring' loaf bread. It is a cocoa flavoured bread. The inside is supposed to be filled with chocolate paste, but I was too lazy to make it from scratch, so I used chocolate-peanut butter, if I have nutella on hand, I think it will work just as fine. After spreading the chocolate paste, the bread is covered with chocolate flavoured corn flakes before it is being rolled up.

The loaf rose beautifully while baking in the oven. How I wish my chiffon cakes would rise as high! Unmolding the loaf was quite tricky, unlike a chiffon cake, this loaf has to be removed immediately when it is still hot.

This bread was really good when it had just cooled off. The texture was very soft and fluffy, the three of us finished one quarter of it during tea time. However, it aged quite fast...by the next morning, it had turn a little hard and dry even though I have kept it in an airtight container. Maybe because there is no egg in it? and I notice the amount of butter in the recipe is also very little. To get around with it, I wrapped the bread with foil and warm it in the oven before serving, and it tasted freshly baked. The corn flakes filling was a great disappointment. It became soft and chewy after between sandwiched insides the loaf :'( The next time I were to make this, I will skip the corn flakes.

Chocolate Ring Loaf Bread

Ingredients
(makes one 7" round loaf)

300g bread flour
6g instant yeast
20g caster sugar
10g cocoa powder
6g salt
165g lukewarm water
45g fresh milk
15g unsalted butter
some chocolate peanut butter or nutella spread
some chocolate corn flakes
some icing sugar



Method:

1. Stir bread flour, caster sugar, salt, cocoa powder and instant yeast in a mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre and add in water and milk. Mix the ingredients with hand and slowly form into a dough.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead until the dough comes together and becomes smooth, about 10mins. (The dough will be quite wet and sticky initially.)
4. Knead the butter into the dough. The dough will become greasy, wet and sticky again. Continue to knead for about 10 - 20 mins until the dough no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. Do the window pane test: pinch a small portion of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart.
5. Place dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Roll into a round ball. Cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 10mins.
7. Flatten the dough into a disc and roll into a rectangular shape, about 25cm x 30cm. Spread the dough surface with chocolate peanut butter or nutella. Leave about a 1cm gap on each side. Sprinkle with chocolate cornflakes. Fold in about 1 inch for each of the four sides.
8. Roll up from the shorter side swiss-roll style to form a log, pinch and seal the seam. Carefully roll the log on the table to lengthen it to about 40cm in length.
9. Place doughs in a greased chiffon pan (7"). Seal and pinch the ends. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave dough to proof for the second time for about 30mins, or until the doughs almost reach the rim of the chiffon pan.
10. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 20 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and unmold immediately. Leave it to cool for 3mins and sieve over some icing sugar. Let cool completely before slicing. To help the bread stay fresh store in airtight container.

Recipe source: adapted from 做面包真简单, 太 田ひとみ

做面包真简单, Really?!!

One thing leads to another.

During our stay at the service apartment in Beijing, we had our complimentary breakfast at the lobby every morning. The spread was not fantastic but I was quite happy with it since my usual breakfast at home is nothing more than 2 slices of bread and a cup of coffee. Two weeks down the road, I got tired of the ham, sausages, hard boil eggs and porridge. So I went for the cereals. I have never liked cereals, especially muesli. But those available at the breakfast counter were quite 'kids-friendly', ie cereals for kids. Since I have not had any corn flakes for ages, it was a nice surprise to find them so crunchy and tasty! I like it so much that I had to get a box of corn flakes right after we got back to Singapore.

Since it is the start of the school term, I found myself wondering into the local bookstore...to get some assessment books for the kids. As usual, before heading to the assessment book section, I spent some time browsing the cookbooks on the shelves. There were quite a number of new books, and I was able to pick up 4 books within a few minutes. One was on bread making, one on sushi making, one on Chinese buns and dim sum, and another on everyday simple meals. I wanted to buy all four, but in the end, I bought only one...and it is no surprise that I chose the one on bread making. Every single recipe in this book, 做面包真简单  (making bread is easy), looks good to me!

