Coffee Bread Loaf

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Thanks to the water roux technique, I am now feeling quite comfortable baking bread. For some reason, I find that the sense of accomplishment in churning out a soft, well formed bread is immensely greater than for example, turning out a batch of macarons.
I have never quite feared the macarons but for the longest time, I had been afraid to bake bread. My bread making adventure debuted with the sweet soft buns. Working with a smaller format is more manageable and helps to build up experience and confidence. When my first sandwich loaf, the Hokkaido Bread came out well, I knew I am hooked.

I have bookmarked so many bread loaves to bake and can't wait to get through them one by one!  This is supposed to be a Coffee Loaf but unfortunately, since I do not drink instant coffee, I tried to substitute the instant coffee granules with my machine brewed Expresso. The colour is pale and the flavour is weak... I shall remember to stash away some instant coffee packs from the office next time to repeat this again. Nevertheless, the texture is wonderfully soft and when paired with the Chocolate Honey glaze left over from the baby donuts, this makes one of the best breakfast treat ever! The Chocolate Honey glaze is 100x better than Nutella!

So if you have yet to try hands at bread making, follow my foot steps... using a tacky tagline- if I can do it, you most definitely can too!


Coffee Bread Loaf (Adapted from 65C Tangzhong Bread) 
Recipe 
(A)
190g              Bread flour
44g                Castor sugar
2g                  Salt
4g                  Instant yeast

(B)
20g                Egg (beaten)
50g                Milk
12g                Instant coffee granule (I used 12g of Expresso coffee instead)
60g                Water Roux dough (tangzhong)

(C)
20g                Unsalted butter

Almond flakes for garnish

(D)
Tangzhong (Water roux)
Bread flour          50g
Water                  250g


Method :
1. Prepare Tangzhong (Water Roux) 1 day before.  Mix (D) together and cook over low heat until 65C - stirring all the time while cooking. When it is cooked, the mixture should look like starchy glue and you should be able to see the stirring lines in the dough. Remove from heat and cool down at room temperature. Store it in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
2. Mix (A) together in a mixing bowl with (B) (take care to separate salt from yeast). Using a dough hook mix at medium speed until the dough comes together to form a ball. 
3. Add in softened butter and continue kneading with dough hook for 20 mins until window pane stage. 
4. Gather the dough from the mixing bowl and knead for 2-3 mins by hand on a lightly floured table top. 
5. Form the dough into a round ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to proof at room temperature (28C) for 40mins.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured table top and knead quickly by hand. (2mins) Divide the dough into 10 equal portions of 36g each. 
7. Rest the divided dough for 10mins. Place the 12 dough portions in a loaf pan in a 5X2 configuration. 
Allow the dough to proof to fill up almost 90% of your loaf pan. (I just rested it for 60mins)
8. In the mean time, preheat oven to 170C fan mode. 
9. Brush (7) with egg wash and sprinkle almond flakes. (I forgot to brush the bread with egg wash, hence my almond flakes did not stick well to the bread) 
10. Bake for 20mins. 
11. Cool down completely before slicing. 

Baby Doughnuts/Donuts With Chocolate Honey Glaze

As much as I love to play with flour and butter in the kitchen, there are still a couple of very simple and basic items which I have not yet tried. Among them are scones and donuts and one of the more trivial resolutions I have actually set myself in December is to try both this year.

This donut recipe is from an earlier issue of the Donna Hay Magazine. I had bookmarked this for the longest time but like many other little flags that are peeping out from the many cookbooks on my bookshelf, most of them continue to stay... shelved.  My bookmarked recipes kind of remind me of the 1000 concubines old Chinese Emperors used to house in the back quarters of the palace... beauties wistfully hoping to be picked by the emperor to pleasure him...  2 reasons made the sighting of this recipe memorable - the glossy chocolate honey glaze and the fact that these are made into bite sized. (I used a pineapple tart cutter, so you can imagine how small they are...)

Both the dough and the glaze were easy to make. Actual hands on time was less than 20mins and the rest was really leaving the the dough to proof and frying it in oil.


As much as I adore Donna Hay Magazine, I seldom cook or bake from it. I spend more time ogling at the photos than cooking from them... hence I wasn't sure how this recipe would turn out.  The results are pretty good, as far as my limited exposure to donuts can tell. The dough is fluffy and suprisingly, not too greasy. The glaze, as expected, took the whole limelight. I liked it  that you can just pop this into the mouth and not have to munch through a whole full sized donut.

