Creamy bread

I just came back from a trip to Hong Kong where I acquired a wonderful bread recipe book. I can't wait to make every single thing from this book. It's called Japanese bread bread. When I was in Japan, I absolutely fell in love with Japanese bread. Don't get me wrong, I love my rustic bread once in awhile...but the soft and buttery Japanese bread is a different category all together. I don't think you can even compare the two.

The reason I ended up buying this book in particular is because of this recipe. I saw the picture and the ingredients, and I was drooling at the bookstore. It turned out really well. The little buns are so soft and buttery. Absolutely delicious. The only gripe I have with this book is that it's in Chinese, it also has English translation in the book, but the instructions are not detailed at all. The following is the recipe from the book with a little bit more guidance from me...hope you enjoy it too!

Creamy bread
adapted from the Japanese Bread
total time: 2 hours

250g bread flour
25g sugar
10g milk powder
80g butter
8g yeast
2 pieces egg yolks
100g milk
40g warm water

1. Mix 5g of sugar, yeast and the warm water together. Allow the yeast mixture to rest for five minutes or until it is frothy.

2. Mix the bread flour, 20g of sugar, milk powder together. Combine the milk, frothy yeast mixture and the two egg yolks together. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and knead the mixture until it is smooth. Add the butter and knead until it is smooth and elastic.

3. Allow the dough to rest for about 30 minutes or until it is double in size. Roll out the dough into a square. Roll up the dough and close the sides by pinching the dough.

4. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

5. Cut the rolls up into 12 equal pieces. Place each piece in a muffin tin. Brush the dough with egg wash and allow the little doughs to rest for 45 minutes.

5. Brush with egg wash again. Bake the rolls for 10 minutes or until the little buns are golden in color.

Notes:

• The original recipe says to roll up the dough, let rise for 30 minutes, and then cut it up. I didn't shape the dough until after the first rise. I'm not sure if this would make a difference, that's normally how it's done in other bread recipes I have used.

Daring Bakers-Pizza

I missed the last three daring bakers challenge while I was away so I was so happy to be back in the kitchen with this challenge!! Although I love sweets, I love it when our challenges are savory. The hardest part about this challenge is we were required to toss our pizza, and as you can see in the picture..I didn't do so well. heehee..I'm sorry, at least I tried right?!

The pizza came out well, everyone was happy with the results. I made the traditional "super supreme" variety. I used a quick tomato sauce recipe from cook's illustrated, and just added some fix-ins. Take a look at all the other Daring Bakers' pizza successes. here's the recipe:

Basic Pizza Dough

Adapted from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.
Makes 4-6 pizza crusts

For the dough:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) olive oil or vegetable oil
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) ice cold water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl or stand mixer. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (spoon or paddle attachment) to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth. If it is too wet, add a little flour and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

2. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper. Cut the dough into 4-6 equal pieces. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

4. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil and cover with plastic wrap. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO
1. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

2. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C). If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Take 1 piece and lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

3. Make only one pizza at a time. During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin.

4. When the dough has the shape you want, place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

Espresso chocolate shortbread

I'M BACK!! yipee..i'm so glad to be back in my kitchen and baking again. The last few months I have been thinking about what I would bake when I come back home..and I really had a hard time deciding. But when I got home, I saw that I received Dorie's Baking from my home to yours (THANK YOU, S) for my birthday!! I had to make something from my new cookbook...so I decided on these Espresso Chocolate shortbread cookies.

I read about these cookies from Smitten Kitchen and from Use Real Butter and they both rave about it. These cookies are so easy to make and they're delicious. I especially loved the texture of the shortbread. Here's the recipe:

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Baking: From My Home to Yours

Makes 32 cookies

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

See you in October

Hey everybody! I am currently on a work trip in Europe for the next three months and will not return until October. No daring baking for me for three months...boohoo =( but I will be back in October!! till then..take care of you!!

Mini Vietnamese baguette

We have a Vietnamese fast food chain in Hawaii called Ba-le. I absolutely love their Bánh mì sandwiches. Bánh mì sandwiches are made with some type of sandwich meat, pickled turnip and pickled carrots, and topped with some cilantro. The best part of a Bánh mì sandwich is the light and fluffy baguette. You would think a baguette is just a baguette, but the Vietnamese baguettes are much lighter and more airy. I searched for such a recipe and found one at Cook and Eat. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, except, I shaped the baguettes like you normally would for a regular baguette.

I really like these baguettes... the outside was really thin and crisp, while the inside is light and fluffy. It was very good the first day, the second day the outside was no longer crisp, but was still tasty if you toasted it. Give them a try:

Vietnamese Mini Baguettes
adapted from Cook and eat
Makes 8 baguettes

1 cup rice flour
1 cup pastry flour or 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
2 cups warm water
1 T active dry yeast
1 1/2 t sugar
1 1/2 t salt
About 4 cups of all purpose flour

1. Mix the rice flour and pastry flour along with the baking powder in a dish and set aside.

2. Combine the water and yeast and let sit to proof. Then add the sugar and stir to combine. Sprinkle in the salt and the rice flour mixture, and mix with a wooden spoon. Then, transfer the dough to a stand mixer with a dough hook and mix on low for about 1 minute. Add the 3 1/2 cups of the all purpose flour, continuing to knead with the hook for about 3 minutes until its all combined and forms a smooth dough. Then, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for another minute by hand.

3. Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover and let sit in a warm spot for an hour and a half, or until doubled in size.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and carefully punch down. Cut the dough in half, and then cut each half into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a bowl, and flatten a little. Then, cover the dough balls and let rest for 10 minutes.

5. Working rapidly, turn the dough upside down on a lightly floured kneading surface and pat it firmly but not too roughly into an 6 inch oval with the lightly floured palms of your hands. Deflate any gas bubbles in the dough by pinching them.

6. Fold the dough in half lengthwise by bringing the far edge down over the near edge. Being sure that the working surface is always lightly floured so the dough will not stick and tear, which would break the lightly coagulated gluten cloak that is being formed, seal the edges of the dough together, your hands extended, thumbs out at right angles and touching. Roll the dough a quarter turn forward so the seal is on top.

7. Flatten the dough again into an oval with the palms of your hands. Press a trench along the central length of the oval with the side of one hand. Fold in half again lengthwise. This time seal the edges together with the heel of one hand, and roll the dough a quarter of a turn toward you so the seal is on the bottom. Now, by rolling the dough back and forth with the palms of your hands, you will lengthen it into a sausage shape. Start in the middle, placing your right palm on the dough, and your left palm on top of your right hand.

8. Roll the dough forward and backward rapidly, gradually sliding your hands towards the two ends as the dough lengthens to about 8 inches.

9. Place the roll, seam side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat. Repeat with remaining dough balls, and space each roll about an inch and a half a part. Cover and let them sit for another 30 minutes.

10. Preheat the oven to 425F. Slash the dough by running a razor blade or a sharp knife along the length of the baguette. Bake the bread for 20 minutes total, rotating the baking sheets after 10 minutes. The bread should be golden and sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack before serving. Best eaten the same day it’s cooked, but you can freeze the bread if you don’t use them the same day.