The first thing I wanted to bake with my fresh tin of matcha, green tea powder, is none other than a loaf of bread. Having tried both tangzhong or water-roux (汤种法) and scalded-dough (烫种法) methods to make bread, this time I returned to my usual straight-dough method (直接法).

The straight dough method is as straight forward as it is. There is no preparation required one day before, great on days when you just feel like baking on impulse :)

This happens to be the busiest month for me. I have two kids who are sitting for their exams one after another. Even though I do feel anxious for them, I still leave them to revise their work on their own. I am pretty hands-off this time, not sure what's the reason, but I guess maybe I am so used to them having one exam after another, I am less uptight about it as compared to the previous years. I even go to the extent to delegate my 'job' to them...the two brothers will revise with each other. The younger fellow, who is more vocal and expressive, will help his brother practise for his oral exams; while the elder one will go through Maths and Science with his brother. It is a win-win situation, as both of them enjoyed each others company, way better than having me around to breath down their necks.

To make myself feel less guilty, I sat down with the little one to go through his studies after I left the dough to proof in the bread tin. I was so engrossed with the revision that I almost forgot about the dough. By then, the dough had already reached the rim of the pan and it expanded further upon baking. Since my oven was so small, I had to cover the top with foil to prevent it from getting burnt.

As a result of over-proofing (close to 2 hrs), the holes in the bread crumb appeared to be larger than usual.

I sliced the loaf only the next morning, just before breakfast. The crust was very thin and the bread is very soft and light. It tasted delicious even though I couldn't taste the matcha (^^')

I used a bread slicer which I have asked my DH to get it for me when he was in Tokyo. Finally, I am able to get nice even slices :)

I stored the bread in an air-tight container. After two nights, the bread felt a little dry (by touch)...just like the two end pieces you get from commercial store bought loaf bread. However, they still taste as soft and good and won't stick on to the roof of you mouth. I plan to make another loaf bread using the tangzhong method, just to make a comparison and to convince myself that bread made with tangzhong would indeed fare better.



Matcha Swirl Bread

Ingredients:
(makes one 20x10x10cm loaf)

250g bread flour
25g caster sugar
3g (half teaspoon) salt
4g (1 teaspoon) Instant yeast
145g fresh milk (I used low-fat fresh milk)
35g egg
38g butter (unsalted), cut into cubes

5g matcha powder
2 teaspoons hot water


Method:

1. Mix matcha powder with hot water to form paste, set aside.
2. Stir bread flour, caster sugar, salt, and instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, add in egg. Reserve about 30ml of milk and add the rest into the mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients with hand and slowly form into a rough dough. Add in a little of the reserved milk if the mixture is too dry.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough till smooth. Add in the reserved milk a little at a time, knead well after each addition. (This way, the dough will not be too wet and sticky). Use up all the reserved milk. The whole process should take about 10mins.
4. When the dough is smooth, knead in the butter. Continue to knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. This should take about another 15 to 20 mins. Do the window pane test: pinch a piece of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.
5. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Knead the matcha paste into one of the doughs. Knead till dough becomes smooth and the matcha paste is fully incorporates into the dough, takes about 5 mins.
6. Place each dough (separately) in lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowls, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.
7. Remove the doughs from the bowls and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in each dough. Roll into rounds. Cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 15mins.
8. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each dough and roll out into a rectangular shape, about 20cm x 40cm. Place the matcha dough over the plain dough. Starting from the shorter side, roll up the dough tightly, make as many rolls you can. The resulting roll/log should be around 20cm in length. Pinch and seal the seams.
9. Place dough seam-side down in lightly greased bread tin/pan. Cover with cling wrap. Let the dough proof for the second time, until it fills up 80% of the tin/pan. Brush with egg wash.
10. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 ~ 190 deg C for 30 to 35mins. Unmould the bread immediately when removed from the oven. Let cool completely before slicing. Once cooled, store immediately in air-tight container.