Definitely a great option for kid's parties! So one trivial resolution completed and one more to go!

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Recipe :
Baby Donuts With Chocolate Honey Glaze (From Donna Hay Magazine) 

1 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tbsp lukewarm water
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
1 tbsp caster sugar
25g butter, melted
1 1/4 cups (185g) all purpose flour
1 egg

Vegetable oil for deep frying

chocolate honey glaze
30g butter
1/4 cup (90g) honey ( I used only 30g)
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g dark chocolate

Method :
1. Place yeast, milk, water and sugar in a large bowl and set aside in a warm place for 10mins or until bubbles appear on the surface.
2. Add the butter, flour and egg to the yeast mixture and using a spatula, mix until a sticky dough forms.
3. Turn out into a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
4. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean, damp cloth and set aside to proof for 45 mins.
5. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 mins or until smooth and elastic . Roll out to 1 cm thickness and using a 3.5cm round cutter , cut 25 rounds from the dough.  Using a 1 cm round cutter, cut a small hole in the center of the donuts.
6. Place the rings on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and set aside for 10 mins or until risen slightly.

7. While the donuts are proving ( I did this during the 45 mins proofing) , melt and mix chocolate , honey and butter in a bain marie (water bath) until smooth and glossy. Set aside.

8. Heat up oil in a deep saucepan until temperature of oil is 180C.  Fry the donuts in batches, giving roughly 3 mins on each side of the donut. Remove donuts from oil and place on oil absorbant paper.

9. While the donuts are still warm, dip them in the chocolate haze and place on a wire rack until set.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns - More Experiments

This is a very quick post to report back on my experiment on the Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns.

The last time I made these, I did not succeed in getting sufficient cream cheese filling into the buns. I repeated the last recipe and went for a simpler cream cheese filling formula. Chilled to get a firmer texture, I was able to portion a generous amount of cream cheese filling with an ice cream scoop. However, after baking, what started out to be a silky smooth cream cheese, took on a split and curdled appearance.

The buns were tasty though, especially when it is still warm from the oven. However, in terms of replicating Barcook's creamy cheese filling, this is not a success. It is baffling how Barcook's filling remains so smooth and silky even after baking... it is almost as if they injected the filling after the bread was baked. Most dairy products, may it be cream cheese or butter tend to curdle a little after baking. I tried a few different combinations of cream cheese / cream cheese spread/ mascarpone - all did not retain the silky creamy texture. After the last trial , I simply decided that the bakery must have used some form of processed cheese which is not available to us.

If you choose to use my last recipe for the sweet buns, the result of the buns will be similar to the bakery's - very soft, very easily squashed to yield a wrinkly appearance. (above photos)
If you prefer a bread with more structure, you can try the following sweet buns recipe and it will give you more structure. (See photo below)



Anyway, I think I've had enough of cream cheese buns for now and am satisfied enough as far as a home baked cream cheese bun is concerned.
For those who love this enough to experiment further, please keep me posted... :)


Recipe : (adapted from 65C Tangzhong Bread)

A. Water Roux
Bread flour           100g
Water                    500g

B.
Bread flour            228g
Plain flour             60g
Dried Yeast          6g
Castor sugar         30g
Salt                       3g

C.
Milk                     120g
Egg                      30g
A (Water Roux)   72g

D.
Unsalted butter     30g

E.
Dried Cranberry   50g ( I ran out of this so I omitted the berries for this exercise)

Method :
A. Water Roux
1. Mix flour and water in a saucepan and stir well with a whisk. Heat up the mixture in the saucepan gradually until temperature reaches 65 C , stirring all the time.
2. Remove the mixture from heat and continue stirring until water roux thicken. Stirring lines should be visible in the water roux.

Bread :
1. In a mixing bowl, mix B (except for salt) and C (except for water roux) and mix with a dough hook until the dough gathers to form a ball.

2. Add Water Roux from C. Continue mixing until dough gathers together. Add the salt from B.

3. Add butter and continue kneading for 15-20 mins on medium speed. The dough should no longer stick onto the wall of the mixing bowl. It should not be tacky when you tap on it with your fingers. Window pane test can be performed now by stretching the dough to form a thin pane. The stretched pane should not break. Add in cranberries at this stage.

