The Fresh Loaf

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Kistida's blog

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Kistida

As the weather gets cooler, I find comfort in having hot rice porridge with savory sides. One of these sides is caramelized kimchi. I made it from the last quarter tub I had and reserved the juice/liquid, and the left over from the meal, I figured I should try caramelized kimchi and its juice in a test bake - having read about this on TFL (can't find the thread now). For a burst of umami, I used a little bit of fermented tofu liquid. :)

This loaf was devoured in less than a day! Now, I've run out of kimchi for another bake!

Sourdough with caramelized kimchi and scallions
Dough
90g water
70g kimchi water
5g fermented tofu liquid
100g starter ww:ap (100% hydration)
190g all purpose flour
60g Kamut flour
30g spelt flour
10g vital wheat gluten
3g salt (reduced here - kimchi, kimchi water & tofu liquid are salty)
5g light olive oil

Mix-ins
*caramelized kimchi with sesame seeds
20g scallions, thinly sliced

*Caramelized kimchi with sesame seeds
100g kimchi, chopped fine
25g sugar
25g rice wine vinegar
20g sesame seeds

Make the caramelized kimchi: Drain kimchi and then chop them into smaller pieces. Doing this will release more kimchi juices. Squeeze the juices out further (set kimchi juice/water aside). Weigh the chopped and drained pieces for the next step.

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat.

Mix 2/3 of the kimchi with sugar, sesame seeds and rice wine vinegar in a bowl. Then, add these to the hot pan.

Cook over medium heat until the mixture reduces and the kimchi is sticky and browned in spots, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl or plate and let it cool slightly.  

Add the 1/3 uncooked chopped kimchi, and mix until combined. Set aside to cool.

These are notes I jotted while making this loaf, I didn't have time to bake the same night but the loaf's tanginess from the starter & kimchi was totally worth waiting the next day for. Also, my starter had passed its peak (no thanks to using atta flour!), so my timing could be completely different for the next attempt at this:

Mix flours, water, kimchi water and fermented tofu liquid. Cover and rest 60 minutes.
Add starter. Cover and rest 30 minutes.  
Mix in salt, half the c.kimchi and scallions. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Mix in oil, half the c.kimchi and scallions. Then stretch and fold, transfer to a lightly greased container. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Stretch and fold - in the container or on wet (lightly) counter. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Lamination. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Coil fold. Cover and rest 30 minutes. Dough temp: 23.6°C
Coil fold. Cover and rest 30 minutes. Dough temp: 24°C
Check the dough for windowpane. Cover and let it continue bulk ferment for 1 1/2 to 3 hours until at least 50% increase in volume, bubbles on the sides of the container and the dough jiggles when the container is shaken gently. Dough temperature: 25.5°C
Preshape into a boule. Leave it seamside down on the counter, rest 30 minutes.
Final shaping. Shape into a batard (or boule). Transfer to rice-floured banneton, cover and place in a sealed bag.
Final proof: Room temperature 45 minutes (oven 23°C). 16 hours chilling in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 230°C 30 minutes before bake time.
Score the dough and bake at 230°C 25 minutes with steam/lid.
Remove the steam source/lid, reduce the oven temperature to 220°C and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches at least 97°C/208°F.

Remove the loaf from the oven and turn off the oven. Remove from baking sheet (or Dutch oven) and transfer the loaf back onto middle rack as the oven cools. Let the baked loaf cool for at least 3 hours (or overnight) before slicing.

8 Nov 2021 - I've tested the loaf again last week with onions and garlic in the caramelized kimchi. These made the kimchi so divine I ate a third of it before making the bread.




Look at the ridges at the bottom, that's me peeling fluffy shreds off the loaf :)

After the kimchi loaf, I was making AP+Kamut bread. With starter discard from the previous bake, I thought let's see if the 6-day chilled discard mix would make me sour milk bread. Not a hint of sour on the first one, probably because the instant yeast was doing all the work. Next, I tried using an 8-hour stiff starter that contained 50% atta flour with the same amount of sugar as the first loaf. This loaf turned out a little sour, not as white probably due to atta in the starter and more Kamut flour in the dough. The last loaf I tried, I sweetened the stiff starter and used only AP for it, it came out with a barely-there hint of sour and a lovely sweet crumb. :D



AP & Kamut milk bread with SD discard V1

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
30g cream (MF35%)
45g milk
1 large egg
120g starter discard (100% hydration)
235g all purpose flour
5g vital wheat gluten
80g Kamut flour
2g instant yeast
20g sugar
6g salt
40g unsalted butter
10g olive oil


AP & Kamut milk bread V2
Starter
30g starter (50% hydration ap:atta)
70g water
100g all purpose flour
40g Kamut flour

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
25g milk
30g cream
1 large egg
155g all purpose flour
5g vital wheat gluten
60g Kamut flour
20g sugar
All of the starter
6g salt
40g unsalted butter
10g light olive oil


AP & Kamut milk bread V3
Starter
12g stiff starter (50% hydration AP)
80g water
160g all purpose flour
20g sugar

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
20g milk
30g cream
1 large egg
All of the starter
127g all purpose flour
5g vital wheat gluten
80g Kamut flour
30g sugar
6g salt
40g unsalted butter
10g olive oil


Moving away from bread, here's a very tasty gluten-free treat.


Of all the goodies from home, I miss bingka ubi (cassava/yuca cake) the most. It's very similar to cassava bibingka from the Philippines except, we don't include condensed milk in the recipe. We normally get this cake in markets, or cafes selling Nyonya or Malay cakes across Malaysia and Singapore. For my recipe, I chopped the cassava coarsely in a processor for extra bite together with the shredded coconut, you can see lil fibrous strands in the cross section. But, if you prefer a smoother cake, just grate the root with coconut to finer texture.

Bingka ubi (Malay cassava cake)
400g fresh yuca / cassava, grated
120g sugar
20g coconut oil
50g unsweetened shredded coconut
20g tapioca / cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
200g coconut milk
1/4 tsp coconut extract, optional

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 9x5” loaf pan or 1/8th sheet pan with oil and line with parchment paper with an overhang.
Process 5cm/2” cubes of yuca/cassava with 3-4 tbsp coconut milk (from the total 200g). Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add the rest of the coconut milk, and all the ingredients and mix until evenly combined.
Pour the batter into prepared pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles.
Use a spatula to even out the surface of the batter.
Bake the cake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the surface lightly with coconut oil.
Continue baking for another 15 minutes until the centre is set and the top is golden brown. To test, a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should come out almost-clean (it's starchy, it will only appear almost-set at this point).
Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack before slicing. Lift it out with the overhang.

Like tapioca/boba pearls, this cake's chewy texture will change if it's kept in the fridge, hence the small batch enough to 2-3 days :D

8 Nov 2021 - made the same recipe in a quarter sheet pan for a thinner, crispier cake! 180°C for 45 minutes, gently brushed with coconut oil, continue bake 15 minutes.