For the past week, I have been reading up every night, on how to make chiffon cakes without using any leavening agent. In the past, all my chiffon cakes were made with either baking powder or self-raising flour. I have copied several recipes from this chiffon cookbook '戚风蛋糕秘法传授' which I borrowed from a close one some time back. The recipes from this book do not use any baking powder. I wonder how it is possible to create the volume as the ingredients are similar to most chiffon recipes. Even the number of egg whites used is not that many. Some recipes will call for 4 whites and 3 yolks even though baking powder is used. For a 17cm tube pan, the recipes from this book call for 110g whites (about 3 whites for eggs that weigh 65g with shells on) and 40g yolks (about 2 and a half yolks). For my usual chiffon recipes, I use 3 egg whites and 3 yolks, not much difference isn't it?

The only unique thing is, corn flour is added when beating the egg whites. I don't know the chemistry behind, but I guess corn flour helps to stabilise the egg whites so that upon folding with the yolk mixture, it won't deflate too much? and also probably helps the whites to stablise and expand during baking? Pardon the 'jargon' used here, unless you are familiar with making a chiffon cake, all these may sound alien to you ;)

Many Chinese bloggers (from Taiwan, China) have baked beautiful chiffon cakes without baking powder, reading their tips and step by step illustrations posted on their blogs gave me the very much need assurance that I shouldn't fare too badly. I went ahead to give it a go even though I have never been good at baking chiffon cakes (^^")

I picked up this chocolate and nut chiffon recipe as I find that it is quite unusual to bake a chiffon with toppings. Wouldn't the weight of the toppings prevent the cake from rising? Wouldn't the toppings sink into the batter during baking?

I didn't use the exact toppings since besides walnuts, I do not have apricots, cashew nuts or pistachios. So, I used my granola combo...walnuts, dried cranberries and rolled oats.

Reading up tips and do's and dont's is one thing, putting everything into practise is another. Alas, I didn't do a good job while folding the whites to the yolk batter :_(

I deflated most of the egg whites (which was whisked to a nice, glossy texture! yeah!!) while trying to break up the lumps of whites trapped in the batter, maybe the whites were too stiff?? The cake rose well above the rim half way into baking. But, it was a short-lived glory. The cake started shrinking even before the baking time was up. It only managed to hover around the rim of the pan, ***sigh***

The texture of the cake was pretty good though. The crumb was tender, moist and springy :):)

Despite the long baking time, the walnuts did not get burnt. In fact it was very nicely roasted.  This cake, which I shall name it as Granola Chiffon, is an excellent choice for breakfast. What better way to have some oats in your diet without forcing yourself to swallow a bowl of oat porridge? Besides the nutty toppings, chopped dark chocolates was added in the batter. It makes the cake taste even better!

One downside of making chiffon cakes with toppings is, upon inverting the pan to cool the cake, some toppings (those that did not come into direct contact with the batter) dropped all over the table. Anyway, it is a small matter, I picked up the pieces and put them in my mouth ;)

I will try another recipe, I hope I will get the folding right the next time. Wish me luck!


Granola Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:
(for 17cm or 7" tube pan)
(measurements in brackets are for 20cm or 8" tube pan)

110g (180g)  egg whites* (cold from fridge)
55g    (90g)  caster sugar
5g     (10g)   corn flour

40g  (70g)    egg yolks*
36g  (60g)    water
36g  (60g)    vegetable oil
9g    (15g)    cocoa powder
42g  (70g)    cake flour
10g  (20g)    sugar

60g (100g)   dark chocolate**, chopped into cubes

15g  (25g)   walnuts, coarsely chopped
15g  (25g)   dried cranberries
15g  (25g)   rolled oats

(* use fresh eggs, and cold egg whites. Remove eggs from fridge and separate them just before using.
** cut the chocolates into small cubes, around 0.5~1 cm, so that they won't sink too much in the batter, and yet they shouldn't be too small till they melt away during baking.)

