Brioche

Have never actually eaten Brioche bread before, but attempted to make one as I wanted to use it to make something else.

The whole process involved proofing the dough overnight. Since I have not actually eaten one before, I had no point of reference. However, mine did look very much like the photos I saw. It was quite soft and crumbly, but I would personally prefer the tangzhong method.

Click here for the recipe.

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Cinnamon Rolls

Another attempt at cinnamon rolls, and this time it is better...

This time, I did not over bake it and it came out soft enough. However, I think I did not put enough butter and cinnamon sugar, so although I can taste the cinnamon, it was not gooey enough.

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Recipe

Dough
Bread Flour 540g
Sugar 86g
Salt 8g
Yeast 11g
Fresh Cream 100g
Unsalted Butter 50g
Eggs 2

Proof for 1hr.

Cinnamon Sugar
Brown Sugar 1cup
Cinnamon powder 5tbsp
Raisins as desired

1. After proofing dough, roll out into a rectangular shape to desired thickness.
2. Spread 3tbsp of butter on the dough, before spreading the cinnamon sugar.
3. Bake at 180 degrees C for 16-20 minutes.

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Mini Burgers

It was supposed to be lamb burgers, but I could not find minced lamb, so beef burgers it is.

I made the buns myself as well, since I wanted a small sized one. The beef patty turned out to be juicy. Saltiness was just right as well. A little Dijon mustard on the base and topped with cheese and romaine lettuce.

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Recipe

Minced Beef 220g
Salt 1/2tsp
Coriander 2tbsp
Mixed Herbs 1tbsp
Pepper to taste

1. Mixed all ingredients together and make into patty size of choice.
2. Sear the surface and sides on high heat in your pan, before turning down fire to medium and cooking to desired doneness.

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Matcha Chiffon Bread

 

Time to bake something less sweet after all the CNY goodies.

 

Since I still have some matcha powder leftover, I decided to give this a go. Essentially, it is vanilla sponge cake, wrapped on the outside with matcha bread.

However, the matcha taste did not come through even though I added more than what was called for.

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Recipe:

Sponge Cake
Caster Sugar 100g
Flour 100g
Milk 60g
Vegetable Oil 40g
Baking powder 1tsp
Eggs 4
Vanilla essence 1tsp

1. Separate the yolks from the whites.
2. Beat 25g of sugar into the yolks.
3. Add in the milk, oil and vanilla essence and mix well.
4. Mix in the flour and baking powder in batches.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add in the remaining 75g of sugar in batches while beating until you get a stiff meringue.
6. Add the meringue into the batter and mix well.
7. Pour into tray and bake at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes.


Bread
Bread flour 350g
Matcha powder 2tbsp
Caster sugar 55g
Salt 1/2tsp
Yeast 6g
Unsalted butter 50g
Cream 120g
tangzhong 110g
Egg 1

1. Prepare the bread dough and allow it to proof.
2. Roll out the dough into a size that is slightly larger than the spongecake.
3. Place the sponge cake on top, and roll it. Seal edges tightly.
4. Proof for another 40 minutes.
5. Bake at 180 degrees C for 25 minutes.

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Cinnamon Raisin Rolls

Not my first attempt at cinnamon rolls, but wanted to improve on it.

 

Still not the way I wanted it to be. I think i rolled the dough too thin, which resulted in me over-baking it and ending with a drier outsides, although the center if it is still relatively soft.

The sugars did not melt that well either, and there's still some crystals. I used brown sugar; maybe I should just used caster sugar next time.

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Recipe

Water Starter:
1 part bread flour
5 parts water

1. Mix and boil till thick and paste-like. Leave to cool.

Dough Ingredients:
Bread flour 475g
Salt 7g
Yeast 7g
Sugar 90g
Cream 135g
Egg 50g
Unsalted butter 50g

1. Mix the dry ingredients together first, then add in the liquids.
2. Knead the dough and leave to proof for 1-2 hours.

Cinnamon Sugar:
Caster Sugar 1cup
Cinnamon powder 3tbsp
Raisins as desired

1. Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
2. Spread the cinnamon sugar and press into the dough, leaving about an inch untouched on one end.
3. Lightly butter the one inch space and roll the dough tightly starting from the other end.
4. Cut into desired thickness and bake at 180 degrees C for 20-30 minutes.

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Carrot Cake

Cute little carrot, anyone?

Attempted Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, including these adorable little carrots which I made out of marzipan.

You can see strands of carrot here and walnuts. This is the first time I made a cake using cooking oil instead of the usual butter. Using cooking oil gives the cake a more crumbly texture. I think the cake would have done better aesthetically, if I added more cinnamon powder for a darker colour. But the cake did turn out moist and not too sweet, balancing well with the sweeter frosting. Frosting turned out a little more liquid than I would prefer, probably because I used more cream cheese than called for.