Usually only about 2/3 of a bag of cranberries gets used in our orange-cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. So, the extras get into cakes. This year, I let these cranberries mingle with some blueberries and lemon zest. After making a semi-compote with half of the mixture, I made a small batch of pie dough (this same dough I use in tourtière, bakes up nice and flaky). Since the berries would not fill an 8" pie, they were turned into small galettes.

Mini fruit galette/pie
Pie dough with AP & spelt
- chill at least 45 minutes before use.
(Enough for 2x 1/8 sheet, 4x mini galettes)

130g unsalted butter, cold 2cm/1” pieces
170g all-purpose flour
20g spelt flour
10g cornstarch
16g granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5 to 8 tbsp iced water with apple cider vinegar (120g water + 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar; I used 6)

Filling
Cranberry & blueberry
- mix everything except tapioca flour and butter. Reduce 2/3 of the mixture until it's soft and thickened. Then, fold in the uncooked 1/3 of the mixture and tapioca flour.
Zest of 1/2 lemon
100g fresh cranberries
200g fresh blueberries
60g sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tapioca flour
1/2 tsp butter, small cubes or slivers

Cinnamon apple
- mix everything except butter.
1 apple, sliced thinly (unpeeled)
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
30g sugar
A pinch of salt
1 tsp tapioca flour
1 tsp butter, small cubes or slivers
Strained apricot jam glaze (optional, post-bake)

Cream wash with 1/2 tsp sugar for the exposed dough.

Divide the dough. Roll into any shape (free-form pie after all), about 2mm for these. Dock the area in the middle of the dough meant for filling with a fork. Chill for 15 minutes.
Fill the dough with filling, fold the edges over the filling. Scatter butter over the filling and brush the exposed dough with cream. Sprinkle with sugar - this melts and forms a crunchy, sweet edge. Chill or freeze the assembled galette for 10-15 minutes while the oven preheats to 200°C.
Bake for 25 minutes. Then, tent the galette with foil and continue baking for 10-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and filling appears bubbly. Let the pies

8 Nov 2021 - the last galette was an apple one!



Here's a steamed cake (not a bake) that I enjoy from home as well:


This year I chose these small steamed cakes for our birthdays. They're normally prepared for Chinese New Year but, why not have Fortune cakes for other joyous occasions? :) I've made these with coconut milk and evaporated milk. Using palm sugar or Gula Melaka takes this simple cake into a whole other level (for the next CNY).

Fortune cakes/Huat kueh/Fatt gao
Adapted from https://www.huangkitchen.com/palm-sugar-fatt-koh/

Makes about 4 regular muffin-sized cakes
Preferment
50g all purpose flour
40g water
10g brown sugar (for white cake, use sugar)
1/4 tsp instant yeast

Sugar syrup
20g brown sugar (for white cake, use sugar)
20g sugar
30g water
1 x pandan leaf, cut into 2" pieces

Flour mixture   
70g all purpose/cake flour
6g baking powder
50g coconut milk or evaporated milk
1/4 tsp coconut extract
A pinch of salt

Coconut oil (optional, brush on tops of steamed cake)

Matcha marble
80g of batter
Matcha paste (1/4 tsp sifted matcha + 1 tsp coconut milk)

Preferment: In a large mixing bowl, mix all-purpose flour, instant yeast and sugar. Then, add in water and mix until evenly combined. Cover with a damp cloth or clingfilm and let the mixture ferment at until bubbly and almost tripled in size, about 4 to 5 hours at 23-25°C.

Sugar syrup: In a medium sauce pan, bring water, sugar, pandan leaf to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir the mixture and reduce heat to medium low until all the sugars have dissolved. Let the mixture simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the syrup, discarding pandan pieces. Set aside to cool to about 30-35°C.

Flour mixture: Bring water to a gentle boil in a steamer while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together sifted all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in coconut milk until a thick paste forms.

Make the batter: Add warm sugar syrup and flour mixture into the fermented flour mixture.
Whisk to mix well, till a thick smooth batter forms.
Strain batter into a large measuring jug (this removes lumps in the batter). Use a piping bag or the measuring jug to pour batter into muffin molds until nearly full, about 2 mm from the rim of the mold. Doing this allows the cakes to rise higher and burst into it's characteristic bloom (hence its name "huat" or "fatt" for prosperity)

- To make matcha marbling, mix in matcha paste to 80g of batter. Then, spoon, pour or pipe matcha batter between dollops of plain batter.

Increase heat of the boiling water to high. Place the rack with filled molds over the boiling water in the steamer.
Cover and steam over high heat, for 15 to 18 minutes. Do not remove the steamer’s cover during the first 12 minutes. The steamed muffins are done when a skewer inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
Turn off heat and leave the steamed cakes in the steamer for a further 3 minutes. Then, remove the muffins to cool on a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cakes with a little coconut oil while the cakes are hot (optional).

Alright, until next time, happy weekend!

- Christi

Kistida's picture
Kistida


My starters are usually fed a variety of flours depending on what I fancy. During rye+ap week, I made these orange-y loaves with the last of the flours I had.



I prefer the swirly loaf more than just a plain one with more rye, probably because it’s more fun to make, easier to handle, tastier and prettier. The other one had more rye (50-60% I believe) and was a bit more dense. We used these as sandwiches and for dipping in tikka masala gravy and soups.

Swirly rye and Kamut loaf
Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
270g starter (50% hydration rye+ap)
85g milk
1 large egg*
20g sugar
3g orange zest (or more!)
90g rye flour
68g Kamut
87g all purpose flour
5g vital wheat gluten
8g salt
10g light olive oil
30g unsalted butter

Mocha dough
To 40% of the dough: Make a paste of 1g espresso powder, 5g cocoa powder and 1 tsp water. Add 2g caraway seeds into the paste. Mix into dough.

*wasn’t quite sure why I added this. Just more milk would've been ok :D




Last week, I made my espresso cinnamon buns into mini rolls with coffee cookie topping, no lamination. I should've used a simpler method to shape these bite-sized buns for a more uniformed appearance. Either way, they disappeared quick thanks to their tiny size.

Mini espresso cinnamon buns with coffee cookie topping
- 34 mini rolls

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
95g soured milk
10g sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g all purpose flour
120g Kamut flour
6g salt
5g instant yeast
40g unsalted butter
10g light olive oil

Filling
20g unsalted butter, melted
50g brown sugar
15g all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp espresso powder

Coffee cookie topping
- whip wet ingredients with sugar, then fold in dry ingredients

80g unsalted butter
1 large egg
60g sugar
3 tsp espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp warm water
70g all purpose flour
10g cornstarch
1/4 tsp baking powder



20-30g dough per bun: Roll out, fill, shape into rolls/buns. Pipe cookie topping over each roll/bun (a specific pattern would be enough, but I went overboard with the piping, it's a tasty topping after all!). Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes until edges are golden brown and the internal temperature is at least 88°C. Turn off the oven, leave the oven door slightly ajar and leave the buns to continue baking in the cooling oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, remove the buns from the oven and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.