Method:

1. Sieve cake flour, set aside. Sieve corn flour, set aside. 
2. Place egg yolks, water, vegetable oil and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer (I used a manual hand whisk), whisk the mixture till well combined. Sieve over the cake flour and whisk till the flour is fully incorporated into the batter. Add in sugar, whisk to combine.
3. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Turn to high speed and gradually beat in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until soft peaks forms. Add in the corn flour together with the last tablespoon of sugar. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter. The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly.)
4. With a spatula, gently fold in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture until just blended. Repeat with 1/2 of the remaining egg white. Finally, pour the resulting batter to the remaining egg white. Fold in to combine. Next, fold in the chopped chocolates.
5. Pour batter into a 17cm tube pan (do not grease the pan). Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter. Sprinkle walnuts, dried cranberries and rolled oats over the surface.
6. Bake in pre-heated oven at 160 degC for 35 mins, (for 20cm pan bake for 50 mins) or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (When lightly pressed the cake will spring back). Remove from the oven and drop the pan at a height of 20~30cm onto a table top. This action helps to keep the springy texture of the cake when it is left to cool.
7. Invert the pan immediately and let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Recipe source: 戚风蛋糕秘法传授 by Noriko Ozawa

I got down to made a batch of Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal cookies yesterday morning after I heard the evening before, that my DG will be able to meet up with my DH overseas today. These cookies were adapted from the chocolate oatmeal cookies in my previous post. Instead of chocolate chips, I replaced it with dried cranberries and omitted the chocolate called for in the original recipe.

With the walnuts, rolled oats and dried cranberries, the end product is just like breakfast granola in a cookie form :)

You may think that these healthy, wholesome ingredients would probably produce cookies that taste like bland muesli or have a texture similar to cardboards. On the contrary, these cookies taste fabulous! Nice, crunchy exterior and a slightly soft, chewy interior. The cookies smell awesome too, thanks to the vanilla extract (Nelson-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract) I used. The dried cranberries provide just the right sweetness, as the sugar used is probably just enough for creaming the butter. The walnuts give the added nutty texture while the rolled oats provided a delightful chew.

This recipe is a keeper. It is very versatile as you can always use raisins or dried blueberries in place of dried cranberries; or substitute walnuts with almonds since both have almost similar nutritious  values. This is one good way to introduce some oats in our diet...especially for DH who has got high LDL but low HDL cholesterol levels!  I hope these cookies were in good condition when he receives it. On the other hand, I guess he wouldn’t mind even if they shattered into million pieces ;)



Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
(makes about 25~28 cookies, slightly less than 2" each)

90g butter, softened at room temperature
25g caster sugar
25g brown sugar
1 egg (weights about 60g with shell), lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
100g cake flour (or plain flour)
100g rolled oats
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped
60g dried cranberries, cut into smaller chunks


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190degC. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
2. With manual whisk, cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until the mixture turns pale and fluffy (alternatively use an electric mixer if desired).
3. Dribble in the egg gradually. Mix well after each addition. Add in salt and vanilla extract, mix to incorporate into the batter.
4. Sift the flour over the batter, fold in with a spatula.
5. Add rolled oats, walnuts and dried cranberries. Mix well with the spatula.
6. Drop tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the prepared baking tray. Leave some space between the cookies to allow for spreading (actually, they don't spread too much). Flatten each cookie dough slightly with the back of a fork, keeping the shape as even as possible.
7. Bake for 8~10 mins or until golden (my oven took 12~15mins). If necessary, rotate the baking tray halfway through the cooking time to ensure even browning. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in air-tight containers.
   
   Recipe source: adapted from 好想为你亲手做出美味的甜点! 检见崎聡美

Since I am a lousy cook, I have to constantly search for real simple recipes which I can follow.

