Friday, 29 September 2017

SAME DAY BAKE SOURDOUGH BAGELS


I love bagels
I love its soft but chewy texture

I like it plain
while most people like it with seeded toppings
and yet others prefer the fruity interior

All of us like it with a spread
of either cheese, butter or marmalade

I wish to express my special thanks to Nelson Mansfield's invitation
to join the Event
Sourdough Bagels for 
on 1 Oct 2017


I am submitting this for the Event.

If you are interested, this is the recipe he provided:


Same Day Bake Sourdough Bagels
350g Bread flour
120g cold milk
16g soft brown sugar/malt
10g (1 2/3 tsp) salt
300g active 100%-hydration sourdough starter

1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp malt

1. combine starter, milk, flour, sugar and salt in a bowl of a stand mixer
2. mix on medium speed until dough is smooth & strong
3. tip dough onto unfloured counter & work a few turns by hand
4. form dough into a smooth ball, cover & leave aside for 30min
5. divide dough into 8 balls of 100g each, allow to rest for 10min
6. shape balls in bagels & leave on semolina dusted parchment lined tray
7. slip the tray into a plastic bag & allow to rise for 2-4 hours at room temperature
8. when the bagels feel a bit puffy, chuck into fridge for easy handling later
9. preheat oven to 190'C & bring water with baking soda & malt added, to a rolling boil
10. remove bagels from fridge & dust off semolina from its bottom
11. drop bagels (one or 2 at a time) into boiling water for 20 sec, flip over 1/2 way
12. remove bagels with a slotted spatula & drain on rack for 30sec
13. place on semolina dusted, parchment lined baking tray
14. bake for 16min, half way through open oven door to let out steam

Tuesday, 26 September 2017

BAK KWA (PORK JERKY)





Bak Kwa
in Hockien is dried meat
is popular during Festive Seasons.

It is a must-have for Chinese New Year

These are sold in bags of 1/2 kg 
or 
boxes of one kilogram each

Nowadays, because of its rising cost,
it is also sold in pieces.

You can see them roasting the slices of meat in front of you
and you tend to believe they are fresh,
never realise that 
many of these were processed weeks ago or even months

Well, these meat slices are really tasty
and you will not stop at one slice!

You can eat it on its own,
with bread,
or as fillings for buns

You can actually make your own
at a fraction of the cost


baked in toaster oven 
1/3 of the recipe
Bak Kwa
400g minced pork
1 Tbsp cooking wine
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp dark soya sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce


Glaze:
2 Tbsp maltose dissolved in some hot water (optional)
Or 
Honey or golden syrup

1) combine minced meat with all ingredients
2) stir with a spoon until the mixture turns gooey, takes about 2 min
3) leave to marinate in the fridge overnight, no need to cover
4) spread meat between 2 parchment paper, & roll to 2mm thick
5) peel off the top parchment paper & bake in preheated oven 150’C  for 3-5 min
6) glaze and bake again 3-5min 
7) drain away juice if any & turn over, glaze and bake 3-5 min
6) take care not to burn the meat!
8) when the desired colour is reached, cool on wire rack

Note:
I used my toaster oven to bake the bak kwa on 21Jan 2021 (2nd photo)

Sunday, 24 September 2017

COPYCAT WALKERS SHORTBREAD



Shortbread
 a traditional Scottish Cookies
 loved by many 
especially those who love the strong aroma of butter
(use a good butter)
and 
its crunchy texture.

I am one of them
and have been searching for a recipe for these lovely cookies.

This recipe is shared by
'3 Ingredient Shortbread Cookies'

Only 3 ingredients,
available in most pantry.
How about rolling up your sleeves now, and taking out a mixing bowl?

No need to use a mixer, only hand mixed!
Minimum utensils to wash, only 1 mixing bowl!
Haha! like it?

I love it
because the steps are simple
and 
the cookies are yummy!



