Halloween Pumpkin Bread Buns

I made these pumpkins look-a-like pumpkin bread buns with pumpkin filling on a whim since we don't celebrate Halloween.

My first (and the only) Halloween experience was more than fifteen years ago when we stayed in Los Angles for a few months. I took my then two year old boy, who was wearing a Thomas-the train costume, treat-or-tricking in our neighbourhood. I actually bought a Batman costume for him but it was too small. So I returned it and managed to get the Thomas outfit from another store. The feeling was really good when we could return stuff and receive full refunds with no question asked.

Looking back, I am glad we were game enough to join in the Halloween fun, it probably will be a once in a life time thing for us. Furthermore, my son was still so young, if he were a few years older, he would never ever agree to put on any halloween costumes ;)

I learned how to shape the pumpkin buns from this video by 'Carol 自在生活'. Each bread dough is wrapped around with a kitchen twine before it is left to proof the second time. This creates 'segments' on the bun making it looks very much like the ribbed skin of a pumpkin. My pumpkin buns didn't look as good as those made by Carol...the 'segments' were not very uniformed, some turned out bigger than the rest (^_^!)

Since I made these pumpkin shaped buns without planning ahead, I couldn't think of anything but to use chocolate chips to double up as the stems for the pumpkins. It didn't look too bad though.

This is the 'original' pumpkin buns I had in mind...using another shaping method...looks like I have to practise a few more time to get it right.

The pumpkin filling is very delicious, it has a nice buttery flavour, not too sweet and not dry.

I did not follow Carol's bread dough recipe exactly. Yet, the texture turned out to be very soft despite using a straight dough method. The buns were able to stay soft the next day. For the two leftovers which I kept in the fridge till the third day, I reheat them before serving and they were just like freshly made buns. I am so satisfied with the recipe that I will be making another batch to give away soon!


Pumpkin Bread Buns

Ingredients:
(makes 9 buns)

for the bread dough:
250g bread flour
15g caster sugar
2g salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
3g instant yeast (about 1 teaspoon)
80ml milk
100g mashed pumpkin (nett weight of pumpkin which is steamed, drained and mashed)
15g unsalted butter (cut into cubes)

for the filling:
300g mashed pumpkin (nett weight of pumpkin which is steamed, drained and mashed)
30g sugar
30g unsalted butter

*9 pieces of kitchen twine (90cm each), soak in oil

Method:
to make filling (watch video here):
* Pan fry mashed pumpkin in a pan till fairly dry. Add in butter and sugar and pan fry till well mixed. Dish up and leave to cool. (Note: do not add in the butter and sugar too early as it will cause the mixture to burn easily.)

to make the bread dough:
* Place bread flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk and mashed pumpkin in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixer knead the dough on high speed until the ingredients come together to form a dough, takes about 8 to 10 mins. Add in the butter gradually and continue to knead for another 15~20mins until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

* 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 9 equal portions (about 50g each). 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, roll each dough into a round disc. Press out any trapped air as you flatten the dough. Wrap each dough with one heaped tablespoon of the pumpkin filling. Pinch and seal the seam tightly.

to shape the dough (watch video here):
* For each wrapped dough, place seam side down on the middle of a kitchen twine, wrap the kitchen twine around the dough to form 8 segments (note: do not wrap too tight).

* Place seam side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 15 mins or until golden brown (if necessary, tent the surface with foil if the top browns too quickly closer to the baking time). Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool a little. Remove the kitchen twine. Leave to cool completely and store immediately in an airtight container. If there are any leftovers after the second day, it is best to store them in the fridge, reheat/warm in oven before serving.

Recipe source: adapted from 'Carol 自在生活'

curry buns

I have been in a bread making frenzy lately. There's this something about bread making. If you ever take a break from making bread, you wouldn't want to bake any, but once you retrieve a tray of freshly made buns from your oven, you wouldn't want to stop at just one batch. It's so addictive that I keep wanting to make a fresh loaf of bread or a tray of buns everyday!

When I first saw those lovely Chicken and Potatoes Curry Milk Buns made by Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover, I bookmarked the recipe right away. That was more than two years back and I didn't put any plans into actions (^^!)