4. Gather the dough and roll it into a ball and let it proof in a lightly oiled bowl for 40mins at room temperature.

5. Knead the dough slightly on a lightly floured board. Portion the dough into 40g portions. Roll each portion into a small ball and let it proof for 10mins.

6. Flatten each dough and scoop about 20-25g of cream cheese filling and seal the dough to form a round bun.

7. Place (6) on a lined baking pan and place another baking sheet over it. Proof the dough for 30mins.

8. Bake (6) together with baking sheet on top at 170C for 20mins. Cool down.

Cream Cheese Filling :

1. Cream 200g  of cream cheese with 50g of powdered sugar, 18g whipped cream and 1 tsp of vanilla extract until smooth.
2. Chill until firm before use.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Bun - Barcook? Not Quite Yet

I have never quite intended to bake this, definitely had not planned on putting up another bread post so soon after my recent Hokkaido Milk Bread post. Alan of TravelingFoodies had contacted me and asked me if I have a working recipe for the Cranberry Cream Cheese flat bun. He is a big fan of Barcook's popular out-of-the-oven-this-minute-gone-next Raisin/Cranberry Cream Cheese bun.

I have come across recipes for this in 65C Bread by Yvonne C and have also seen this at one of the classes conducted by Valerie Kong. So I was quick to respond to Alan, telling him that this is not so uncommon. And honestly, if you are already familiar with the Tangzhong/Water Roux/Sponged dough  method of baking bread, the mystery factor of this bread evaporates.... or so I thought.

So, I told Alan that I will take this up as an assignment and try to post it soon.
I chose to work with this basic sweet soft bun recipe and tried to hunt around for a cream cheese recipe. I could have easily turned to Valerie Kong's recipe but I don't think I should publish it as she is still running classes.

The sweet soft bun delivered as it always did. In fact I thought it turned out even softer than before - could this be the result of deliberately suppressing the rising dough with a baking sheet weighing down on it during proofing? I have no proof... :)

The challenge of making this was filling the buns with the cream cheese. The dough, interspersed with cranberries, was more difficult to shape and seal. I tried to introduce a more generous amount of cream cheese filling to my first few buns but they promptly start to leak as I shaped them. As a result of which, I was intimidated into just piping a small dollop of cream cheese filling. They bake well without the filling bursting out of the dough in the oven but the end result was a far cry from the creamy lava-like ooze that makes Barcook's bread so addictive.  My bread tasted more like just a plain cranberry bun with a hint of cheese... my dollop of cream cheese filling practically disappeared!



I am going to repeat this again with less cranberries and see if I will be able to get more filling into the dough. Also, I suspect that my cream cheese filling could be too fluid - it would probably wrap better if I chill it more to thicken it.

So anyway, my colleagues helped me to clean them up. The buns had the 'looks' but not the substance... :( Check back later for updates for my second attempt....


Recipe :

1 portion of Sweet Soft Buns - See here.
50g          Cranberries, soaked in water for 30mins to soften

1. Follow the method as stated in the sweet soft buns. Add in drained and dried Cranberries just before first proofing.

2.After first proofing, divide dough into 40g portion and shape them into balls. Let these proof for 10mins.

3. Flatten dough with a rolling pin and pipe a generous portion of Cream Cheese filling onto the flattened dough. Seal and shape into a ball.

4. Space out filled dough on a baking tray. Press down on the dough with a second baking sheet. Let it proof like this 60mins.

5. Transfer the baking tray with pressing tray into oven and bake at 210C for 12 mins.

6. Remove from oven, remove the pressing baking sheet and allow to cool.


Cream Cheese Filling (Adapted from Alex Goh's The World Of Bread)
(A)
50g             Butter
80g             Icing Sugar
(B)
250g           Cream Cheese
Pinch of salt
(C)
2                Egg Yolks
(D)
20g            Corn flour

Method for Cream Cheese Filling :

1. Cream (A) until well combined.
2. Add (B) and cream till well blended
3. Add (C), cream till smooth
4. Add (D) then (E) and mix till well blended
5. Refrigerate till firm.

(The portion above will yield more than you need, the excess can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Hokkaido Milk Loaf (Hokkaido Milk Bread) - My First Bread Loaf....

I jumped onto the Bread Bandwagon rather late in life...:)  My first bread were the sweet soft buns-individual soft butter rolls made using the Japanese Water Roux (Tangzhong) method. Encouraged by the positive outcome, I added Yvoone C's 65C Tang Zhong Bread to my cookbook collection. Poring over the different permutations of butter to flour and liquid to flour ratio, the book demonstrated the countless possibilities the Water Roux method is capable of delivering.