By the time I got home, I have already decided that the first recipe I would try from this cookbook would be the loaf bread covered with corn flakes! However, after reading through the ingredients, I realised that it is made with this drink "Calpico". I googled and learned that it is quite similar to Yakult or Vitagen. Since I hardly see this product on the local supermarket shelves,  I would made do with Vitagen.

Just when I was almost ready to give the recipe a go, I received an email with links to video clips showing how iron powder can be extracted from fortified corn flakes (see here). It certainly makes me think twice about having corn flakes! Nevertheless, I still went ahead with my bread making ;)

Little did I know that it took me three attempts to get the bread right! On my first attempt, I used my bread machine to do the kneading, the dough was still very sticky after 30mins of kneading. I made a 'clever' decision to add a tablespoon of flour to the dough and let the machine run for another 10mins. The dough was still sticky and very soft. Since I was rushing to get my other chores done, I took the dough out and left it to proof. After 30mins there was still no 'activity'. The dough didn't rise and it became a sticky, slacken mess. It was then that I realised I could have let the machine over-knead the dough. I was left with no choice but to dump it into the thrash bin. Undeterred by the failure, I went on to prepare another portion right after. I placed all the necessary ingredients into the bread machine, but the kneading blade couldn't move. The machine must have been over-heated and it had refused to start work again. The only way to get around was to knead it by hand. My next half an hour was then spent working hard on the dough. It was quite a wet dough indeed, but soon it became smooth and elastic and no long sticks to my hand. My hard work didn't really paid off though :( The yeast didn't work this time! The first rise took more than 2hrs, and the second proofing took another 2hrs, and yet the dough didn't even come up near the rim. Despite a 'shorter' loaf, the bread tasted quite good.

Two days later, I made another attempt. I bought a fresh bottle of yeast and I made the dough by hand again. This time, the yeast was working so well that within 30mins, the dough had already doubled in size.

The second proofing took no longer than 30mins as well. While waiting for the oven to preheat, the dough had rose over the rim!

Here's a comparison of the two loaves...the one on the left didn't proof well...

look at the vast difference in height between the two!

Although this bread does not have super soft and cottony texture, it is very delicious and smells good especially when it was baking in the oven, I could smell corn flakes! My kids love the bread, it has a slight sweet taste and the corn flakes gave an interesting texture to the crust.

I am sharing the recipe with all of you who loves making and eating bread. I hope this recipe will not disappoint anyone of you who are keen to give it a try. Happy baking!




Corn Flakes Bread Loaf

Ingredients
(makes one 7" x 4" x 4" loaf)

300g bread flour
6g instant yeast
18g caster sugar
6g salt
9g milk powder
150g lukewarm water
35g vitagen
20g egg
30g unsalted butter
some corn flakes, crushed
egg wash (mix 1 tbs egg with 1 tbs water)


Method:

1. Stir bread flour, caster sugar, salt, milk powder and instant yeast in a mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre and add in water, egg and vitagen. Mix the ingredients with hand and slowly form into a dough.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead until the dough comes together and becomes smooth, about 10mins. (The dough will be quite wet and sticky initially.)
4. Knead the butter into the dough. The dough will become greasy, wet and sticky again. Continue to knead for about 10 - 20 mins until the dough no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. Do the window pane test: pinch a small portion of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart.
5. Place dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Divide into 2 equal portion, about 290g each. Roll into rounds. Cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 10mins.
7. Flatten each dough into a small disc and roll each into a rectangular shape, about 12" x 7". Roll up from the shorter side (7') swiss-roll style to form a log, pinch and seal the seam.
8. Place crushed corn flakes on a tray. Brush the top of the doughs with the egg wash and roll it over the crushed corn flakes.
9. Place doughs in a greased loaf pan (7" x 4" x 4"). Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 30mins, or until the doughs almost reach the rim of the loaf pan.
10. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 deg C for 35 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and unmold immediately. Let cool completely before slicing. To help the bread stay fresh store in airtight container.