I have not attended any cooking classes and I have no one to teach me even the basic skills of identifying the different types of vegetables, different cuts of meat and till now I am still very confused over the names and types of the fishes available at the market (^^') With the lack of skills, I could only manage very very very simple recipes. I have long given up on asian cookbooks because of the long ingredient lists and vague instructions. I prefer to follow cookbooks such as those under the Australian Women's Weekly series as they are simple enough for me and most importantly, majority of the recipes are one-dish meals :D

One classic example is this Chilli Prawn Linguine which I saw on the Australian Women's Weekly website a couple of weeks ago. I bookmarked the recipe right away and attempted to replicate this dish just last night. I didn't have the exact ingredients, eg flat leaf parsley and baby rocket leaves, so I replaced them with dried parsley flakes and some lettuce. I hope the taste would not be too far off from the original version.

It is indeed an easy recipe...our dinner was ready in 30mins! What a wonderful dish...you only need to put in minimum effort to achieve excellent results. The pasta tasted delicious despite the minimum ingredients used. From the photo, the surface of the pasta may appear plain and dry (I reduced the amount of oil used), but trust me, it is full of flavour and there was just enough sauce to coat the linguine. I was surprised that the garlic, chilli and fresh, juicy prawns could add so much flavour to a dish. I would prefer to use chilli padi instead of long chilli, if only my younger child has attained that level of spiciness.

It was a joy watching my kids slurping away, and best of all, cleaning up after the meal was a breeze :)



Chilli Prawn Linguine
recipe source

Ingredients
(serves 3)

500g uncooked medium to large sized prawns
250g linguine pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh long red chillies, sliced thinly
some lettuce, coarsely chopped
some dried parsley flakes

Preparation:

• Shell and devein prawns, leave the tails intact.
• Cook linguine in large saucepan of salted boiling water (2 litres of water plus 2 teaspoons of salt),  until al dente or just tender.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan, over medium heat, cook garlic and chilli, stirring, until fragrant. Add in prawns and cook until just changed in colour. Drain pasta and reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
• Transfer pasta to frying pan with the reserved cooking liquid and lettuce; toss to combine. Sprinkle with dried parsley flakes and ground pepper if desired. Serve immediately.

(Note: this recipe serves as a rough guide only. Adjust the ingredient amounts according to individual preference.)

I made these bread rolls based on the sweet bread recipe shared by Edith. Her blueberry and cheese bread buns look so soft and fluffy that I bookmarked the recipe right away.

I was planning to make some char siew buns, but decided against it since I still have a pack of ready-made red bean paste.

To make these buns, you need to plan a day ahead. The 烫种 or 'scalded-dough' has to be made and leave to chill for at least 12 hours in the fridge. The 烫种 is made by scalding flour with hot boiling water so as to increase the water-binding capacity of the dough. A dough with higher water-binding capacity will suffer less moisture loss during baking, and it will not dry out or age too quickly after baking.

As expected, this dough is less  wet and sticky than the one made using 汤种 or water roux method (see post on Cinnamon Rolls), since the water content is lesser. The dough is also much easier to work with, as it doesn't stick to the work surface at all. In fact the dough was very stiff before the butter was added. I was quite worried that I would end up with a tray of rock buns. It took me about 30mins to get to the window pane stage. Pardon the lousy image as I was trying to do the window pane test with one hand, and the other holding a camera! The dough is easily stretched to a thin membrane, and the holes come with smooth edges.

I made some into red bean rolls and some into buns.

The buns were indeed very soft and fluffy, freshly baked! The texture was comparable to those you get from bakery shops. Take a look at the image on the left, base on the exterior of the buns,  I am not sure whether you could tell how soft and tender they were?  The buns felt 'puffy' as the crust was very thin.

However, even though I stored them right away in an air-tight container, the buns were less soft the next morning :( In fact, they don't taste very different from those I made using the straight dough method. Personally, I think the 汤种 or water roux method is actually better as the buns remained as soft when left over night. But, if you do not have a standing mixer or a bread machine like me, this 烫种 or 'scalded-dough' method is easier on your arms if you were to knead by hand. I have bookmarked another 烫种 recipe, will give it a go and hope it will give a better result...ie easy to knead by hand and  yet will not age that fast.