The buns were individually portioned and were relatively easy to handle. Variations can be introduced rather easily with different types of sweet and savoury fillings. Next in the category are the sandwich loaves. Stately and substantial, these normally require a little more kneading and rolling.
The recipe featured here is denser and richer. The incorporation of Hokkaido milk (I do happen to have Hokkaido milk which I had bought from Hong Kong, but normal full cream milk will do just as well) and fresh cream yields a fine crumbed, moist texture. I had my first slice with canned chili Tuna and it felt very satisfying. I do suspect, however, that I had not proofed it enough as the instructions did not specify the duration for the last proofing stage but merely stated that the loaf should proof until it has risen to 80% of the baking pan.

Overall, a worthy experiment and I can't wait to work my way through the book....


Recipe : (from Yvonne C's 65C Tangzhong Bread)

Bread flour          270g
Castor sugar        43g
Salt                      4g
Instant Dried Yeast  6g

Egg                      43g
Fresh Cream        29g
Milk                     27g
Tang Zhong         92g

Butter                   24g (cubed)


Method :

1. Place Bread flour, sugar, dried yeast, egg, fresh cream, milk in a mixing bowl. Mix with kneading hook at low speed until liquid is well blended and dough starts to come together.
2. Add Tang Zhong and salt. Knead until the dough comes to together to form a ball.
3. Add butter slowly, allowing butter to be incorporated with dough before adding more.
4. Continue to knead at medium speed for 15 minutes until window pane stage is obtained. (this is a test done by stretching the dough. The dough will thin out when stretched but will not break. If the stretched dough breaks, kneading is insufficient)
5. Gather the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to proof for 40mins. (28C/ 75% relative humidity)
6. Separate dough into 4 smaller portions. Roll each small portion into a round ball. Proof at room temperature for another 15mins. (room temperature)
7. Flatten each small ball and using a rolling pin, flatten and roll dough into an oval shape to remove trapped air. Fold the 1/3 of longer side of the oval flat dough inwards towards the center of the dough and press the folding line to seal. Fold the other longer side of the dough inwards towards the first folding line and press to seal.
8. Flip the folded dough over so that the seal lines are now facing downwards.
9. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough along the length such that it stretches to about 30cm. Flip the dough over and from one of the stretched dough, roll up the dough like a towel. Place the seal line into a baking loaf pan.
10. Repeat the same for the other 3 balls and line all 4 rolled up dough side by side in the loaf pan.
11. Let doughs proof in pan until it fills up 80% of the pan.
12. Brush with egg wash. Bake in an oven preheated to 170C for 35mins.
13. Remove from oven and let the loaf cool down before demoulding.

Lotus Seed Paste Pau - 莲蓉包

I shall officially admit that the yeasted species have bewitched me. First the sweet soft buns and now, the snowy white chinese steamed buns aka Paus.  I have been making paus everyday over the long weekend here and have been enjoying every minute of it. It helps when the friends and family to whom these were distributed gave positive feedback. I am happy to have a chance to work on  this again as it is rare nowadays that I  get to repeat the same recipe. The best way to hone and improve is really to practice - there is absolutely no other ways around it.

The versatile Pau recipe makes this alot easier as there are many different types of filling that one can vary to retain it's allure.

Today, I take the easy way out by wrapping it with White Lotus Paste. Easy because, this is readily available at this time of the year when Mooncake Festival is just round the corner. Almost all bakery ingredient outlets now carry a variety of lotus paste. I got mine from Kwong Cheong Thye - a low sugar version from Hong Kong that is fragrant and smooth.


Make these small enough and you may find yourself devouring one bun after another like me. I like my Paus bulging with filling. I used to feel very cheated when the commercially available versions stinge on the quantity of the filling. Now that I am making these myself, I am beginning to think that apart from the reason for cost stinging,  poor pau making technique may have something to do with the pithy dollop of filling. To pile on the filling in the buns, the dough needs to be rolled out carefully such that the center is thicker and the peripheral rim thinner. Failure to do this, would usually have the filling burst through the thin dough when it is being steamed.

With enough practice, I am now able to pile on more filling than dough for this lotus paste bun. So fulfilling, so generous and oh so satisfying!
So what Pau should I attempt next?