It was only after I read Sze Min's delicious Char Siew Buns wrapped with pandan leaves that I recalled I have yet to tackle the curry buns recipe that has been buried somewhere in my ever growing to-do list.

Grace from Kitchen Corner also shaped her mouth-watering Sambal Ikan Bilis Pumpkin Buns in a similar way. So, when I happened to get a bottle of curry powder on my annual trip to Kwong Cheong Thye to get mooncake ingredients, and when I have some leftover pandan leaves from cooking sweet potatoes soup, I went right ahead to make a batch of curry buns. No more procrastination!

I adapted a tangzhong milk bun recipe from 'Carol 自在生活' for the bread dough. I have been experimenting bread machine loaves using her recipes and the results have been very satisfactory. The original recipe calls for making the tangzhong with milk (so interesting), but I replaced with water as I had no confidence that I would get it right the first time. As for the curry chicken potatoes filling, I used a recipe from this book  'I can bake by Agnes Chang' as it is pretty easy and straight forward with a short ingredients list ;)

The pandan leaves gave a very nice fragrant while the buns were baking in the oven. Upon cooling, I could still detect a hint of the pandan fragrance on the buns. The curry buns were very well received since all of us love curry! Just like my usual tangzhong bread, the buns remain soft the next day. Due to the filling, it is better to store them in the fridge if there are any leftovers after the next day, just need to reheat in the oven and they will taste like freshly made ones.




Curry Buns

Ingredients:
(makes 9 buns)

for the buns:
- tang zhong (water-roux):
20g bread flour
100ml water

- bread dough:
250g bread flour
50g cake flour
30g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3g instant yeast (about 1 teaspoon)
1 egg lightly beaten (about 55g without shell)
80ml milk
100g tang zhong (water-roux)
30g unsalted butter (cut into cubes)

for the filling:
1.5 tablespoons curry powder mix with 3 tablespoons water to form a smooth paste
1 medium size yellow onions, chopped
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tablespoons oil
200g chicken breast, cubed
2 large potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons water (add more water if necessary)

9 pandan leaves for wrapping


Method:

to make filling:
* Peel and cut potatoes into small cubes. Boil in water for about 10mins. Drain and set aside.
* Heat up oil on medium heat, saute onions, curry leaves till fragrant. Add in chicken and potatoes and stir fry till meat is cooked. Add in curry paste, salt and water (add more water if necessary). Stir fry till the mixture dries up. Dish up and leave to cool.

to make tang zhong:
* Place 20g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 100ml water, mix with a hand whisk till smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring constantly with the 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. The 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 make the bread dough:
* Place bread flour, cake flour, sugar, salt, yeast, egg, water and tang zhong (use 100g) in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixer knead the dough on high speed until the ingredients come together to form a dough, takes about 8 to 10 mins. Add in the butter gradually and continue to knead for another 15~20mins until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. (Upon adding the butter, the dough will become very wet/slack again, add some flour if it remains slack after 10 mins of kneading. Depending on the type of flour used, the dough may still stick to the sides of the mixing bowl after 15-20mins of kneading. If this happens, continue to knead for another 5mins or so, stop the machine, oil or dust hands with flour and proceed to remove the dough from the bowl.

* 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 9 equal portions (about 60g each). 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, roll each dough into a round disc. Press out any trapped air as you flatten the dough. Wrap each dough with one heaped tablespoon of the filling. Pinch and seal the seam tightly. Place seam side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* After 30 minutes of proofing, preheat the oven and wrap each dough with pandan leaves, tighten with tooth picks. Decorate top of each bun with curry leaf, optional.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 15 mins or until golden brown (if necessary, tent the surface with foil if the top browns too quickly closer to the baking time). Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container. Any leftovers should be kept in airtight container in the fridge, reheat/warm in oven before serving.

Recipe source for bread dough: adapted from 'Carol 自在生活' and 'I can bake by Agnes Chang'.

pull apart sandwich buns

I can't remember how I stumbled upon this site, Japan Info, but I am glad I did as I got to learn about a new bread making craze in Japan. Since I am not into facebook or instagram, I am really very slow when it comes to following the latest food trend.