The next bake were kimmichers, idea from a post: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/68901/kimmicher and adapted from https://www.ploetzblog.de/2020/12/05/kimmicher/

Kimmicher with sourdough and instant yeast
The last of my rye flour went into the first batch of these tasty rolls. And I used 35°C water since it was 19-20°C in the mornings when I was preparing the doughs. Each were 25-26°C after mixing.

makes 4 x 150+g or 3x 200+g rolls
Version 1
240g sourdough starter (100% hydration 1:1: rye:atta)
100g all purpose flour
50g spelt flour
80g atta flour
115g water (35°C)
7g salt
1g instant yeast
15g light olive oil
5g caraway seeds

Version 2
240g sourdough starter (100% hydration 1:1 spelt:AP)
45g all purpose flour
115g spelt flour
70g atta flour
115g water (35°C)
7g salt
1g instant yeast
15g light olive oil
5g caraway seeds

230°C 20 minutes with steam, 5 to 10 minutes without. Each roll was sprayed with a thin mist of water right out of the oven and left to cool. The rolls took on a light matte shine once cooled.



Since my tiramisu attempt in the last post, I decided make it again with lesser eggs, using pastry cream, whipping cream, mascarpone, sponge cake and coffee syrup. I'm not sure about the fats in this version (why on earth would I count...) but there's surely less eggs - 3 eggs in the sponge and one in the pastry cream :D On second thought, the pastry cream can be omitted for a lighter filling.

Tiramisu roll cake
Mascarpone cream
100g pastry cream (if skipping this, add 20g confectioner's sugar, or to taste)
100g whipping/heavy cream
150g mascarpone (I made a batch from 450g cream)
1 tbsp Frangelico

Vanilla sponge
- adapted from https://www.womanscribbles.net/vanilla-swiss-roll/
- half sheet pan, 180°C/350°F 9-12 minutes

20g sugar
80g buttermilk
30g light olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
70g all purpose flour
10g cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
40g sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Easy pastry cream
- heat 2/3 the milk and sugar, then temper with remaining milk-egg-cornstarch and salt mixture.
- cook the mixture until 93°C/200°F and let it linger around this temperature for least 1 minute
- stir in vanilla and butter. Cool completely before use.

220g milk, divided
50g sugar
1 large egg
25g cornstarch
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
15g unsalted butter, room temperature

Coffee syrup
100g espresso
50g sugar
1 tbsp Kahlua

Once the sponge is baked, trip the edges for smooth sides - the trimmed edges were used in a mini tiramisu cake.
Dust it with sugar (confectioner's) and roll it up in parchment paper while hot.
Once cooled, brush the sponge cake with coffee syrup - 2 to 3 times. Spread cream and lightly dust with cocoa powder before rolling up the cake. Pipe cream over the rolled cake and draw designs on it or leave it smooth. Dust with cocoa powder before letting the cake chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Kistida's picture
Kistida

Hello everyone,

Last week, I wanted to bake a few things but I never got to stay home long enough to entertain the mixing bowl or spatula! I believe I was beginning to feel a baking withdrawal* even.



Just before our trip, I made that swirly bake above. The idea for this bread came from the previous babka bake and morning buns by Jack Sturgess (BakewithJack). The dough is laminated with softened butter, espresso & cinnamon sugar in 3 x letterfold. Then, the rounded edges were removed (these were rolled into buns), the strips with exposed edges were then braided (simple 3-strand braid) and placed in mini loaf pans. The other strips were rolled and baked in a muffin pan. Baked at 180°C 18 to 20 minutes until they're fluffy, golden. Usually, there are oodles more sugar in the layers but only a small amount is used in these lil braids/rolls.

Espresso cinnamon morning buns/mini loaves
Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
95g soured milk
10g sugar
20g liquid malt
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g all purpose flour
120g Kamut flour
6g salt
5g instant yeast
50g unsalted butter
10g light olive oil

Filling / Lamination
20g unsalted butter, melted
80g light brown sugar, packed
15g all purpose flour
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp espresso powder - 1 tsp
A pinch of salt
50g unsalted butter, softened mixed with 2g all purpose flour

Egg wash before baking and simple syrup after baking



The next bake before our trip was a variation of the braided loaf. Braided like a 4-strand braid (1-2-2-1).




Braided Atta, Kamut and AP loaf with soured milk

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
115g soured milk
80g starter (100% hydration)
1 large egg
30g sugar
2g instant yeast
7g salt
160g all purpose flour
70g atta flour
140g Kamut flour
30g unsalted butter
20g light olive oil



There are Paula Red apples everywhere I go now, I thought I'll try making a 6" bread/cake out of it. A small cake is always a favorite! This one is filled with bread crumbs, apple pieces, cold butter in the batter. Of course, soft butter or just oil for a softer cake would do too.



6" Apple walnut bread/cake
Wet ingredients
40g plain yogurt or milk
10g light olive oil
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

Dry ingredients
50g bread crumbs (from my braided loaf)
35g all-purpose flour
5g cornflour
50g sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of allspice (or nutmeg / ginger)
50g unsalted butter, cubed, cold
20g toasted walnuts, chopped
100g apple (I used about 1 Paula Red)
Optional: simple syrup to brush sides of cake

Cinnamon, walnuts & oats topping
15g all purpose flour
15g rolled oats
15g chopped walnuts
20g brown sugar
A pinch of cinnamon
20g unsalted butter, cold cubed

Optional: simple syrup to brush sides of cake, icing sugar for the top of the cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and line a 6” round pan (at least 2” tall) with parchment paper with a 2” wide as overhang on 2 sides. Gently sprinkle and tap sides of the pan with bread crumbs.

Make the topping/streusel: combine the flour, oats, walnuts, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Rub or cut in the cold butter until fully incorporated and the mixture achieves the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Chill the mixture while preparing the batter.

Make the batter: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Rub or cut cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fingertips until the butter is in small pieces. Chill this mixture while preparing the apples and wet ingredients.

Slice cored apple smaller pieces of about 5mm/0.2 inch width. No need to peel as the skin color fades as the cake bakes (apple skin is good!). Add apple pieces and chopped walnuts into the cold flour mixture. Gently toss to coat the apples all over.

In a small bowl or measuring jug, add egg, oil, vanilla extract and yogurt/milk. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold until no flour streaks remain. Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out evenly.

Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake the cake for 40 – 45 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden brown, and a toothpick comes out mostly clean or with a few crumb bits.

Tent the cake if it browns too quickly. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting it out with the overhang to cool completely on a rack.

Optional step: brush the sides of the warm cake with a simple syrup.

Once cooled, sprinkle icing sugar over the top of the cake.


<takes several deep breaths>

Ok, I read this post: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/66907/tiramisu

and I set out to make everything from scratch. Crazy? Yes. Worth it? Yes and NO! So many steps and the ingredients (the cream yum, ladyfingers soaked in espresso also yum!) were eaten before assembling the cake. The egg whites and yolks were also "pasteurized" before mixing the cream. There is a LOT of fat in this dessert. I've to figure out a less-fat version some day!



