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evonlim's blog

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evonlim

today's baked..Beetroot and purple carrot sourdough kamut flour with seeds n raisins/walnuts

:) thank you for all the great tips and advices. and this is the results..

evon

evonlim's picture
evonlim

hello everyone, been busy with work and family. of course i do bake as usual for friends and family and myself. just have no time to sit down and have a clear head to write. everyday, i do read all the new blogs that all of you contributed. it is a joy to read.

here, i share a recent bread i baked.. 50% organic Australian white spelt sourdough with seeds n cranberry.

happy baking

evon

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evonlim

weekend baking is always for friends. my friends have no preference, so it allows me to experiment and practice... !!

 

getting confident with my hands :)

i am making bread now as well for Sunday's friends. more practice

 

here is the crumb shot.. added cranberry for color contrast.

one more picture :)

evon

 

 

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evonlim

the last bake was with raisins yeast water. it gave some super tasty loaves. trying my luck with some organic dried apricots this time, making yeast water. to my surprised it bubbles more and faster than the raisins. nice aroma and delicate sweetness. choices and supplies of flour is very limited. i only have bob's red mill graham flour on my shelve..hmm

steamed some japanese pumpkin and puree it. add 2 table spoon of maple syrup, 1 cup of toasted pumpkin seeds, 2 table spoon of pumpkin seeds oil.

 

 

here is the formula.. 

300gram graham flour

100gram bread flour 

100gram AP flour

300gram pumpkin puree

225gram apricot yeast water

200gram 100% hydration of avtive starter using yeast water 

autolysed for 30 mins, add

12gram sea salt

using SF method every 50 mins, 3 times, retard overnight in the fridge. brought it out rest for half an hour, shape it into 2 loaves. proof for 1 and half hour. baked 450F 20 mins covered and further 10 uncovered. 

 

2nd bake with apricot yeast water.

 used a newly discovered organic multigrain flour.. consist of wheat, bengal gram spilt dehusked, soybean, dehulled barley, fenugreek and psyllium husk.

 

added toasted brown sesame seeds and Nui coconut oil. 

same formula as above.. 

 

 

 

:) 

 

 

 

 

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evonlim

this bread is so tasty i had to bake a couple more to share with more friends

this is another version of red wine(Chateau Cap De Faugeres) cranberry sourdough using yeast water and osmanthus flower...

a big handful too

my first attempt on a batard shape!!

i baked for my girlfriends so i added the osmanthus flower tea, cos osmanthus blooms are very delicate and the aroma from the blossoms is equally delicate resulting in mild peach flavor notes. It is said that osmanthus flower tea promotes beautiful skin.

round ends

sharp ends.. not quite there yet 

a pretty looking slice. pink with golden yellow specks :) 

thanks Yuko for a wonderful idea. 

formula right here at Yuko's blog http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32472/sourdough-wine-bread

evon

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evonlim

after reading last couple of week's blogs.. lead me to experiment with new ingredients.

with kiki's help, she gave me this tutorial website on yeast water http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-GmnAD4J7E

started soaking my raisins with water in a clean jar as showed in the video. to my surprised it work wonderfully.. on the 8th day i used it to make this bread. mixed 75gram yeast water with 75gram of bread flour, left it 8 hours in room temperature to mature. 

my formula

bread flour   100%     750gram

water             75%      563gram 

salt               1.5%       11  gram

starter                         150gram

since i have some 320gram of Chateau Charmail 2009 left over from saturday's dinner, thinking to myself why not.. so i did :) water 243gram. mixed with AP flour and left overnight. 2nd day added the starter. autolysed for 30mins. added the salt after. rest for 40 mins and SF. realising i had a couple of small Tasmanian purple carrot in the fridge.. i grated and added in the dough when i did my first SF. 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds and 1/2cup of soaked n drained raisins went into the dough as well. (this is because i am baking for a friend who loves raisins!!) 2nd SF after 40mins.

left it rest for another 40mins, put in the fridge to retard. 3rd day, in the afternoon after my work, took dough out from fridge. rested for an hour, scrapped out from bowl and divide into two and preshape. rest for 30mins. transfered into 2 small loaf pan. covered and proof for 1 hour. score the top, sprinkled with blue poppy seeds. baked 450F for 20 mins covered with aluminium foil. uncovered for further 15 mins. 

it smells divine during baking. lots of depth in flavor ends with a nice bitter in the mouth as you chew on it.

my lucky experiment inspired by kiki, Ian and Yuko :) thank you

happy me

evon

more pictures..

 

 

 

 

 

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evonlim

Black manuka raisin flaxseed light rye sourdough flavored with osmanthus flower tea.

 

 

 

 

osmanthus flower tea, very fragrant.

 

 

 

my lunch!! :)

 

 

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evonlim

happy valentine's day to all 

a heart shape country boule 

hot from the oven, the blue cheese is still bubbling ! smells goood to me :)

the crumb.. 

added pumpkin puree and pine nuts besides the smelly cheese 'gorgonzola'

evon

 

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evonlim

went back hometown to celebrate Chinese New Year with my parents and brothers. it was a long drive because of the heavy traffic. the journey took 7 hours instead of 3 .  i was really looking forward for mom's cooking!!

new year's eve dinner

... of course we started a.. 

Prosperity Toss, also known as lo hei (Cantonese for 撈起 or 捞起). It usually consists of strips of raw fish, mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.

the dishes:

butter prawns :P

hainanese steam chicken.. 