From a post on the 'Japan Info' site, I got to know about chigiri pan, chigiri refers to pull apart while pan refers to bread. Besides transforming the pull apart bread buns into adorable cartoon characters, chigiri pan can also be served as sandwich buns.

Here's my first attempt at making sandwiches with a batch of pull apart bread buns. The buns are made using my usual go-to tang zhong recipe with some slight moderation (simply replacing the milk powder with flour and instead of water I used fresh milk). Although most chigiri breads are made into 16 buns, I baked only nine buns in a 20cm square pan.

I filled the buns with simple sandwich ingredients such as ham, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

The sandwich buns are not as pretty as those featured in the website, but I am really amazed at this clever idea. It is a very interesting way of serving sandwiches especially when each of us can 'chope' the fillings we like ('chope' in Singlish means 'to reserve'). They are also perfect to pack for an outing or bring over to a potluck party :)

PS: Pardon the poor quality image of the above photos, they were taken with my mobile phone.


Pull Apart Sandwich Buns

Ingredients:
(makes 9 buns)

for the buns:
tang zhong (water-roux):
20g bread flour
100ml water

bread dough:
210g bread flour
90g cake flour
30g caster sugar
6g salt
6g instant yeast

1 egg lightly beaten plus enough milk to make 135g
75g tang zhong (water-roux)

45g unsalted butter (cut into cubes)

Method:

to make tang zhong:
* Place 20g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 100ml water, mix with a hand whisk till smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring constantly with the 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. The 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 make the bread dough:
* Place bread flour, cake flour, sugar, salt, yeast, egg, water and tang zhong (use 75g) in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixer knead the dough on high speed until the ingredients come together to form a dough, takes about 8 to 10 mins. Add in the butter gradually and continue to knead for another 15~20mins until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. (Upon adding the butter, the dough will become very wet/slack again, add some flour if it remains slack after 10 mins of kneading. Depending on the type of flour used, the dough may still stick to the sides of the mixing bowl after 15-20mins of kneading. If this happens, continue to knead for another 5mins or so, stop the machine, oil or dust hands with flour and proceed to remove the dough from the bowl.

* 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 9 equal portions (about 65g each). Shape and roll each dough into a smooth round ball. Place doughs seams side down on a 20cm by 20cm square baking tray (lightly greased with oil or butter or line the base and sides with parchment paper). Loosely cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let doughs proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 20 to 22 mins or until golden brown (if necessary, tent the surface with foil if the top browns too quickly closer to the baking time). Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container.

* To serve, cut a slit on each bun, fill with desired sandwich fillings such as ham, scrambled eggs, lettuce, cucumber and tomato slices.

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

luncheon meat buns

I have not been able to update my blog recently as I was caught up working on the itinerary for our year end holidays. After weeks of googling the internet, reading travel reviews, guidebooks and scrutinising google maps, I have finally settled the accommodations, car rental and even bought the travel insurance for our trip. I just need to tie up some loose ends and work on the minor details. I hope I am able to get back to blogging and update with a few more posts before we leave for our holidays.

I made these tangzhong bread buns quite some time back...

I couldn't help but to share it although they are nothing fancy...just ordinary bread buns wrapped with one of my childhood favourites...canned luncheon meat ;)

Beside shaping them into the usual round buns, I have also wrapped some with thick slices of luncheon meat, yum!

One plus point about using luncheon meat as fillings for homemade buns is that there is no preparation required other than slicing or mashing the luncheon meat.

I am becoming a die hard fan of tang zhong(water roux) bread dough as I find the recipe rather straight forward especially if you use a bread machine or a stand mixer to knead the dough. Bread buns made with tang zhong method do keep well and the texture remains soft even after a couple of days. Besides luncheon meat, this bread dough recipe is great for any other type of savoury fillings such as char siew,  sardines or curry potato buns. The next time I were to made these again, I will put in a little extra effort to use a mixture of luncheon meat and mashed potatoes as fillings :)



Luncheon Meat Bread Buns (午餐肉小餐包)

Ingredients:
(makes 12)

for the buns:
tang zhong (water-roux):
20g bread flour
100ml water

bread dough:
195g bread flour
90g cake flour
12g milk powder
30g caster sugar
6g salt
6g instant yeast