Tiramisu with homemade mascarpone and ladyfingers


1. Mascarpone
(Adapted from https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/mascarpone/)

450g whole / heavy cream (35% MF)
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained

In a saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat to 82-88°C/180-190°F with constant stirring. Lower heat to a simmer gently for 3 minutes, with gentle stirring as the cream begins to thicken.

Stir in the lemon juice and allow it to continue simmering at 82-88°C/180-190°F for another 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to a glass container, cover and let it cool to room temperature (about 2 to 3 hours).

Meanwhile, place a strainer over a deep bowl and line it with 2 - 3 layers of cheesecloth. Gently, pour cooled mixture through the strainer and cheesecloth. Cover by flipping the edges of the cheesecloth over and then cover loosely with plastic. Leave it to strain overnight (at least 8 hours) in the refrigerator.

The next day, transfer the mascarpone out into a container and it's ready for use. Be sure to keep the mascarpone covered and refrigerated until ready to use. And, use the strained liquid / whey in the bowl, drink it, use it in a smoothie etc, it's good stuff!


2. Ladyfingers
(Adapted from https://sugarspunrun.com/ladyfingers/)

Egg whites mixture
3 egg whites
40g sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Egg yolk mixture
3 egg yolks
30g sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1/2 lemon

Dry ingredients
75g all purpose flour
20g cornstarch
Icing/confectioner's sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper to fit 2 cookie sheets. With ruler and pencil, draw 2 long parallel lines 8cm (3 inches) apart. If there’s room on the parchment paper, make another set of lines, 3cm (about 1.5 inch) from the first set. These lines will make it easier to pipe equal sized cookies. Place the papers penciled-side down onto the baking sheets and set aside.

Prepare a pastry bag fitted with 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) tip.

In a mixing bowl, whisk egg whites with lemon juice until it begins to turn very pale. Add in sugar in 2 parts and whisk until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon juice and salt until thick and light yellow.

Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold with a spatula until evenly combined.

Sift in dry ingredients (all purpose flour, corn starch and baking powder) and gently fold it in until smooth and well combined. Then, fold in the rest of the stiff egg whites.

Transfer half of the batter to the prepared piping bag. Pipe the batter at a 45° angle into lines about 8cm (3 inches) long and 2cm (1 inch) wide, keeping within the drawn lines.

Keep each piped cookie about 5cm (2 inches) apart from each other.

Sift icing sugar over the cookies lightly. Let them rest for about 3 minutes. Then, sprinkle again with icing sugar.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 10 - 11 minutes until the cookies are puffed, firm and golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow the ladyfingers to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before gently releasing them from the parchment paper, with a flat spatula onto a cooling rack.


3. Espresso Soak
1/2 cup espresso shots (about 5 - 6 shots)
20g sugar (or to taste)
2 tbsp Kahlua


4. Mascarpone cream
(Easy method to pasteurize eggs: https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/italian-food/hacks/how-to-pasteurize-eggs)

Mascarpone - prepared above (did not weigh this)
100g whole cream
80g sugar, divided
3 large eggs, separated
a pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp rum / Marsala wine / Frangelico
4 tbsp water, divided


A lil bit of heated sugar syrup is used to warm both egg whites and yolks separately to "pasteurize" them.

Egg yolks: Whisk egg yolks with 10g sugar. In a small saucepan, prepare sugar syrup with 30g sugar and 2 tbsp water. Heat until all the sugar has dissolved and the syrups reaches 121°C/250°F. Remove from heat and pour it over the egg yolk mixture, mixing on low. Then, add rum (or chosen liqueur) and continue mixing on medium-high until the mixture thickens, about 8 to 12 minutes. Set aside.

Egg whites: Whisk the egg whites with lemon juice and salt until they achieve stiff peaks. In a small saucepan, heat 40g sugar with 2 tbsp water until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture reaches 121°C/250°F before removing it from the heat. While whisking gently, pour the hot syrup in a steady, stream into the egg whites being careful not to deflate the egg whites. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk cream and mascarpone until smooth. Gently, fold in the egg yolk mixture in 2 parts, folding until combined after each addition. Then, fold in the stiff egg whites in 2 parts, just as before. Transfer the cream to a piping bag.

Assemble the cake
Pipe a layer of cream on the base of a 8 x 8" or 9x5" pan. Even out the surface with an offset spatula.

Soak ladyfinger cookies in the espresso soak for about 30 - 45 seconds, turning halfway - or just enough that the cookies aren't dripping coffee. Gently press each soaked cookie on the layer of cream.

Pipe another layer of cream and even out its surface. Place a second layer of soaked ladyfinger cookies.

Top with a layer of cream and even out the surface again or pipe patterns over the top before dusting with cocoa powder.

Chill the assembled cake for at least 6 hours before slicing into it.



Finally, I'm convinced now that I can only make puffy Barbari bread! I can't quite grasp the science behind making the ridges on the bread...

Made these today and they're all pufffyyy. 2 of them were turned into cheese-onion-parsley-stuffed fougasses.



Ok, enough for now :)

- Christi


*There was a post on this condition, it's called BBWS: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/23845/bread-baking-withdrawal-syndrome (ha!)


Kistida's picture
Kistida

We've eaten 8 of these Barbari breads in the last 5 days. Only thing is, both times I made these, there was a rush for dinner time, so I feel that maybe they were a lil under-proofed so they got very puffy during the bakes (or maybe I didn't press the dough enough during shaping). Also, I made them with onions and cheese on top!



The roomal or glaze used for this bread is amazing. I'm starting to wonder if I could use it for loaf breads or other bakes even. Much like making Tangzhong, this glaze is cooked until it's thick, then brushed on the dough once it's cooled. It leaves a golden, crispy crust that I really like. There's a variation of it using baking soda, I've yet to try.

Barbari bread (Nan-e Barbari)
Adapted from
https://breadanddreams.in/nan-e-barbari/
https://www.unicornsinthekitchen.com/sourdough-barbari-recipe/

Dough
100g sourdough starter (I used barely doubled starter)
230g water
250g all purpose flour
100g atta flour
5g sugar
8g salt
2g instant yeast
15g unsalted butter / ghee

Roomal / Glaze
2 tsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp light olive oil
60g water

Topping:
Seeds like Nigella, sesame, black sesame, caraway
I used some sesame seeds, Havarti cheese and chopped Vidalia onions


Chapati / capati / phulka / roti


These are rotis I used to eat at our neighbour's in the late 80's (how time flies) and each time I get some atta flour, I remember them. Nothing beats freshly made, warm roti :)

Adapted https://veenaazmanov.com/indian-chapati-whole-wheat-tortilla/

Makes 4 rotis (about 6-8")
200g atta flour
1 tbsp light olive oil or ghee
3g salt*
140g water

Another batch was made using my liquid starter, these were chewier.
100g ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration)
160g atta flour
1 tbsp ghee
3g salt*
90g water

Ghee was used to brush on the hot roti, before serving.

*salt: this is a reduced amount as I'm no fan of salty roti for breakfast. Also, the Sharbati atta I'm using has a light sweet taste that shines through.