Since I had no lessons today, I made a raisin loaf again. This must be my nicest looking loaf so far, with that beautiful brown.

As I was making the carrot cake, I wish I was actually making a sticky date pudding! Oh well, that shall be my next attempt!

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Carrot Cake Recipe

Cake Ingredients:

Walnuts 100g

Carrots (grated) 340g

All Purpose Flour 280g

Baking Soda 1tsp

Baking Powder 1tsp

Salt 1/2tsp

Ground Cinnamon 2tsp

Eggs 4

Caster sugar 300g

Vegetable Oil 240ml

Vanilla essence 2tsp

Crushed pineapple 200g

1. Toast walnuts until lightly brown and fragrant.

2. Mix well flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder, and set aside.
3. Beat eggs until frothy. Add in sugar and continue beating until mixture is pale yellow in colour. Beat in crushed pineapple, oil and vanilla extract until incorporated.
4. Add in flour mixture from Step 2 and beat until well mixed.
5. Fold in carrots and walnuts using a spatula.
6. Divide batter into 2 equal portions, and pour into 2 identical sized and buttered pan of choice.
7. Bake at 180 degrees C for about 35 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

Unsalted butter 57g

Cream Cheese 227g

Icing sugar 230g

Vanilla essence 1tsp

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1. Beat butter and cream cheese together until well mixed.

2. Sift icing sugar and add in, mixing well.

3. Beat in vanilla essence and lemon zest.

If too liquid, refrigerate for a while in freezer so that it is thicker and easier to coat.

Assembly:

1. Make sure the 2 cake sections are flat. Slice to flatness if necessary.

2. Spread frosting above one section, and place other section above it.

3. Using remaining frosting, coat cake all around.

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Bo Lo Yao & Japanese Curry Bun

I'm beginning to enjoy making breads, especially after successfully making a soft loaf last week using the water starter method. This week, from the same batch of dough, I made Bo Lo Yao and Japanese Curry Buns.


Ah..the Bo Lo Yao sure brings back memories. A warm bun with cold butter, and a hot cup of milk tea sure was a comforting breakfast when I was in Hong Kong, and I still miss the place. Shall plan a trip back some time. Only failed bit of it was the coating which cracked too much as the dough proofed and expanded, otherwise, it tasted great.

Japanese Curry Buns filled with potatoes and chicken.

The buns were okay as a whole, but not as soft as last week's. The only difference here was the lack of cream, and my starter did seem a little more watery than last week's. I guess next time I shall prepare the starter on the same day as baking.

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65°C

I always love the smell of yeast and flour on my fingers after kneading.

Often times when I eat bread, I wonder how they made it soft, or how like the ones you buy from neighbourhood bakeries where you can see strands of bread straddling across as you peel it apart. Now I finally know.

It's called the 65°C 汤种. Apparently it was a Chinese method of cooking flour with hot water and was used in making dumpling skins and noodles since ancient times and had its use extrapolated to bread-baking in recent times. The mixture is cooked to 65°C, at which point gluten in the flour absorbs the water and is leavened. Adding this as part of the ingredients results in a softer and more moist loaf. The Japanese seems to have a somewhat similar method, but I have yet to find out how.

Indeed, my previous tries at bread making were less than stellar and the bread would turn out to be a little too dry.

See the fluffy, gluten-y texture...although I think it can be better. Actually used cream and full-cream milk to bake it but the milk taste wasn't there.

A cheddar cheese version. Somehow the texture of this was even softer.

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This week's entries

Plain loaf

Fougasse

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Working the dough

Got this book today - Dough: Simple Contemporary Bread by Richard Bertinet. There was a newer edition titled Crust, but it featured more exotic breads while Dough had the usual fare like a plain loaf, ciabata, baguettes etc. Nonetheless, I think I will get Crust at a later time cos there's a recipe for croissants in it!

Actually, I first saw him on Rachel Allen's Bake, where he used a method of working the dough which was totally different from what you read in the usual bread recipes. Well, I can't wait to try out his method this weekend!

If only he or Pierre Herme have masterchef classes here, I'd be sure to attend! So much to bake, so little time...

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Raisin Bread

Managed to successfully baked my raisin bread. Used bread flour this time round and allowed the dough to rise twice. The crust was a little crispy and the inside is still fluffy and not too dense.

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Cinnamon Rolls

My new toy..a silicone pastry mat to knead my dough on. Cost me $38, but it's pretty cool.

My cinnamon rolls. I think I failed though and I'm kinda disappointed. The dough was too dense and not fluffy, and I think I should have rolled it thinner as it turned out to be a little to thick after rising. Didn't manage to achieve the gooey cinnamon sugar either. Found another recipe which prepared the cinnamon sugar mix differently. Perhaps that's the key to a gooey roll.

Conclusion: Failure. Maybe I should try baking a loaf of white bread first to get the fluffy texture right before I retry cinnamon rolls.

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