60g egg, lightly beaten
65g water
75g tang zhong (water-roux)

45g unsalted butter

for the fillings:
some mashed (or sliced) luncheon meat


Method:

to make tang zhong:
* Place 20g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 100ml water, mix with a hand whisk till smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring constantly with the 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. The 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 make the bread dough:
* Place bread flour, cake flour, milk powder, sugar, salt, yeast, egg, water and tang zhong (use 75g) in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixer knead the dough on high speed until the ingredients come together to form a dough, takes about 8 to 10 mins. Add in the butter and continue to knead for another 15~20mins until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. (Upon adding the butter, the dough will become very wet/slack again, add some flour if it remains slack after 10 mins of kneading. Depending on the type of flour used, the dough may still stick to the sides of the mixing bowl after 15-20mins of kneading. If this happens, continue to knead for another 5mins or so, stop the machine, oil or dust hands with flour and proceed to remove the dough from the bowl.

* 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 12 equal portions (about 45g each). 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 into a round disc. Press out any trapped air as you flatten the dough. Wrap each dough with one heaped tablespoon of mashed luncheon meat. Pinch and seal the seam tightly. If using sliced luncheon meat, roll dough to form a longish oval shape. Wrap dough with sliced luncheon meat, pinch and seal the seam tightly.

* Place seam side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 12 to 15 mins or until golden brown (if necessary, tent the surface with foil if the top browns too quickly closer to the baking time). Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container.

Recipe source: 65度C汤种面包, 陈郁芬

baking, life's simple pleasure

One of my life's simple pleasures is retrieving a tray of freshly baked bread from my oven. I find great satisfaction and delight when my homemade bread was baked to perfection, and enjoyed by my family.

I came up with the idea of baking these Oreo Cream Cheese Buns after making some oreo bombs for the oreo monsters at home. Oreo bombs are rather similar to chocolate truffles or cake pops. They are made by combining crushed oreo cookies with cream cheeses, shaped into round balls and then coated with melted chocolate.

Those oreo bombs were delicious even for someone who doesn't fancy oreos. I find the oreo and cream cheese mixture has got the right texture, perfect to use as fillings for buns and bread rolls.

The bread buns were made using my favorite tang zhong method. Although the dough was rather wet and sticky, and took a longer time to knead even with the help of a stand mixer, the tang zhong method yields buns that remain soft for 2 to 3 days. These buns will become regulars as my pantry never runs out of oreos!





Oreo Cream Cheese Buns


Ingredients:
(makes 10)

for the buns:
tang zhong (water-roux):
20g bread flour
100ml water

bread dough:
210g bread flour
56g cake flour
20g milk powder
42g caster sugar
3g salt
6g instant yeast
30g egg, lightly beaten
85g water
84g tang zhong (water-roux)
22g unsalted butter

for the filling:
18 oreo cookies
125g cream cheese, cut into cubes, soften at room temperature

Method:

to make tang zhong:
*Place 20g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 100ml water, mix with a hand whisk till smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring constantly with the 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. The 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 make the oreo cream cheese filling:
*Place oreo cookies (with the cream) in a plastic bag or ziploc bag. Crush the cookies with a rolling pin to a fine crumb. Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer or a hand whisk, beat the cream cheese till smooth. Add in the crushed oreo and mix well with a spatula. Cover and store in fridge until ready to use.

to make the bread dough:
* Place bread flour, cake flour, milk powder, sugar, salt, yeast, egg, water and tang zhong (use 84g) in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixer knead the dough on high speed until the ingredients come together to form a dough, takes about 8 to 10 mins. Add in the butter and continue to knead for another 15~20mins until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. (Upon adding the butter, the dough will become very wet/slack again, add some flour if it remains slack after 10 mins of kneading. Depending on the type of flour used, the dough may still stick to the sides of the mixing bowl after 15-20mins of kneading. If this happens, continue to knead for another 5mins or so, stop the machine, oil or dust hands with flour and proceed to remove the dough from the bowl.
* 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 10 equal portions. Roll each dough into smooth rounds, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 10mins.