Marbled Matcha Shortbread Cookie



Now, here's something I've only made once this year. Why? There's at least 6g of butter per cookie; more than a teaspoon of butter each. :D

Last year I made these with a lemony twist, and baked them as a sheet before slicing them mid-bake. And most of them were given away, thankfully.

For this batch, I wanted to see swirls of matcha in the cookie (I've been making and eating matcha boba pearls too!) and to make a small batch, like enough to keep us in buttery heaven for a few days,.. or a week.

The ratios I use for my shortbread are based on butter instead of sugar. The internet tells me the ratio is 1:2:3 for sugar, butter and flour. This makes ridiculously sweet cookie if I wanted it buttery.

So, here's my ratio for buttery, mildly sweet, airy shortbread cookies:
1 butter: 1.25 flour : 0.35 superfine sugar
1 butter: 1.25 flour : 0.4 confectioner's / icing sugar

Adapted from various sites including: https://www.recipetineats.com/shortbread-cookies/ and https://www.popshopamerica.com/blog/marbled-vanilla-green-tea-cookies/

Makes 30-32 medium square cookies
240g all purpose flour
10g cornflour
3g salt
200g unsalted butter, room temperature
70g superfine sugar or 80g confectioner's sugar

Flavouring
4g matcha powder sifted into 1/2 the cookie dough
1/4 tsp vanilla extract into 1/2 the cookie dough
    

Sift together flours in a medium bowl. Set aside.

With a stand or hand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip butter with sugar until fluffy and pale, scraping down the sides of the bowl every minute.

Add salt and continue whipping for a minute.

Fold in or mix on low, sifted flours until just combined. 

Remove half the dough onto the counter.

Sift matcha powder to the half of the dough in the mixing bowl.  Fold (or mix on low) until evenly combined.

Add vanilla extract to the other half. Fold until all the vanilla is absorbed.

Divide each dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece into strips of about 15cm/6” long, then twist and fold these 4 strips together.

Shape the dough into a log. Fold the log and twist it once again.

Place the log-shaped dough on parchment paper and wrap it. Flatten the sides to shape it into a square. Wrap the a dough with cling film. To help keep the shape of the dough, I used an empty cling-wrap box.



Place the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight..

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F.

Slice the dough with a sharp knife into 5mm or 1/4” slices and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, keeping each cookie about 2cm or 1” apart (the cookie spreads a little due to the butter). Chill the sliced cookie for about 15 minutes, if they've begun to soften too much.

Bake the cookies 15-20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely before storing in an airtight container.


Coconut Loaf bread with butterfly pea flowers and pitaya


I made a variation of my coconut loaf, this time with butterfly pea flowers for blue and pitaya puree for a pink colours.
Well, my pitaya pink disappeared, and I was left with a pastel blue and faint brown streaks of pitaya pink.



Oh, that was one scary colour combo! Good thing, it's an edible, fragrant loaf, I don't mind the missing pink hues now :D

okay, have a happy weekend!

- Christi

Kistida's picture
Kistida

After seeing so many beautiful creative babkas for the community bake, I decided to give it a try. I read through Melissa Clark's recipe (at the end of this post) and decided maybe I can try 1 loaf with a chocolate mousse filling - this mousse is good on its own too, I smother each slice of the babka with more of this!




Dough
30g milk
30g orange juice
2 large eggs
150g all purpose flour
100g Kamut flour
30g sugar
4g salt
3g instant yeast
1/2 tsp orange zest
60g unsalted butter

Egg wash
1 large egg
1 tbsp milk
A pinch of salt

Chocolate and yogurt mousse
(adapted)

100g chopped dark chocolate
5g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder
25g milk
25g unsalted butter
25g sugar
A pinch of salt
50g Greek yogurt
40g walnuts, chopped fine

Orange syrup
40g caster sugar
50g orange juice


Preparing the dough:
Day 1: Mix milk, juice, eggs, sugar, orange zest and instant yeast. Then, add in flours and salt and mix until the dough begins to form and no dry bits can be seen. Gather the dough into a ball, cover the bowl and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Add in blobs of butter one by one, to the dough. Pinch and fold until each blob (ha!) of butter is absorbed before adding the next one. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic (this took me about 12 minutes, to get a lovely windowpane)

Stretch and fold the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover and let it rest at room temperature (about 25-26°C) for 1 hour. Then, gently deflate the dough, stretch and fold it once again into a ball. Flatten and shape it into a disc or square. Wrap in 2-3 layers of clingfilm and place it in an airtight container or resealable bag. Freeze the dough for 1 hour before transferring to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to overnight (from past experience of chilling wrapped doughs in resealable bags, directly in the fridge they grew so fat they got stuck between racks! These days I freeze, then chill)

Filling (prepare the same day as dough or 1 hour before assembly):
Chop chocolate into smaller pieces. In a saucepan, whisk together cocoa powder, espresso powder, milk, butter, sugar and salt over medium low heat. Continue whisking until all the butter is melted and the mixture is close to boiling (steam appears). Reduce heat to a simmer and sprinkle in chopped chocolate. Leave the chocolate pieces untouched in the hot milk mixture for 1 minute. Then, slowly stir with a spatula until the chocolate melts into the milk.

Remove from heat and continue stirring until the chocolate mixture is smooth and not grainy. Fold in chopped walnuts.

In a medium bowl, stir the yogurt until smooth. Fold in chocolate mixture until fully incorporated and creamy.


Assembling the babka:
Day 2 (or 4 hours of chilling later): Line a loaf pan on all sides with parchment paper with an overhang on each longer side. I fold the ends together so the dough only comes in contact with parchment paper on all sides.
 
Place the chilled dough onto a lightly floured counter. Press the dough out into a rough rectangle. Then, with a rolling pin, begin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 40cm x 30cm (16 x 12"), turning it 90° to roll each side.

Spread a thin layer of chocolate filling all over the dough leaving one longer edge about 2" space free of filling (as this mousse is a thinner than usual babka filling). Begin to roll the dough from the opposite side to the free edge. Roll the dough snug (not too tight that the dough tears) into a log. Then, let the log rest seam-side down for about 5 to 10 minutes for the edge to seal.

Then, slice the rolled log/dough in two lengthwise with a knife or bench scraper. With the exposed dough-filling facing up, twist the dough halves together, by crossing each other, with the exposed filling facing up at each cross. Gently tuck the ends under slightly while pushing both ends towards the middle, compacting the twists and the dough to fit the prepared loaf pan. Transfer the shaped babka into the loaf pan, cover and let it rise at room temperature until puffy (not quite doubled) and about 2cm (nearly 1") from the rim of the pan, about 1 to 2 hours.

Toward the last 30 minutes of the proof, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Bake:
Once the babka is ready for the oven, brush the tops lightly with egg wash (lightly beat 1 egg with milk and salt). Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 40 to 50 minutes until the tops are golden brown, carefully tenting halfway should it brown too quickly. The internal temperature of the babka should reach at least 90°C (190°F).