Red Bean Rolls

Ingredients:
(makes 8 rolls)

(A)
50g bread flour
35g boiling water

(B)
150g bread flour
50g plain flour
40g caster sugar
3g salt
10g milk powder
4g instant yeast

(C)
88g water
30g egg (about half an egg, reserve the leftover as egg wash)

(D)
30g butter (cut into cubes)

(E)
240g red bean paste, roll into 8 equal balls
some white sesame seeds (optional)

Method:

1. Add the boiling water in (A) into the flour, stir and mix to form a rough dough. Cover dough and set aside to cool. Leave to chill in fridge for at least 12 hrs.
2. Place ingredients in (B) in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Make a well in the centre, and add in ingredients in (C). Knead to form a rough dough. Knead in scalded-dough in Step 1.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough till smooth. This should take about 10mins. This dough is quite easy to knead as it does not stick to the surface.
4. Knead in the butter in (D). Continue to knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. This should take about another  15~20 mins. Do the window pane test: pinch a piece of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.
5. Place dough in a lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Divide the dough into 8 portions (about 60g each). Roll each dough into smooth rounds, leave to rest for 10-15mins.
7. Flatten dough into a round disc. Wrap each dough with one portion of the red bean paste in (E). Pinch and seal the seam tightly. Flatten the dough into a round disc and roll out into a longish oval shape (about 15cm in length). Use a knife or dough scraper to make a few slits(see photo below, do not cut through the edges). Roll up swiss-roll style, seal and pinch the edges.

8. Place the rolls, seam side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Leave some space in between the rolls to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 45mins, or until double in size.
9. Brush top with egg wash (mix leftover egg with 1 tbs water) and sprinkle with some white sesame seeds. Bake in pre-heated oven at 190 deg C for 15 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and once cool store immediately in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: adapted from Magic Bread by Alex Goh

have a break, have a kick kat!

No, don't worry, this is not some advertorial ;)

My husband bought this box of kit kat at the Narita Airport on his way home two days ago. He was back home for a mere 21 hours before he was off to another part of the world. He had planned to stay till the weekend, but was called to go to another place when he was still slogging away in Yokohama. I told him we were like 牛郎织女 a Chinese folk story about a couple who could only meet once a year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month ;)

Even though he was home for less than 24hrs, I was glad that at least he managed to have a good rest. He had been working till 1am every night at the overseas office for the past whole week. It doesn't help that it was scotching hot over there and he came home looking so 'red' and heaty! I had to drown him with herbal tea to cool him off. For once, he finds our local weather here, lovely!

When I told some of my friends that he is taking up a long term assignment, I could detect the envy written across their faces. To most people, they equate overseas postings with a nice, fat pay package. Well, this is certainly not true for his case. Everything remains the same and he would even have to suffer some form of pay cut due to the currency exchange rates and the employee benefits that he would get to enjoy back home. He is not even given a choice, it is a matter of take it or leave it (the job). The irony is, just three years ago, he had made a decision to leave his former employer of seven years just so as to avoid being relocated to Down Under, and to cut down on the frequent travellings. He was promised a 'desk-bound' job. But things didn't work out as planned. Eventually, he even lost his desk in the office as they have adopted a 'book-a-desk' kind of work arrangement! The current organisation lost the local contract last year, and the market here is so small for the industry he is in, they have to look beyond this little red dot...to 'a wider region within seven hours flight radius' from our island.

It is not easy to get a new job over night at our age. So, for the time being, we could only try to adapt to this work arrangement. He will be away longer this time, and won't even be home on the seventh day of the seventh month! He promised he will buy a ticket to come back for the mid autumn festival, I hope no one will stop him from doing so by then. I am blessed with two kids who are very understanding and easy to take care, and yet there are times when I wish he is around especially when small things seem to start to grow into a big issue.

Ok, enough of my ramblings, I have digressed!