* Divide the oreo cream cheese filling into 10 equal portions. For each bread dough, flatten into a disc and wrap with 1 portion of the filling. Pinch and seal the seams. Place wrapped dough, seam side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Repeat with the rest of the doughs. Cover doughs with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to proof for the second time for about 30 to 40mins, or until double in size.
* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 12 to 15mins 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 for bread dough: adapted from 65度C汤种面包, 陈郁芬

Kopitiam Milk Buns

I have to admit I am really slow in keeping up with the joneses...

not in the social sense, but in the world of 'cyber baking' (wonder whether there is such a term?).

These Kopitiam Milk Buns are all the rage for the past year but I only got to discover it recently. I am not able to keep up with the latest baking trends as I have been spending less time blogging or surfing the net. It doesn't help that I don't own any social media accounts such as facebook, twitter or what have you. I am oblivious to what's 'hot', what's 'current'. Hmmm, actually, I am happy to be a frog in the well, baking the usual old-fashioned muffins, bread and cakes, unwilling to move out of my comfort zone and definitely lacks motivations to try new things (^_^")

I only happened to stumble upon this popular kopitiam milk buns while searching for bread buns recipe that would yield close to those buns which I will always order whenever I have the chance to get my breakfast kopi fix at Koufu foodcourt.

The recipe looks really promising and I took the plunge. The first thing to do was to prepare the sponge dough which has to be left to ferment in the fridge for at least 12 hours. It was quite easily done by hand...simply by mixing flour, milk and yeast. The sponge dough was rather dry and tough...just as what it is meant to be. I left it to chill overnight and finished the next step of kneading the dough with my Bosch mixer. It took about 20 to 25mins of kneading before I was satisfied that the dough had indeed become smooth and elastic.

I divided the dough into 12 portions which yield smaller buns. On hindsight, I should have made do with just 9 portions to get bigger buns so that I could toast them and slap on generously with kaya and butter.

I sprinkled the top with some coarse granulated sugar and the buns were a real treat fresh out of the oven. The texture was very soft and fluffy and it taste good even without any fillings. The only complain I have is that these buns didn't keep that well. Despite storing them in an air tight container, the soft texture deteriorated significantly when left over night. By comparison, they were not as soft as those bread buns made with tangzhong. I baked a batch of tangzhong bread buns right after and true enough they remain soft on the third day whereas these kopitiam milk buns were only good freshly baked. I am not sure whether I have done anything wrong while preparing the dough? Nevertheless, the recipe is still a keeper which I will go to if I know we would be able to finish all the bread buns with no left overs ;)




Kopitiam Milk Buns

Ingredients:
(makes 12)

sponge dough:
214g bread flour
128g full cream milk
2g instant yeast

• Place bread flour and instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add in the milk. Mix with hand to form a dough. (Note: The dough is quite dry and hard.) Cover with cling wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 12 hours or overnight.

main dough:
92g bread flour
12g milk powder
61g caster sugar
5g salt
5g instant yeast
12g full cream milk
30g egg (lightly beat an egg, weight 30g for the dough, and reserve leftover for egg wash)
45g unsalted butter

some coarse granulated sugar
egg wash (mix left over egg from main dough with 1 tablespoon water)

Method:

• When ready to use, tear the sponge dough into pieces and place in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add the rest of the ingredients except the butter. Knead with a dough hook at high speed for about 10mins or until the mixture becomes smooth dough.
• Add in the butter and continue to knead at high speed for another 15mins or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. 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.
• Smooth the dough into a round ball. Cover with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let it rest for 15mins. 
• Divide dough into 12 portions (50g each). Roll each portion into round balls and place on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for about 60mins, or until double in size. 
• Brush top with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse granulated sugar.
• Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 12 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 Vinnie Baking Paradise

It's ham N cheese

It's been sometime since I last posted something on bread buns. I have been making bread, albeit less frequent, but I didn't get around to post them.

After giving up on baking a nice Japanese souffle cheesecake, that doesn't sink like the titanic, I seek comfort by making a batch of bread rolls.