While the babka is baking, prepare the syrup by heating orange juice with sugar over medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, let the mixture begin to boil. Reduce the temperature to a simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool slightly before use.

Let the loaf pan cool for about 5 minutes before removing the babka from the pan with the parchment paper overhang. Brush the babka all over once removed from the pan and parchment paper. Let it cool completely before slicing.

Note: I baked my babka till 48 minutes before checking the internal temperature - entirely my fault for forgetting. The internal temperature was already 97°C. While I find this recipe a lil dry compared to others I've made before, the mousse made it all worthwhile. :)


Melissa Clark's recipe from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018045-chocolate-babka or https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/a-better-chocolate-babka/

DOUGH
1/2 cup/118ml whole milk
7g (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
67g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar, plus a pinch
531g (4 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour, more as needed
1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
140g (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing bowls and pans

FUDGE FILLING:
100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
174g (3/4cup/177ml) heavy cream or half-and-half
Pinch of  salt
170g (6 ounces) extra bittersweet chocolate, preferably between 66 and 74 percent cocoa, coarsely chopped
112g (8 tbsp/1 stick) unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
2 teaspoons/10ml vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE STREUSEL:
60g (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
45g (3 tbsp) granulated sugar
11g (1 1/2 tbsp) cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
64g (4 1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
60g (1/3 cup) mini semisweet chocolate chips

SYRUP:
135 grams granulated sugar
158g water

1. Prepare the dough: In a small saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, warm the milk until it’s lukewarm but not hot (about 43°C/110°F). Add yeast and a pinch of sugar and let sit for five to 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.

2. In an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a food processor, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla, the lemon zest (if using) and the nutmeg. (If you don’t have a mixer or processor, use a large bowl and a wooden spoon.) Beat or process in the yeast mixture and eggs until the dough comes together in a soft mass, about two minutes. If the dough sticks to the side of the bowl and doesn’t come together, add a tablespoon more flour at a time until it does, beating very well in between additions.

3. Add half the butter and beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and elastic, three to five minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Beat in the rest of the butter and continue to beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and stretchy, another five to seven minutes. Again, if the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

4. Butter a clean bowl, form the dough into a ball and roll it around in the bowl so all sides are buttered. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place (inside of a turned-off oven with the oven light on is good) until it puffs and rises, about one to two hours. It may not double in bulk but it should rise.

5. Press the dough down with your hands, re-cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight (or, in a pinch, for at least four hours, but the flavor won’t be as developed).

6. Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cream and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar completely dissolves, about five minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Filling can be made up to a week ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge. Let come to room temperature before using.

7. Prepare the streusel: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in melted butter until it is evenly distributed and forms large, moist crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips. Streusel can be prepared up to three days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge.

8. Prepare the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 2/3 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then simmer for two minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

9. Butter two 9-inch loaf pans, then line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of paper hanging over on the sides to use as handles later.

10. Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll one piece into a 9-by-17-inch rectangle. Spread with half the filling (there’s no need to leave a border). Starting with a long side, roll into a tight coil. Transfer the coil onto a dish towel or piece of plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Repeat with the other piece of dough.

11. Slice one of the dough coils in half lengthwise to expose the filling. Twist the halves together as if you were braiding them, then fold the braid in half so it’s about 9 inches long. Place into a prepared pan, letting it curl around itself if it’s a little too long for the pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1½ hours, until puffy (it won’t quite double). Alternatively, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight; bring them back to room temperature for an hour before baking.

12. When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use your fingers to clump streusel together and scatter all over the tops of the cakes. Transfer to oven and bake until a tester goes into the cakes without any rubbery resistance and comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. The cakes will also sound hollow if you unmold them and tap on the bottom. An instant-read thermometer will read between 85 and 99°C (185 and 210°F).

13. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, use a skewer or paring knife to pierce them all over going all the way to the bottom of the cakes, and then pour the syrup on top of the cakes, making sure to use half the syrup for each cake.

14. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.


Kistida's picture
Kistida

Hey everyone,
It's been very HOT lately! I'm so glad August is almost over and the weather is getting slightly cooler. On our way home from Niagara, we stopped by a branch of Panchvati for some Indian snacks and sweets. I left with a bag of Sharbati atta and murukku. I like how smooth this version of atta is compared to others. And at about 25°C, this flour made my starter double in 2.5 hours! I converted my AP/spelt starter to atta for by feeding it 1:5:5, 3 times. I'm convinced this flour would create new starters way faster (I made mine with spelt long time ago).

So, I made some breads these last few weeks between trips to Gaspésie and going for a 'shower' at the Niagara Falls (poncho kept my bag dry only). My apologies for the long post. :P

Braided atta loaf


A lil bit of instant yeast was added to this loaf as I wanted this loaf ready in a few hours and I didn't know how the atta starter worked. Baked in a 9 x 5" loaf pan at 180°C 40-45 minutes

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
165g soured milk (1 tbsp lemon juice + 160g milk)
90g atta starter (100% hydration)
1 large egg
40g sugar
2g instant yeast
207g atta flour
84g Kamut flour
64g all purpose flour
7g salt
40g ghee

Eggwash: egg, milk and a pinch of salt

Matcha coconut loaf


I made two loaves of the same bread for our trips. I wanted to see how the colors would look like with different ways of rolling the doughs. I think laminating the doughs together might give me more uniformed lines. Either way, matcha + coconut is tasty! Baked in a Pullman 9 x 4 x 4" 180°C 25 minutes with lid on, 20 minutes without. The second loaf had a longer 2nd proof because life got in the way. :)

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
115g soured milk
90g starter (100% hydration)
1 large egg
40g sugar
4g instant yeast
6g salt
200g all purpose flour
120g Kamut flour
20g unsalted butter
20g coconut oil

Just after mixing the dough:
to 1/3 of the dough:
Mix 2g matcha powder with 5g water. Add to the dough and mix until dough is pale green and smooth.

to 2/3 of the dough:
Add 20g unsweetened desiccated coconut to the dough and mix until smooth.


Blueberry sourdough with atta flour


While making blueberry compote, I reserved some blueberry skins (I read about this from: Natasha's Baking) to test with atta flour in a sourdough loaf. This is a same-day loaf that I find rose faster than the others before probably due to higher ambient temperature on that day and the flour. The blueberry skins  were laminated into the dough with some pulp. I forgot about adding a lil bit of citrus zest for a lil burst of flavor. While this was fun to make, I realize it's much too tedious just to get blueberries in the dough without changing its pigments' intensity. For a same-day loaf, this one had a light sourness which I like!

Dough
200g water
80g atta starter (100% hydration)
110g atta flour
100g all purpose flour
50g Kamut flour
5g salt
5g coconut oil
40g blueberry skins (from about 150g blueberries)
3 tbsp blueberry pulp


Onion & yogurt flatbread
Qashqari patir and qatlama layered breads



Adapted from: The Art of Uzbek Cuisine and Tasty Arbuz

Unlike piyozli that are usually rolled with onions (raw or caramelized), these were topped with a mix of chopped onion, yogurt and egg yolk.