One of my pals has always shown great concern about the size of my brain cells when I became a full time housewife. She worries that my brain cells will shrink over the years since a housewife's world would only revolved around the seven things in the kitchen...柴米油盐酱醋茶(fire wood for the stove, rice, oil, salt, sauce/soya sauce, vinegar and tea, in a traditional Chinese home). So, I do make it a point not to lose touch with the outside world by reading, blogging, surfing the net, so as not to become a frog in the well.

Here's one new thing that I would like to share with fellow SAHMs, since we are 'home-bound' and hardly gets to see the 'outside' world. (Pardon me if you don't belong to this category, or feel insulted by my words. I don't mean to imply that all SAHMs are isolated from the outside world. I hope you understand where I am coming from because I have received unpleasant remarks and comments for being a SAHM.)

Unless you understand the Japanese language, I don't think you will be able to guess what the flavour of these kit kats is. Green tea, you may guess, but no, they are wasabi flavoured kit kats! Correct me if I am wrong, I don't think this flavour is available here? I have had wasabi coated nuts but not wasabi chocolates. These kit kats taste like white chocolates to me, sweet, and there is only just a slight hint of wasabi. You can forget about getting the real kick from tasting the real wasabi. Those wasabi coated nuts fair better in providing the burning, searing sensation in your nasal.

I won't be too surprised if anyone tells me they had baked something with wasabi....wasabi cakes, cookies, muffins and buns?!

Have a great day, and am I too early to look forward to a great weekend ahead??

I believe there is always a reason behind an action. Even a no reason is a reason itself.

There is always a reason (and sometimes several reasons) why I choose to bake something...be it cakes, cookies or just a simple loaf of bread. Sometimes my reasons could be quite frivolousness (^^'). I could have bought a new set of muffin cups or some new ingredients that I die die must try. Most of the time it was purely due to inspirations from images I saw on cookbooks or food blogs. Occasionally, I would conduct some kitchen experiments mainly to try to clear whatever ingredients that was nearing shelf life.

So, what's the reason(s) behind these soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls?

There are many!

1) Ever since I started baking bread, I 'promised' my younger child I will make him some cinnamon rolls...which is the name behind that super cute Sanrio character Cinnamoroll! He was and still is a big fan of Cinnamoroll. I told him, Cinnamoroll's tail is just like a cinnamon roll! Well, that was like 3 years ago, and I am glad that kept my promise. Yeah! Parenting Rule #1, Keep your promises! I am doing quite well in this aspect as I am smart enough to make only simple promises. ;')

2) I have wanted to try making bread using this 65C tang zhong (water-roux) method ever since I saw it at MH's blog...2 years ago.  (MH if you are reading this, I just want to tell you I finally bought a digital scale, there is no more excuse for not being able to measure 84g of tang zhong!).

3)A few weeks ago, a reader by the name of Cupcake asked me which brand of cinnamon powder do I use. I am sorry I did not reply her question. I wasn't able to. Other than the Chinese five spice powder, I have not bought any cinnamon powder. I have not baked anything with cinnamon powder, even if a recipe calls for it, I will omit it. The reason is, I am really not sure whether my family will like it. However, Cupcake's comment was so 'powerful' that I found myself dropping a bottle of McCormick's cinnamon powder into my shopping basket when I went grocery shopping the other day. So, cinnamon rolls, here I come!

4) This last reason is not the everyday kind of reason. Actually, this is the highlight of this blog post!

On our flight back from Beijing last December, I watched this Japanese movie, Seagull Diner or Kamome Shokudo かもめ食堂，海鸥食堂 on board. I didn't get to finish watching the last half an hour of the movie as the entertainment system was switched off to prepare for landing. This movie left such a good impression that I have to watched it when I came back. I did a search and was so happy to able to watch it online! Some sites provide Chinese sub, some are in English. I recommended it to my cyber-friend VB, thinking that she would probably like this kind of movie...especially she is currently learning Japanese. Now, I can't write a movie review at all. I can only say it is a very beautiful movie. It will leave you with a very good feeling after watching it. The story is extremely simple...about a Japanese woman, Sachie, who opens a diner in Finland, and her encounters with two other Japanese women and her Finnish customers. Do hop over to the above link to read about the story. I really enjoyed the movie and so did VB. Since the setting is a diner, you cannot run away from Food! There are 3 particular scenes I love...a man who came to the diner to teach Sachie how to make a good cup of coffee; Sachie and her friends making those big, fat, pure white onigiri; and Sachie making Cinnamon Rolls and the Finnish ladies having them for tea. I am so inspired that I told myself I must really make it a point to try it. I am really glad that I finally did it!