P.S. : In case you are wondering about the sear mark on the buns... I stamp these with the searing iron I bought a few years back in Japan... curiosity got the better of me then and it has been sitting in my kitchen drawer ever since... :)


Recipe :
Dough Recipe found here

Filling : ready made lotus paste.

Method :
Please refer to here.
Size of dough for each bun is 19g. Weight of lotus paste portion for each bun is 22g.

Chinese Chicken Pau - Following The Heritage Trail

When I started blogging about 2 years ago, someone left a nice message for me in my comment column. An outstanding baker, this lady had commented how happy she was to see a fellow Singaporean blogger bake French pastry when most of the time, the local food blogging scene are only limited to chiffon cakes, brownies, muffins....  I felt flattered by the comments but at the same time, an uneasiness had also set in. As much as I enjoy experimenting with macarons, madeleines and cupcakes, I also know that these have never been part of my core heritage. I grew up in a humble Asian household where we ate more kuehs than pastries.

It would be sad if our generation and the younger generations that follow would only know how to bake macarons and cupcakes. That is why I was really thrilled when I was able to get a place in Valerie Kong's Pau Class at Shermay's Cooking School. A hands-on class, we got to prepare our own Pau dough from scratch and we also learnt how to roll and pleat the dough - a skill I had desperately wanted to acquire and improve. Valerie's simple and clear instructions was easy to follow and quite a few of us were suprised that we were able to get the hang of it pretty quickly.


Emboldened by the session, I decided to compare the different Pau recipes I have in my cookbook library. This dough recipe that I am sharing here is not Valerie's recipe. This is a Mantou recipe that I found in a Hong Kong Dim Sum cookbook. The amount of yeast and baking powder for this recipe is much lower than Valeries' and I was intrigued by the addition of milk to the dough. What was missing from the cookbook was clear instructions. So the newly acquired knowledge at the hands-on Pau class was really valuable. I am very very pleased with this recipe - an easy dough to handle, the buns turn out very soft and fluffy.  I had used Valerie's Chicken filling for this exercise so I will not publish the recipe here. However, with a dough like this, one can easily wrap it with one's favourite filling - be it sweet or savoury.

I would be proud to present these Pau to family and friends. I know that many will be pleased for these are flavours and food that we have grown up with.

P.S. : If you are interested to learn about Pau making, look out for Valerie's  classes at Shermay's. I heard that all the Pau classes are now full so the earliest that these will be repeated would most likely be next year. So you may want to enquire with the school.

P.S. : I am also hoping that this would qualify for Edith's Heritage Food Trail event. Somewhat unorthodox as it does not really celebrate my Hainanese heritage in particular but I do hope you can join in the fun at Edith's.


Dough Recipe : (from Dim Sum in Hong Kong)

Hong Kong Flour            150g
Dry Yeast                         2g
Baking powder                 2g
Sugar                                28g
Milk                                  75g
Shortening (crisco)           2g (or lard)

Method :

1. Place all ingredients into a mixer and blend until smooth at low speed.
2. Ferment for 10mins at room temperature.
3. Blend in mixer again for 5 mins.
4. Divide the dough into pieces of 19g each. Roll out to form a round wrapping of about 2 inches in diameter.
5. Place filling in the center of the wrapping and pleat the edge to seal the bun with a round top.
6. Proof Pau at room temperature for 45 mins.
7. Steam Pau over boiling water for 15mins.

Sweet Soft Bun Roll With Chocolate Ganache

As much as my blog is my own indulgent space and that I can choose to be cavalier about it if I wanted to, I do find myself wanting to believe that as I continue to leave little toe prints in the blogosphere, I am bettering myself at the same time. I have learnt heaps since I have started blogging, and have been inspired by many great fellow bloggers who have displayed such mind boggling dedication in the ways they manage their own spaces.

Dedication, passion and discipline play vital roles in what we do in our life everyday. They are, for example, the fuel that powered my mother's ability to stay at home full time to bring up her 3 children without any dosmetic help. Whether it was a chore or a joy, she had played her role remarkably well and I know, because we are the results of her effort.

I have to believe that, if my mother can juggle her roles so well, then surely  I, as her daugher, should  be able to do so with something as trivial as blogging and working...  