Shaping the dough for qashqari patir was quite easy, but I wanted to see if the dough can be used in layered bread/qatlama patir instead. This method of making flaky flat bread is very similar to our Malaysian roti canai (I must attempt this soon).



The atta and Kamut made this dough soft and easy to stretch and shape. Once baked the layered version had crispy layers and tasted so good thanks to the brushing the dough with some ghee, onion topping and cheese. The normal qashqari patir is softer and chewy. Onion + yogurt + cheese =  yum!

190°C 25 to 30 minutes until the edges and topping are golden brown - I noticed Malika did not include baking temperature and time on her site.

Dough (6 flat breads)
230g *onion water
90g atta starter (100% hydration)
2g instant yeast
115g Sharbati atta flour
240g all purpose flour
7g salt
10g ghee / butter, a bit more to brush on dough for layered version

*Onion water
200g onions, chopped fine (I used Vidalia)
200g water
Short cut: mix these roughly chopped onions in a food processor with water, use 'chop' mode and pulse for 30 seconds until the onion bits are smaller than 1cm.
Pour the mixture through cheesecloth or a sieve and squeeze out the water. Set aside the leftover onion pieces for the topping

Onion topping
Onion bits
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp plain yogurt (I used plain Greek)
Optopnal: shredded cheese (I used cheddar and Swiss


Cinnamon twists


We love these cinnamon buns/twists as they're really great snacks on our road trips. I have posted one in the past, but this time, I used my other recipes. There are so many ways to shape buns, I simply spread the filling, letter fold the dough, roll it out a bit, slice into 8-12 strips, and twisted each strip until they formed a bun, almost like making a hair bun!

Bake at 180°C 18 to 25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Tangzhong
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
120g milk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
280g all purpose flour
50g Kamut flour
5g salt
a pinch of ground cinnamon
25g sugar
6g instant yeast
60g unsalted butter
10g light olive oil

Filling
15g unsalted butter, melted
80g brown sugar
15g all purpose flour
3 tsp ground cinnamon (or more)
a pinch of salt



Banana bread with blueberry compote
Here's where the blueberry compote went into.


Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then mix them together until just combined. Pour half of the batter into the greased pan, drop teaspoonfuls of compote over the surface. Top with the rest of the batter. Add spoonfuls or pipe the rest of the compote and swirl.

Bake in 8 x 8" pan (have yet to test in a loaf pan), 180°C 40 to 50 minutes

Wet ingredients
300g mashed ripe bananas, with some chunks (about 3 bananas)
50g coconut oil
30g sugar
30g brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
120g yogurt

Dry ingredients
140g all purpose flour
60g whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Filling & topping
1/3 cup blueberry compote



Banana coconut baked oatmeal


There's barely any traces of flour in this one. It is one of my favorite breakfasts with a bit of cinnamon and milk and sometimes with some fruits or berries. A tray usually gives me breakfast for about 4 to 6 days depending if hubby is eating as well or not. He eats them like a soft cookie. I place these baked and sliced bars in a resealable bag and chill them to keep moisture and air out.

Wet ingredients
300g mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
20g unsweetened desiccated coconut
240g milk
120g Greek yogurt
30g maple syrup (or honey)
1/2 tsp coconut extract (optional)
1 large egg
30g unsalted butter, melted
20g coconut oil

Dry ingredients
200g rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Topping
120g blueberries tossed in 1 tsp flour or fine sugar
Other toppings or add-ins: cranberries, toasted nuts, sliced banana, chocolate chunks/chips, cinnamon crumb or anything you like with breakfast

Mix wet and dry ingredients in 2 separate bowls. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into greased and lined baking sheet (quarter or 8" square). Add toppings and bake at 180°C for 50-60 minutes until the top is firm and golden brown.


Okay, until next time! :)
- Christi

Kistida's picture
Kistida

Happy August! :) I'm happy with the same-day sourdough loaf I made over the weekend. Shaping was ok but my scoring was completely wrong. Luckily the loaf turned out well and it's got a hint of matcha scent that I like.

Matcha Swirl Sourdough
175g all purpose flour
45g Kamut flour
10g spelt flour
165g water
70g ripe starter (100% hydration)
5g salt
5g olive oil
1 tsp matcha powder (I used culinary grade matcha) mixed with 1 tbsp water

Ambient temperature 21-24°C.
Autolyse: 2 hours
Bulk fermentation:  4 to 5 hours (30-50% increase in volume)
Final proof: 45 minutes at room temperature. 2 hours in the fridge.
Bake at 230°C for 20 minutes with lid/steam on; 20-25 minutes without lid/steam until internal temperature is at least 96°C/205°F
- I left the loaf to cool in the oven until the next day before cutting into it.


The other bakes I've made recently are:
Coffee swirl sourdough loaf (recipe here) - I used instant coffee with cocoa powder for this loaf. I think it'll be better with just cocoa powder.




Puran poli
- a stuffed flat bread typically made with a sweet lentil filling. I love the warmth of this flatbread thanks to ground ginger, cardamom and nutmeg.
I chatted with the microbiologist behind ZestySouthIndianKitchen on the alternatives to lentil for the stuffing. Swathi (or Saraswathy) was happy to explain, I could easily use chickpeas/garbanzo beans - removal of the skins took awhile.
I adapted her recipe and changed the amounts of sugars (it would be overly sweet with the amounts of jaggery and sugar) Dough preparation and cooking steps can be found on Swathi's website.



Dough:
.
200g all purpose flour
50g Kamut flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp light olive oil
1 tbsp sesame seed oil
135g water

Filling:
300g chickpeas (about 1 can)
50g brown sugar
40g sugar
1 tsp molasses
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
a pinch of nutmeg
Butter for brushing each flatbread

Filling preparation:
Wash and rinse chickpeas in cool water. Drain and place the chickpeas in medium pot. Cover with water, making sure all the chickpeas are submerged. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium low, or a simmer and let the chickpeas cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and rinse the chickpeas in cold water. Remove chickpea skins (if any), drain and pat dry.

In medium saucepan cook the chickpeas together with the sugar, brown sugar, molasses on medium heat. The mixture will become watery as the sugars melt. Continue cooking until the mixture begins to thicken.

Remove from heat and stir in ground ginger, cardamom and nutmeg powder.

With a fork, gently mash the chickpeas into a paste. This filling will thicken as it cools. Once cooled, divide the filling into 8 - 10 portions. Roll each portion into balls to be used to fill the dough.



Garlic, herb and cheese loaf
I used the same recipe for garlic herb rolls in this loaf. And increased the shredded cheese to 150g just to finish the last of my block of cheese.



Rum raisin coconut cookies
Made these without any leavening for a shortbread-like feel.


Raisins
100g raisins
1/4 cup rum

Cookie dough
80g unsalted butter
30g coconut oil
50g sugar
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 large egg
1 tbsp rum (from soaking raisins)
120g all purpose flour
10g cornflour
1/4 tsp salt
50g unsweetened shredded coconut


Soak raisins in rum overnight. The next day, drain and pat dry. Set aside excess rum.