Hop over here to watch the preview of this movie to decide whether you will like it!

I did not make the classic type of cinnamon rolls where the dough is made with plain flour...which will give a more chewy texture.

I prefer something softer, so I followed this cinnamon roll recipe from this book, 65度C汤种面包 (65degC Tang Zhong Bread).

Cooking the tang zhong was not as difficult as I thought. Even for someone who is really bad with anything that has got to do with a stove, I did not burn the water-roux! However, the dough was really difficult to work with. It was rather wet due to the high water content, and even after 40mins of kneading by hand, the dough was still a little sticky. I gave up, dust it with some flour, smooth it into a dough and leave it to proof. The dough was easier to work with after the first proof. I melted some butter, spread it onto the dough (take note, the dough should not be rolled till too thin, ideal thickness is at least 1/2", otherwise you will end up with a hard, chewy roll!) before sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar mixture over. Rolling it up was pretty easy too...the only challenge I faced was cutting the rolls into equal sizes! It is not a simple task, as the cinnamon filling somewhat prevented the dough from sticking together after rolling. The centre tend to squeeze its way out when I try to slice the roll ;'(

Anyway, to cut the story short, I was rewarded with a tray of sweet smelling cinnamon rolls 4 hrs later. How I wish you could 'smell' these rolls off your screen! I skipped the icing/glaze as the roll already tasted so good on its own. It was an instant hit among my two boys. We have it for tea, breakfast and tea again the next day! The recipe is a keeper, and I am sure I will be making this again and again and again.

So, what's your reason for baking something?




Cinnamon Rolls
(makes 9)

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 (about half an egg, reserve the leftover for egg wash)
85g water
84g tang zhong (water-roux)*

22g unsalted butter

filling:

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder (this amount is just right for my kids, use more if desired)
30g sugar (I used raw sugar)
25g unsalted butter, melted


Method:

to make tang zhong (yields about 90g 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. (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 make dough:

Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add in the egg, water and tang zhong. Mix to form a rough dough. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough till smooth. This should take about 10mins. The dough is quite wet and sticky, it helps to have a dough scraper on hand to scape up the dough as your knead.

Knead in the butter. Continue to knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. This should take about another 20 to 30 mins. Do the window pane test: pinch a piece of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.

Place dough in a lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.

Mix cinnamon powder and sugar together. Reserve about 1 teaspoon of the mixture.

Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 30cm by 25cm, 1/2 inch thick. Brush surface with melted butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the dough surface. Roll over the surface with a rolling pin, this is to make sure the fillings will stick onto the dough.

From the longer end (30cm), roll up the dough to form a long log (ie 30cm in lengh). Pinch the edges to seal. Place the log seam side down, trim off the two ends. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 9 equal pieces, about 3cm each. (To get even rolls, use a dental floss to slice the log. Position a long string of dental floss under the log, hold the two free ends, criss-cross over the top of the log, pull the two ends to cut the roll. Tip from cookbook, 天然麵包香, Natural Bread Made Easy.)

Arrange the rolls cut-side up in a greased (or lined with parchment paper) 20cm square pan or any suitable baking tray. Leave some space in between the rolls to allow them to expand. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 45mins, or until double in size.

Brush top with egg wash (mix leftover egg with 1 tbs water) and sprinkle the reserved cinnamon sugar mixture over the top. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 15-20 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and once cool store immediately in an airtight container.

Recipe adapted from: 65度C汤种面包, 陈郁芬