These are ordinary bread buns made with tangzhong or water roux method. The only difference is the way of shaping them to look like roses. I wrapped in ham and cheese slices to turn them into wonderful breakfast items. I tried two different method of shaping and only one of them worked well for me.

These rose buns are made by wrapping the ham and cheese slices with 3 separate pieces of dough, one after another. The texture of the bread was not affected by the layers of dough. They tasted so delicious freshly baked that I gobbled down two in a row, lol!

Care to join me for some tea? No dainty desserts and high quality tea, but I can always offer you a slice of homemade cake or a fat rose bun over a cup of lipton ;)




Ham and Cheese Rose Buns
(makes 12 buns)

tang zhong (water-roux):
20g bread flour
100ml water

bread dough:
195g bread flour
90g cake flour
12g milk powder
30g caster sugar
6g salt
6g instant yeast

60g egg, lightly beaten
65g water
75g tang zhong (water-roux)

45g unsalted butter

6 slices of breakfast ham (round shape)
6 slices of sandwich cheese

to make tang zhong:
Place 20g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 100ml 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 75g), sugar, salt, bread flour, cake 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 45g 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 15~20mins. 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 18 equal portions (30g each). 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 into a round disc about the size of the ham. Press out any trapped air as you flatten the dough.

* Place a slice of ham followed by a piece of cheese on a flattened dough. Roll up. Place the rolled dough, seam side down on another piece of flattened dough. Roll up again. Repeat with another piece of dough. Pinch and seal the seams and cut the roll into two equal halves. Place cut-side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Repeat with the rest of the doughs.

* Cover doughs with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 12 mins or until golden brown (tent with a foil if the top browns too quickly closer to end of the baking time). Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container.

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

just for the record

I though it would take a while for me to update my blog, but I am glad I am able to do it much sooner. You see, I wasn't in the best mood to blog about anything, and had even harboured thoughts of giving it up altogether.

Thanks to these simple and tasty bacon and olive bread buns, I knew, I just need a good recipe ('good' here refers to simple and fuss free) to keep me going...to get me tuned on to the 'I must certainly share this recipe on my blog' mode.

Just like someone who left a comment on my blog, I didn't make these bread rolls all by myself. Yes, I relied on a bread machine to knead the dough. Other than that, everything was DIY, with my own pair of hands. The person's comment, at least as I have interpreted it, suggested that I got someone else to make the bread buns I posted sometime back. It was too good to be true, as the recipe I posted didn't work for this person at all. The other couple of 'accusations' that came with the comment certainly dampened my spirit. I started wondering whether what I have been doing all these while is really worth the effort? I know I should just ignore the comment, but I just didn't feel good.

Luckily, I bought a new book recently, it was on huge discount, and there are many recipes which I couldn't wait to try. I decided on these simple bread rolls to kick off the list. They are made with a straight dough method, no starter or water roux to complicate matters. I thought it would yield bread rolls with a hard crust, but I was wrong. They are soft dinner rolls instead. The buns are still soft the following day, I warmed them in the oven and slapped some butter over it for breakfast. It tastes equally delicious on its own too. I would add a pinch of mixed herbs the next time I were to make them...and serve them with thick, creamy soup as a light meal :)

最近的天气阴阴沉沉的，心情因为某种因素也灰灰的。莫名其妙被人冠上莫须有的罪名，第一时间就设法澄清。过后又觉得清者自清，况且人家在暗我在明，无需费舌解释， 只会越描越黑。可是自己心里还是放不下，很是纠结。尤其被人质疑我假手于人，真有点哭笑不得。还好买了一本好书，虽是食谱却像coffee table book, 令我爱不释手，翻了又翻。成功试做了这款培根黑橄榄面包，心情也跟着好起来，迫不及待要在这里分享。虽然没有假手于人， 不过还是借用面包机来操刀，帮我揉面团。用直接法做出来的面包还蛮松软的。培根和橄榄有点咸咸的，不过面包本身带点甜味，口感不错。刚出炉的面包配上一点牛油，很香很香。之前阴霾的心情也随着面包香一扫而空。多亏了这款面包，看来我还是会傻傻地继续与读者分享烘焙的喜悦和乐趣。



Bacon Olive Bread

Ingredients:
(makes 8 small rolls)