Copycat Walkers Shortbread

1 cup salted butter (225g), if use unsalted butter, add 1 tsp salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar (125g)
2&3/4 cups all purpose flour (340g)

1. cream soften butter in a large mixing bowl, add salt if butter is unsalted
2. add sugar & cream until light & fluffy
3. sift in flour all at once, mix to combine. Do not overmix!!!
4. cover & chill dough in fridge for 1 hour
5. roll dough out (1/2" thick) on a piece of parchment paper
6. cut dough with a pastry cutter in rectangle, square or triangle, the choice is yours
7. poke top of cookies with a fork to prevent cookies from bubbling
8. bake in preheated oven 150'C for about 45min until light golden brown
9. cut the cookies again when it comes out of the oven, let cool completely

2nd batch done by Facebook friend
Ding Mee Ling


Facebook friend, Agnes Tan:
"Butter Cookie, recipe from Katie Foong... not sure the same taste.. 
cos the oven stop halfway twice..."

Monday, 18 September 2017

SOURDOUGH PIZZA CRUST

Another good way of using up the 
Sourdough Discard.

has this easy Sourdough Pizza Crust to share with us.

Did I mention easy?

Yes, just knead everything together & leave to rise,
shape & proof,
spread on fillings & bake!



Oops! Forgot to take photo!
almost 1/2 gone...

It is crispy on the outside
&
soft on the inside

Sourdough Pizza Crust
120g Sourdough from fridge
55-60g warm water
150g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp instant yeast

1. combine all ingredients & knead to form a smooth & slightly sticky dough
2. allow dough to rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour
3. roll dough into a flatten disk
4. place disk on a 12" oiled (with olive oil) baking pan, allow to rest 15min
5. gently press dough towards sides of pan, if shrink rest again
6. leave dough to rise until thicker - almost double 
7. spread fillings/topping onto the dough
8. bake in preheated oven 225C for 15min

Note:
1. for thicker crust, double the ingredients or use a smaller pan
    bake crust blank for 5 min
    spread filling/topping & bake for 15-18min until done

Sunday, 17 September 2017

TARTINE COUNTRY BREAD @30C



Special thanks to Nancy Wei's sharing:
'Sourdough in the Tropics 30C'
and
her detailed method in baking a good
Tartine Country Bread

Her 'correct process' entails
1) cold autolyse
2) a relatively short bulk fermentation at room temperature
3) a long cold final proof for flavour & open crumb
4) bake cold for easy scoring, good oven spring & ear

Bread Flour + Wholewheat


Bread Flour + Spelt Flour


Both these are flavorful 
with
nice open crumbs
but 
I failed to get the ears! 

Tartine Country Bread @30C
270g unbleached bread flour (90%)
30g whole wheat flour (10%)
60g sourdough starter@ peak (20%)
210-224g cold water (73-77% hydration)
6g salt (2%) = 1&1/4 tsp

Hand-mix method:
1. mix flour & water, autolyse in fridge for 1 hour
2. add starter, rest dough @ RT 30C for 30min
3. add salt & transfer to an oiled container
4. bulk fermentation:at RT 30C for 3hrs (from addition of starter), with 3-4 snf @20min interval
5. Preshape& rest dough for 20min on counter top
6. Final shape & place in banneton, seam side up
7. final proof (cold retard) for 10 hours
8. preheat oven 250C for 1/2 hour
9. score bread & bake in heated DO, covered for 20min, 
10. remove cover & bake another 15-20min @230C
11. turn off oven & leave bread inside for another 10min
                                          

COPYCAT SUBWAY ITALIAN HERB BREAD



This recipe has been adapted from
Sirimon Pangklin's 
Subway Italian Herb Bread
made with 
Herman Starter

This is a soft & spongy bread
with slight fragrance of Italian herbs

Of course, if you like stronger fragrance
feel free to double up herbs to 1 Tbsp as Sirimon Pangklin's original recipe.


Copycat Subway Italian Herb Bread

Herbs used are: oregano
                          thyme
                          basil
                          rosemary  

230g bread flour
70g wholemeal flour
1.5 tsp herb blend from the above
250g herman (I used sourdough, herman was not available at that time) 
200-210 water
10g sugar
1 Tbsp Italian herbs
3/4 tsp salt
15g olive oil

1. knead all ingredients except oil, in a bread machine
2. after few minutes, add olive oil & continue kneading until window panes
3. leave to rest until double
4. shape as you like 
5. cover & left to rise until double in volume 
6. score bread & spray with water
7. bake in preheated oven 200'C for 30-35min depends on the size you make

Thursday, 14 September 2017

NO BAKE CHEESY CHEESCAKE



We love Cheesecake.
We love it plain, cheese and only cheese.