I have been traveling for a week now and am glad that I am now back in Hong Kong where I have free access to Blogger. Once I run back into Mainland China tomorrow, I can forget about even leaving a comment on blogger. I had prepared 3 dishes before I left home to be posted while I am on the road - a silent commitment I have made to myself to be consistent and dedicated.

When I had decided to make this chocolate soft roll, I had thought that it would be easy for I already had the full-bodied chocolate ganache from my chocolate macarons sitting in my fridge. However, little had I known that shaping the dough into a cone shape could be more tricky than I had thought.

Rolling out the bread dough into long strings without them breaking apart requires the dough to be perfectly proofed and the seams of each piece of dough well tucked. The final shaped buns did not manifest the tapering snail-shell appearance I was hoping for. The buns made from my original sweet soft buns was soft and fluffy. Filled with the full bodied chocolate ganache, it was difficult to stop at one bun. So till I get back from my travels to share more goodies, I leave you with these chocolatey tea time treats.

Recipe :

Sweet Soft Buns Recipe here.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Recipe here.

Method:

1. After the first proofing (40mins), divide the dough into 40g portion.

2. Let the portioned dough proof for 10 mins.

3. On a lightly floured board, shape each piece of dough into an oval football shape.

4. Flatten (3) with the palm of the hand, fold the dough into half, length wise. Tuck in the seam to close it.

5. Roll (4) on a lightly floured board.into a long noodle like string until it is about 40cm long.

6. Twirl (5) round a cornette mold and let the dough proof again for another 40mins.

7. Brush with egg wash and bake for 12-15 mins at 175C until golden brown.

8. Remove from oven, cool down completely, demold and pipe in Dark Chocolate Ganache.

Coconut Sweet Soft Buns- 65C Tangzhong Method

Last week, someone had asked me if I had tried any of the Tangzhong (water roux method) bread recipe from what has now become the 'tangzhong bread bible', 65C Tangzhong Bread by Yvonne C.

The method documented in the book is a true water roux method where a little bread flour is mixed with water and heated to 65C. This resultant liquid starch is then added to the rest of the bread flour to yield a super soft and fluffy bread.

The sweet soft buns I had made earlier, uses a variation of the water roux.

Yvonne C's recipes are easy to follow. Although some may feel intimidated by the process of cooking the flour to precisely 65C,  this is really not too difficult if you have a candy thermometer to help you monitor the temperature.

The water roux prepared this way is wetter and more watery than the my previous recipe. With so much moisture, I was looking forward to a softer and fluffier bread. However, unfortunately, the recipe calls for more flour (almost 30% more) and very little tebutter. The xture of these buns, although, still relatively soft, were much coarser and drier compared to my previous recipe. The only consolation is that the buns were wrinkle free. I do wonder, however, if I had not cooked the water roux correctly. I will try to repeat this again to confirm.

I have chosen to fill these buns with grated coconut cooked in palm sugar syrup. Together with red bean paste, the grated coconut filled bun has to be one of those local classic buns we grew up with. These can still be found in neighbourhood bakery stores - often sold in a 2x3 block. I don't think these old fashioned filled buns will ever go obsolete but as the younger generation becomes more spoilt for choices with BreadTalks' fancy flavours and the wide selection of western breads that are easily accessible to us today, these less stylish dough will most likely not stir up as much excitement as they did for us during our younger days. For me, I will gladly still eat them for breakfast every morning....

Recipe:

A.
Tangzhong (Water roux)
Bread flour          50g
Water                  250g

B.
Bread flour          210g
Plain flour           56g
Milk powder       20g
Castor sugar        42g
Salt                      1/2 tsp
Yeast                   6g

C.
Egg                     1
Water                  85g
Tangzhong         84g
D.
Unsalted butter   22g

Coconut Filling :
Grated coconut         250g

Gula Melaka             50g

Salt                           Pinch

Pandan Leaves         4 pieces

Water                      80g

Method :

1. Mix A together and cook over low heat until 65C - stirring all the time while cooking. When it is cooked, the mixture should look like starchy glue and you should be able to see the stirring lines in the dough. Remove from heat and cool down at room temperature.

2. Tie the Pandan leaves into a bit knot and boil it with gula melaka and water until gula melaka is completely dissolved. Remove the pandan leave and strain the syrup in to a heavy saucepan. Add grated coconut and cook until mixture is dry and fragrant.

3. Mix B with C in a mixing bowl and using a dough hook stir until mixture forms a dough. Add D and continue mixing at medium to high speed (about 15-20mins) until the dough is no longer tacky to touch. At this point, stretch the dough to check that it will not break easily ( window pane test).