220g bread flour
20g cake flour
15g milk powder
35g caster sugar
4g salt
160g milk
25g olive oil
6g instant yeast
70g bacons (about 3 slices)
30g black olives


Method:

* Chop bacons into small chunks. Pan fry in a skillet or frying pan until bacons become crispy. Remove from pan and drain any excess oil on paper towels. Set aside to cool. Coarsely chop black olives, set aside (if necessary absorb any excess moisture from the black olives with paper towels).

to knead dough by bread machine:
* Place milk, olive oil, sugar, salt, bread flour, cake 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. Let the machine knead the dough until the kneading cycle stops after 20mins. Remove dough from the bread pan.

to knead dough by hand:
* Place bread flour, cake flour, milk powder, sugar, salt and instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture to combine. Make a well in the centre and add in the milk and olive oil. Mix to form a rough dough. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. This should take about 20~30 mins. It helps to have a dough scraper on hand to scape up the dough as you knead since the dough will be quite sticky at first.

* 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 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. Knead in the chopped olives and bacons. Dust the dough with some flour if it feels sticky. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, about 65g each (or as per original recipe, divide into 6 portions, 80g each ). Roll each dough into smooth rounds. Place dough on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 15 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: Happy Baking 星期天的烘焙时光

back to work

It took me a while to get back to making bread. I thought I would be churning out loaf after loaf of bread when I bought my new bread machine, instead I have been making simple stir and bake cakes more regularly that ever. Even though making a batch of bread buns is not as difficult as it seems, it does take up a fair bit of time...at least 3 hrs from gathering the ingredients to retrieving a tray of freshly baked buns from the oven. It needs proper time management and planning ahead, so that I won't end up in a situation that I need to get out of the house to run errands or to go fetch my child from school while the dough is ready for shaping into rounds.

I finally got down to make some bread buns last week, and that was when 'suddenly' the reality hit me that I may have to spend less time on baking in the future...

I have been keeping my digital to-do list on my phone diligently, whenever I am at a lost or couldn''t make up my mind what to bake it will come in very handy. First on my list is none other than Coffee Buns or better known as Roti Boy or Mexican Bread Buns. While the usual roti boy bread buns come with a buttery filling, I decided to skip it since I have yet to find a recipe that uses much lesser fat. We could do without the filling extra fat as I was very confident that the tangzhong bread buns would taste great even when eaten plain.

I love how these coffee buns or coffee cookies buns (as they were covered with a layer of cookie dough) turned out. These buns were delicious even without the filling. They were not as greasy as the ones I bought from the bakery, but it would be better if the coffee flavour was stronger. They smell really good though especially when they were baking in the oven.

As usual, the tangzhong dough didn't disappoint me, the texture of the bread was very soft. After taking the first bite...for the first time...I felt proud of myself that I have come 'so far'. I can still remember the very first batch of bread buns I made several years ago, they looked so horribly out of shape that I could feel my stomach cringe every time I was reminded of them whenever someone left me a comment on that particular post. Everything is self taught, from baking to taking pictures. Even though I have not moved beyond baking simple cakes and buns, at least my shaping skills have improved and I am able to take slightly better pictures compared to six years ago. Yes, my learning curve is definitely much longer than most who started their baking journey even much later than me. Yet, I truly enjoyed this slow learning process, taking my own sweet time to explore the world of baking and doing what I like.

I hardly buy cut-flowers but when I saw these lovely flowers looking so fresh at the florist stall, I couldn't help but to part away a couple of dollars for a stalk. That single stalk has enough flowers to fill up my tiny vase :) I have bread to feed my body and I have flowers to feed my soul, what more could I ask...


Back to the title of this post...

I will be going back to work. It is not a full time job and I get to work from home. No, the job I have been offered has got nothing to do with baking. It is a 'regular' freelance, home-based job and I'll get to earn some pocket money which I could spend on baking ingredients :) I will probably not be able to update my blog as regularly but I will still continue to bake, at least once a week, I hope...