Many like it flavored with fruits like oranges and pineapples,
while others like it with a tint of sourness,
with lemon and passion fruits.

There are yet others who like to add berries to their cheesecake,
either for color or taste.
As such, Strawberries and Blue Berries are used.

For chocolate lovers
how can they resist chocolates in their cheesecake?

This is a plain non-baked cheesecake.

If you love the taste of cheese,
and a fan of cheese,
you will surely love it on its own!

Cheesy Cheesecake
Crust: 200g digestive biscuits, crushed finely
           75g butter, melted

Cake:
1 Tbsp gelatin
60g boiling water
500g cream cheese
100g castor sugar
200ml whipping cream

1. combine melted butter & crushed digestive biscuits
2. press into a prepared pan for cheesecake
3. refrigerate crust for 1-2 hours
4. sprinkle gelatin onto boiling water, stir to dissolve. leave aside to cool
5. whip cream & leave aside for later use
6. cream cheese & sugar until smooth
7. add whipped cream & dissolved gelatin, continue to cream until smooth
8. pour onto biscuit base & leave in fridge to chill for 4 hours before cutting

Note:
I cut the cheesecake too early, so I did not get a clean cut!


Tuesday, 5 September 2017

123 HERMAN BREAD


There are so many recipes
for Sourdough Bread
with adjustments in the level of hydration.

Recently I came across this easy to remember recipe
by
Alex French Guy Cooking
with its
3 basic ingredients:
Sourdough, Water & Flour
in the ratio of 1:2:3

I could not help but give it a try
replacing Sourdough with Herman
and
here it is

123 Herman Bread

It is chewy on the outside but soft on the inside.

The brown rice powder I added gave a nice fragrant flavour.




123 Herman Bread
90g herman starter 
180g water
270g flour (230g bread flour+40g brown rice flour)
5g salt (2g for every 100g flour)

1. mix 3 main ingredients, autolyse 1/2 hour
2. add salt & knead. Leave to rest for 4 hours (snf every 45min)
3. shape & put into proofing bowl, leave in fridge overnight 
4. bake from fridge in preheated oven 250'C for 20min, covered
    and 225'C for 20min, uncovered

Monday, 4 September 2017

HERMAN TANZHONG CHOCOLATE SWIRL BREAD


This Herman Tanzhong Chocolate Swirl Bread
is soft & fluffy
and
has great chocolate taste.

I have taken the recipe from
Asian Herman Recipe Sharing group
shared by
Kim Lean Leow

Herman Tanzhong Chocolate Swirl Bread

(A) Tanzhong 
       50g bread flour
       250g water

1. cook over low fire & stirring until you see the bottom of the pot
2. remove from heat & let cool

 (B)  Bread Dough
        all of the above tanzhong
        340g bread flour
        150g herman starter
        30g sugar
        4g salt
        24g milk powder
        1 egg
        30g butter (add after few minutes)
  
        egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water

1. all ingredients, except butter, into bread machine, bread dough cycle
2. after 2 minutes, add butter & continue kneading to a smooth & soft dough
3. put dough into covered container to rest until dough rise to double (4-5 hours)
4. gently deflate proofed dough & roll into a rectangle 8" X 14"
5. place chocolate sheet on the dough & enclose it, seal all edges
6. roll out into a rectangle again, fold into 3 layers
7. roll out again & repeat No.6
8. roll out into a rectangle, roll dough up lengthwise as if a swiss roll
9. divide dough into 2 lengths & place onto lined baking tray
10. let dough rise till almost double (1-2 hours)
11. egg wash bread & bake in preheated oven 175'C for 30-35min

(C) Chocolate Paste
50g chocolate
20g butter
20g bread flour
10g cocoa powder
5g corn flour
60g milk 
20g castor sugar
1 egg white

1. mix all ingredients & cook over low heat until it forms a soft dough
2. sandwich the dough between 2 sheets of cling film & roll into a 6" square
3. leave in the fridge to firm up before use