4. Transfer dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it prove for 40mins.

5. Divide dough into small portions of 40g each. Roll each small portion into a smooth ball and all to prove for another 10mins.

6. Flatten each small ball and wrap with a tbsp of grated coconut filling. Seal the dough to form a ball again.

7. Let the buns prove for another 40 mins.

8. Brush with egg solution and bake at 175C for 15mins until golden brown.

Bread Talk - Yukone Method Sweet Soft Buns With Hei Bee Hiam Filling

Bread making is an artistry that requires alot of devotion to technique and respect for the bubbling chemistry that forms the basis of this age old staple food. I have until now, only looked on with envy at others who had churned out loaves after loaves with seemingly effortless perfection. I have been encouraged by others to give this a go but I guess bread-making is a little like going-to-the-dentist for some or my fear of cats... unfounded but nevertheless...

Late last year, I had openly commented that I shall make bread baking one of my resolution for the coming year. This is my way of forcing myself to get something done. It was the same at work, when I knew I had to force myself to get something done by a certain timeline, I make myself declare my commitment to a big group of people at a meeting. When you do that, you have nowhere to hide but to forge ahead.

My first baby step was attending Valerie Kong's Sweet Soft Buns class a couple of weeks ago. First introduced by the Japanese and later made wildly popular in Singapore by local bread shop , BreadTalk - the Yukone(Water Roux, 汤种) method is a brilliantly simple technique to make very soft and springy buns that will retain its softness for days! I am still baffled by how the addition of just a small lump of flour mixed with hot water can have such an amazing effect. I intend to find out more.

The class was clear and easy to follow but I think the real value I got out of the class was that it had piqued my interest and started me thinking and wondering.... It prompted me to search for similar recipes, made comparisons and explore options.



The most classic way of water roux method requires one to 'cook' a small portion of flour with water from room temperature to 65C. Once the temperature of the roux reaches 65C, heating is stopped.
Then variations started to emerge where boiling hot water is poured directly into a small portion of the flour. (well, I guess, by the time the flour is mixed with the water, the mixture will probably cool very quickly to around the same temperature) This is mixed well and let to 'proof' over night.

The method I use is the latter method - perfect for a lazy bum like me. A variety of dried materials can be used - from just purely bread flour, to a mixture of bread flour/ plain/cake flour/ milk powder/ whole wheat flour... the possibility is endless.

The recipe I am using here is a combination of Valerie's formula with Alex Goh's recipes. For the filling, I am using the Spicy Fried Dried Shrimps from my last post - but there is really a whole range of variation that one can play with.

Looking at these soft sweet buns, I am happy with the results but I am still trying to figure out how the wrinkles appear overnight.... if anyone has insight to this, please do enlighten :)



Recipe : (Soft Buns)
Water Roux
Bread Flour                 50g
Boiling water                75g

Bread Dough
Active Dry East           6gm
Bread Flour                160gm
Plain Flour                  40gm
Sugar                          50gm
Salt                             2gm
Water                         50gm
Egg                             1
Butter                          40gm

Method :
1. Mix water roux ingredients together in a bowl. Cover bowl with cling wrap and store in fridge for 12 hours.
2. In a mixer fitted with a bread hook, add flour, yeast, sugar, egg and water. Start mixing at slow speed for  2 mins. Add salt and continue to knead until dough lifts from the wall of the mixing bowl.
3. Add (1) and continue to knead for 3 mins. (I am using Kitchenaide speed 2)
4. Add butter and increasing kneading speed to speed 4.
5. Continue kneading for 15 mins on speed 4 until dough is no longer sticky and does not break when pulled to perform window test.
6. Place dough in a slightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling wrap and leave to proof in a warm area for 45mins.
7. With lightly floured hands and table top, knead (6) to form a smooth round ball. Divide dough into 12 balls - about 40g each.
8. Roll each small ball into a round ball and leave to proof for 10mins.
9. Flatten each ball and roll out to a circle with a rolling pin. Place 18g of Hei Bee Hiam filling in the center of the dough and wrap and seal the edges of the dough to form a ball.
10. Leave to proof for 1 hour.
11. Brush with egg white and decorate.(I used a Sakura ebi shrimp)
12. Bake at 185C for 8-10mins until brown.
13. Leave to cool.