 

sweet n sour pork ribs..

                  

my all time favorite soup, salted mustard green duck soup!!

this is my nephew, Christopher ( r u ready for PSY??) he loves gangnam song :)

 

and niece, Le Ann

 

1 st day new year's lunch

fried yellow noodles .. ( mom had to fried 3 portion of this, everyone was having second helping!)

 

 

left my starter for 4 days. refreshed it for 2 days before i bake.

this is a wholewheat with polenta, sunflower seeds and green olives sourdough bread

 (Formula adapted from Tartine) used a rye starter and white starter

the crumb shots... and yes it smells great and tasted delicous

 

 

 i had a short and sweet Chinese New Year celebration. started work 2 days ago. my brothers are still back at homtown!!

Happy Chinese New Year to all who celebrates, Gong Xi Fatt Chai

evonlim

 

 

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evonlim

 

Dried black mission figs, dried white USA figs, turkish dried brown figs, fresh turkish figs and fresh Japanese figs..

In the history of foods the fig is one of the earliest fruits to be desiccated and stored by men.  Sumerian civilization, Phoenicians, Ancient Greeks and old Chinese promoted fig culture and gave it sky-scraping fame. In China it has been grown since one thousand years back. Ancient Greeks offered figs to each other as precious gifts. Greek players used it to increase their potency and muscles.  

 Antediluvian king of Pontus Mithridates had ordered his citizens to use figs everyday to keep them away from diseases. It is said that in ancient Rome and Greek, farmers and slaves were given figs on a daily basis to increase their working capabilities. 

The fruit have both nutritional and medicinal values therefore it is regarded as functional food. It has property of keeping people physically and mentally strong. Dry fig has nutrition values more than its fresh variety. Protein, carbohydrates, calcium, thiamin, riboflavin, potassium, iron and high amount of fibers are its main constituents. It contains second highest amount of calcium after Oranges.  The major section has sugar which forms 51 to 70 %of the whole fruit.

Beauticians recommend it for beautification and personal care. Eating figs prevent cracking of lips and premature wrinkles. It puts off bad breath. The milky juice of green fig has necrotic property and can be applied to soften the thickening of skin of toe (Corn). Its sodium-free, cholesterol free, fat free and high fiber properties make it ideal food for dieters.  For those who are planning to quit smoking, figs can be an alternative. For long time it has been used to treat skin pigmentation, warts, mole and blisters. It is used as a medical dressing which applied on infectious skin to get rid of abscess. Its sugary pulp is ideal for making sweetener for dieters. 
 
Softening and soothing effects of figs provide relief from respiratory tract inflammation, cough, colds and aching throats. In folk medicine it is used as a demulcent for the irritation of soft skin tissues. Due to anti-bacterial properties it can inhibit bacterial growth.

For chefs and bakery product makers fig is a favorite ingredient for making of deserts, jams, jelly, cakes, pies etc. Adding figs to food products enhance both their taste and dietetic values. Presence of a substance known as humectants makes figs useful to keep the bakery products fresh and moist for long time. 

In south East Asia, Anjeer and Guava blended, together to make a healthy and refreshing fruit drink. In Mediterranean countries its extract is added in alcohol and tobacco. Dry roasted figs are pressed and grounded to use as alternative to coffee. In America fig puree is part of many sweet recipes.  Combination of figs and milk ensure sufficient supply of proteins, calcium and iron.  

In western countries green figs are available in can and tin and added to yogurt and cream to make deserts.

Figs are rich source of soluble and insoluble dietary fibers. Soluble fibers help to lower blood cholesterol while insoluble fibers prevent breast and colon cancer and heart attack.

in my case, this is how i enjoy fresh and dried figs...

 

Black mission figs in country boule

 

black and white..in flaxseeds sourdough

 

fresh turkish figs on toasted sourdough bread with walnuts and swiss chard

 

Japanese fresh figs on toasted sourdough bread with grilled gorgonzola and smoke salmon

 

 

Health benefits of figs
  • Fig fruit is low in calories. 100 g fresh fruits provide only 74 calories. However, they contain health benefiting soluble dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and pigment anti-oxidants that contribute immensely for optimum health and wellness.

  • Dried figs are an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants. In fact, dried fruits are concentrated sources of energy. 100 g dried figs provide 249 calories. 

  • Fresh figs, especially black mission, are good in poly-phenolic flavonoid anti-oxidants such ascarotenes, lutein, tannins, chlorogenic acid...etc. Their anti-oxidant value is comparable to that ofapples at 3200 umol/100 g.

  • In addition, fresh fruits contain adequate levels of some of the anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin A, E, and K. Altogether these phyto-chemical compounds in fig fruit help scavenge harmful oxygen derived free radicals from the body and thereby protect us from cancers, diabetes, degenerative diseases and infections.

  • Furthermore, research studies suggest that chlorogenic acid in these berries help lower blood sugar levels and control blood-glucose levels in type-II diabetes mellitus (Adult onset) condition.

  • Fresh as well as dried figs contain good levels of B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine, folates, and pantothenic acid. These vitamins function as co-factors for metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

  • Dried figs are excellent source minerals like calcium, copper, potassium, manganese, iron, selenium and zinc. 100 g of dried figs contain 640 mg of potassium, 162 mg of calcium, 2.03 mg of iron and 232 mg of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation as well for cellular oxidation.

enjoy... a fig a day keep the doctor away too :)

evonlim

 

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