Coffee Cookie Buns
(makes 10)

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

bread dough:
210g bread flour
56g cake flour
20g milk powder
42g caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6g instant yeast

30g egg, lightly beaten
85g water
84g tang zhong (water-roux)*

22g unsalted butter

topping:
50g unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
50g egg, lightly beaten
50g cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon warm water


Method:

to make topping:
* Dissolve instant coffee powder with the warm water, mix in vanilla extract. Set aside.
* Beat the butter with caster sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg one teaspoon at a time, beat well after each addition (add in egg gradually to prevent the mixture from curdling). Add in the coffee mixture gradually, beat well after each addition. Sieve over the cake flour. Mix with a spatula until just combined. Transfer topping into piping bag fixed with pipping nozzle (round tip). Let the topping chill in the fridge until needed. Remove from fridge about 5~10mins earlier before use to allow the topping to soften a little.

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. 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 84g), sugar, salt, bread flour, cake 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 22g 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. (Note: refer this post for instructions on how to knead dough by hand.)

* Grease hands with some vegetable oil (this helps to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands). Remove dough from bread machine. Shape into a smooth round. 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 10 equal portions (about 55g each). Roll each dough into smooth rounds and place on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 30~40mins, or until double in size.

* Pipe topping onto each dough. Make sure to cover the entire surface with the topping.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 15 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container. Best served warm (re-heat in oven if necessary before serving).

Recipe source: 65度C汤种面包, 陈郁芬 and 我的幸福手作面包，李成实

one a penny, two a penny...

We heard and sung the hot cross buns nursery rhymes many many time when my kids were toddlers...but this is the first time I have ever made or eaten them!

Thanks to Laureen of Eat and Be Happy for sharing her chocolate chips hot cross buns last easter...I have bookmarked her recipe for over a year, and I finally got down to make them!

The dough was rather soft and sticky, and I had a hard time trying to knead it. After a couple of minutes, I gave up wrestling with the dough and proceed to leave it to proof. (on hindsight, I should have used my bread machine to do the kneading.) I was lucky, all went well and in no time, I was rewarded with a tray of hot cross buns...I don't think I deserve it for the little effort I had put in ;)

These hot cross buns are really awesome, soft and fragrant, they are worth every penny! Deliciously scented with cinnamon, just one bite will make you feel good, and when the chocolate chips melt away in your mouth, you will feel even better.

I guess from now on, I won't be spending easter without a batch of hot cross buns :)

Happy Easter!


Chocolate Chips Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients
(makes 15 ~ 16 buns)


300g plain flour
30g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice (I omitted this)
1/2 teaspoon salt
40g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
5g Instant yeast
30g egg, lightly beaten
125 ml milk
40ml warm water
150g chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)

Flour paste for crosses:
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
1 tablespoon cold water

Glaze:
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
2 tablespoons of water


Method

* Place flour, caster sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice (if using) and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine. Rub in the butter. Add instant yeast, stir to combine. Make a well in the centre, add in eggs, water, milk, mix to form a soft dough.

* Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes (or knead with bread machine or stand mixer for about 5 minutes) until the dough is smooth and elastic. Knead in the chocolate chips. Smooth dough into a round ball, place in a greased mixing bowl, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to rise for about one hour or until dough has doubled in size.

* Divide the dough into 15 portions and roll each portion into a ball. Place the balls, almost touching, on a greased rectangular pan (if using a square pan, divide into 16 portions). Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to rise for about 30~45 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Preheat oven to 200 degC.

* To make flour paste crosses:
Sift flour, cocoa powder into a small bowl, stir in the sugar. Add in water and keep stirring with a spoon to make a smooth thick paste. Place the flour paste into a plastic bag and snip off the corner (Note: snip off a very tiny bit will do so that the hole will not be too big). When the doughs have doubled in size, pipe a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns, length wise and width wise, to form crosses.

* Bake:
Bake buns at 200degC for about 15~16 minutes or until golden brown.

* To make glaze:
While the buns are baking, place sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Transfer the baked buns to a wire rack, brush the tops with glaze. Serve warm.

Note: The dough can be made the day before up to the shaping stage, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate over night. The next day bring to room temperature leave to rise till double in size, pipe on the crosses and bake.

Recipe source: adapted from Eat and be Happy