Recipe source: adapted from 做面包真简单, 太 田ひとみ

手做的幸福2 (Homemade Bread)

续上回手做的圆面包, 这次又动手做这款白土司面包。


'愛上做面包' 的作者, 德永久美子称它为英国面包, 也许是因为烤好的土司有一层香脆的外皮吧, 就像一般的欧式面包, 有如 Farmhouse White Loaf。我非常喜欢欧式country-style面包, 由其是法国面包。可是我还没找到勇气在家里制作! 为了让这个土司看起来有多一份乡村风味,我在第二次发酵前撒上少许面粉(有一点画蛇添足hor?!)。

As a follow-up to my previous attempts on making plain crusty bread rolls, I made another loaf from the same cookbook. This 'English Bread' has got a nice crisp crust while the crumbs is soft, almost similar to a farmhouse white loaf. Although it is not called for in the recipe, I dusted the surface with some flour to give it a rustic look :)


使用双手揉面团的好处是能感觉面团的湿度,太干就加一点点水,太湿就撒点面粉。感觉上这面团还蛮容易搓揉,不怎么黏手,可能是我用另一个牌子的面粉吧?? 还是它的油份很低?? 这个Gold Medal, Better for Bread Flour,似乎有比较高的'吸水力',它的蛋白质含量也比较高, 所以产生的筋度也比较大,做出来的面包具有弹性与嚼感,很适合烤欧式面包。所以说angmo面包还是用angmo面粉比较好?! 虽然这个牌子的价格表面上看起来似乎较昂贵,可是它是两公斤装,算算看其实贵不到那里去。

Whenever I have the time to spare, I will prefer to knead the dough by hand. This way, I will be able to get a feel of the texture, whether the dough is too wet or too dry. Some recipes will yield very wet and sticky doughs whiles others will give tougher, tenser ones. By having a feel of the texture while kneading, I will be able to co-relate it with the finished loaf, and hence, provide a better review of the recipe.

I wonder whether it was the type of flour I had used, this dough was rather easy to knead as it hardly sticked to the work surface. For this loaf, I used Gold Medal's Better for Bread Flour, which is a stronger flour with a higher protein level. It is only slightly more expensive than the usual brand I use, but I believe it gives a better flavour to the bread, and I would think it is very suitable for making rustic, country-style type of bread.


面包在炉里还没烤好就传来一阵阵熟悉的面包香, 不是那种香浓的奶油香,而是发自面粉和酵母的一股淡淡的酒香,闻起来真会另人感到很温馨很幸福 ;)

There is nothing more delightful than to have a kitchen filled with a wonderful aroma of freshly homemade bread baking in the oven ;)


烤好的土司外层香脆,里边却是松软的。因为用本色(unbleached)面粉的关系,面包也和面粉一样有点泛黄。它的口感会比较扎实, 有弹性, 没有软式面包'拉丝'般的柔软, 有点类似欧美面包却又没那么有嚼劲。

I like how the bread turned out...with a lovely crusty crust while the inside remain soft. The crumb has got a nice texture, not cottony soft and yet not overly dense or heavy.


吃之前放进面包烘烤机, 烤一烤, 涂上牛油或果酱, 再配上一杯热腾腾的浓咖啡就是一顿丰富的早餐! 还是那句老话...简单就是一种幸福。

My all time favourite breakfast...a cup of freshly brewed coffee, along with a slice of toasted bread :)


又: 这是第二次尝试用中文书写, 文笔钝拙, 用了好多照片, 就像平时用英文书写一样, 整编文章有如儿子的看图作文, 哈哈哈 ;')


English Bread

Ingredients
(makes one 7.5"x4"x4" loaf)

300g bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
30ml (2 tablespoons) milk
180ml lukewarm water (about 30 degC)
10g butter, soften at room temperature


Method:

1. Mix milk and water.
2. Stir bread flour, caster sugar, salt, and instant yeast in a mixing bowl.
3. Add in milk mixture. Mix the ingredients with hand and slowly form into a dough.
4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead until the dough no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. This should take about 20 mins. Do the window pane test: pinch a small piece of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart. Wrap the butter in the dough and continue to knead until the butter fully incorporates into the dough.
5. Place dough in a lightly greased (with vegetable oil) mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Smooth into round, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let it rise for another 20mins.
7. Divide dough into 2 equal portions, about 265g each. Roll into rounds. Cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 15 - 20mins.
8. On a lightly floured work surface, flatten each dough into a round disc, roll the dough from the centre to the edges until the diameter is about 9". Flip the dough over. Fold the dough 1/3 from the left side towards the centre. Fold over 1/3 from the right side, to form a long rectangle (about 9" x 3"). Starting from the shorter end roll up swiss-roll style. Pinch and seal the seams. Place the two doughs, seam side down, in a well greased pullman tin. (See illustrations below). Dust the surface of the dough with some flour (optional). Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 40 ~ 50mins, or until double in size, or when the dough has almost reached the rim of the tin.
9. Bake in pre-heated oven at 190 - 200 deg C for 30-35 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven, unmold immediately and let cool completely before slicing.

Recipe source:adapted from 爱上做面包, 德永久美子

Bacon & Cheese Bread

I have been back to my usual bread-making routine for quite some time, you don't get to see much of my homemade bread here as I have trouble trying to keeping up with my blog posting. I definitely bake faster than I could blog!


For the past week, I have made mini-polo buns, a wholemeal raisin loaf and the latest is this Bacon & Cheese loaf.


As usual, I used my bread machine to do the kneading...it was almost like making a plain sandwich loaf, except for one little extra step of pan-frying some bacon. It could be due to the 'cold' flour (I stored it in the fridge) or the temperature of the water, this dough took quite a long time to rise, especially during the 2nd proof...it was almost 2 hours later before I could pop it into the oven. Other than a slightly 'shorter' loaf than usual, the end result was very satisfactory.


I went weak the moment I unmolded this loaf and removed the parchment paper. It was baked to a gorgeous golden brown all over...the aroma from the loaf freshly out of the oven was simply irresistible!


It was a joy eating a slice of this bread...the bacon bits and mild peppery taste from freshly grounded black pepper was a match in heaven...not forgetting the savory melted cheese on the crust. The bread kept well too...which I have stored in a Lock & Lock bread container. Since homemade bread tends to 'age' faster, keeping them in air-tight container is the best solution. The bread was still soft on the 3rd day and I toasted the last slice, which I saved just to test the texture...and it tasted just as good.



Bacon & Cheese Bread

Ingredients

A:
3 slices of bacon; finely chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper

B:
250g bread flour
15g caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
150ml water, lukewarm
20g unsalted butter

C:
40g grated mozzarella cheese
1/8 tsp black pepper
some dried parsley


Method:

1. Pan-fry finely chopped bacon over low heat, until brown and crisp. Drain off any excess oil and mix in the black pepper. Set aside to cool.
2. Place all ingredients B, except the butter, in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. After about 8mins of kneading (the ingredients should form a smooth dough by now), add in the 20g of butter. Let the machine continue to knead the dough. After the kneading cycle has stopped (20mins), Stop and Restart the machine. Continue to let the machine knead for another 10mins.
3. Add in the bacon and black pepper mixture and let the machine run for another 1~2 mins until the bacon mixture is incorporated into the dough.
4. Stop the machine and remove dough from the bread pan. Shape the dough into a smooth round and place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover bowl with cling wrap and let dough rise till double in volume for about 80 ~ 90 mins.
5. Remove dough and give a few light kneading on a lightly floured work surface. Press out the trapped air as your knead. Shape into a round dough and cover with cling wrap, let the dough rest for 15mins.
6. Flatten and roll out the dough into a rectangular shape (20cm by 15cm). Roll up swiss roll style and pinch the seam in place. Place dough in a loaf pan (size, 7.5"x4"x4", lined with parchment paper, both bottom and sides), seam-side down. Cover with cling wrap and let dough proof for 50~60mins or until the dough reaches about 90% of the height of the pan.
7. Sprinkle top with grated cheese, black pepper and some dried parsley.
8. Bake at preheated oven at 190 degC for about 30mins until the bread is golden brown all over. Cover the top with a sheet of aluminum foil if the surface browns too quickly.
9. Remove from oven and unmold immediately. Let cool completely before slicing.
Recipe adapted from 孟老师的100道面包