Whisk together all purpose flour, cornflour and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°C.

In a mixing bowl, add butter, coconut oil, sugar, coconut extract and egg. Beat gradually from low to high speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add rum and continue mixing until homogeneous.

Gently fold in the flour mixture and coconut just until no bits of flour can be seen. Cover and chill the dough for 60 minutes.

Scoop 1 tbsp portions of cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. With the back of a wet spoon or finger, flatten each cookie dough to about 3cm in size. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until edges of the cookies are golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.


6" Clafoutis

We're finding cherries in every store now; since my husband hates them, I've all of them to myself (yay!)

This is a really easy dessert to make, almost similar to making Dutch babies except with less flour. I made 2 versions of clafoutis - one with cherry and one with pineapple coconut. The batter is the same for both.

Adapted from https://kellyneil.com/julia-childs-cherry-clafoutis/

25g all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 large egg
20g sugar
100g milk 
8g unsalted butter, melted
A pinch of salt 
1/4 tsp vanilla/coconut extract
30g unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted 
150g pitted cherries/diced pineapples

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Butter 6" baking pan and lightly coat with sugar.
Whisk together all purpose flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium low heat, warm butter, sugar, milk, salt, and shredded coconut until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool for 15 minutes. Add vanilla/coconut extract and egg. Whisk the mixture for 1 minute. Add in flour mixture and mix until batter is smooth.

Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into prepared pan and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. This step creates a base so that the berry/filling will not be touching the base of the pan and burn during the bake.

Remove the pan from the oven and carefully pour the rest of the batter. Arrange pitted cherries/pineapples evenly in the batter. 

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the middle of the batter is set (wobbly, not shiny). 

Remove from the oven and let the clafoutis cool slightly for about 30 minutes.



Kistida's picture
Kistida

This was supposed to be a laminated and braided loaf. I decided to use a similar recipe to my molasses bread in this loaf, together with some 6-day old sourdough discard (calculated so I can use all the discard).

Brown and white checkerboard loaf

Brown dough
10g all purpose flour (Tangzhong)
50g milk (Tangzhong)
65g sour milk*
45g SD discard (100%)
120g all purpose flour
15g Kamut flour
50g rye flour
3g caraway seeds
2g instant yeast
3g salt
20g unsalted butter
5g light olive oil

White dough
10g all purpose flour (Tangzhong)
50g milk (Tangzhong)
30g sugar
80g sour milk*
40g SD discard (100%)
160g all purpose flour
30g Kamut flour
2g instant yeast
3g salt
20g unsalted butter
5g light olive oil

*Sour milk (substitute for buttermilk): 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice, mix and leave it for at least 15 minutes. I prepare mine a few hours ahead, chilled in the fridge.

First proof: 1 hour 45 minutes at 24-25°C - White dough was almost doubled at 1.5 hours but brown dough was not as puffy so I waited a lil bit longer.

Pre-shape: Divide each dough into 8 equal parts for 2 rows of alternating colours (2x2, 16 dough balls). For a 3x3 grid, I would have to divide the same doughs to ... 54 pieces I think. Roll them up into balls, cover and let them rest for 15 minutes. Then, roll them again (my dough balls weren't equally round), before placing in a loaf pan.

Arrange the dough balls (as shown) and hopefully you've more skills than me at getting straight lines. :p


Second proof:
1 hour 20 minutes (25°C) until the dough balls were about 2.5cm / 1" from the rim.

Bake: 180°C 40-45 minutes, internal temperature registered at 97°C (90°C would've been okay)


The next bake was just to use the last two over-ripe bananas. It's the "easiest" for me since there are only 2 - 3 ingredients for the cookie and I only needed a fork to mix everything. Minimal tools and ingredients, awesome cookie. Adapted from thekitchn.

Twice-baked banana coconut cookies

Makes 20, 1 tbsp (about 2" in size) cookies
Cookie batter
2 large bananas
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Optional: 1/4 tsp coconut extract

Chocolate drizzle
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped
1/8 tsp espresso powder
1 tsp coconut oil
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Mash bananas and mix in shredded coconut (and extract, if using) until every coconut bit is drenched with banana. Scoop 1 tbsp dollops (I used an ice cream scoop) onto parchment lined baking sheets, about 2" space between each cookie.

Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Remove from the oven and with the back of a spatula, flatten each cookie to about 1cm thickness. I did this mid-bake since the batter would've been really sticky earlier on. Also, there's more banana against coconut so, it'll take a very long time to bake evenly as a mound of batter.

Return the cookies to the oven, reduce temperature to 160°C and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the cookies are golden brown. For crispier cookies, I guess you can bake to 20 minutes.

Let the cookies cool to room temperature (about 45 minutes). Or why not eat one or two while they're warm?

The next steps are completely optional but chocolate makes a lot of cookies taste good.
Melt chocolate, coconut oil, espresso powder and salt in a bowl over a bain-marie or in the microwave. Dip the base of the cookie (it's darker than the rest of the cookie, so let's hide it) in chocolate, then let it set chocolate side up in the fridge for about 20 - 30 minutes. Drizzle the rest of the chocolate (warming it a lil if it's thickened) over the top of the cookies before letting it set again.

Easier method: dip warm cookie in warm chocolate and eat. No need to chill. :P

I melted 3/4 cup of chocolate and the extra was used to make a lil saucer for the cookies. And the last bits of it went into coffee :D




Kistida's picture
Kistida

I made these rolls for a lil trip to Chertsey QC last week. Usually I make these rolls with a sweet filling like Nutella+espresso or jam. Also, I wanted to try using buttermilk in the dough, and this resulted in lovely soft rolls!

Garlic, herb & cheese rolls:
Tangzhong
20g TZ flour
100g TZ milk

Dough
All of the TZ
120g buttermilk*
100g SD discard (100% hydration)
1 large egg (+2 tbsp milk, whisk, then remove 2 tbsp to be used as egg wash)
320g all purpose flour (mine has 12% protein)
60g Kamut flour
5g instant yeast
20g sugar
7g salt
30g unsalted butter
15g light olive oil

*Buttermilk - I used store-bought cultured buttermilk here and homemade version (soured milk) in subsequent bakes and I find making this from scratch is easier especially when I can use either lemon or orange juice - 1 tbsp juice/vinegar to 1 cup milk, cover and leave it to curdle for about 15 minutes.

Garlic, herb & cheese filling:
6 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley (1 tsp of dried, I think?)
a pinch of dried rosemary
a pinch of dried thyme
1/4 cup onion, chopped
30g unsalted butter
1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1st proof: 70 minutes (I believe my starter helped here)
Shaping: deflate and gently stretch the dough, then with a rolling pin, roll to about 18" x 12". Spread filling (except cheese) all over the dough leaving 1" of the longer edge clear. Sprinkle 2/3 of the cheese. Lightly flatten and brush the clear edge with water. From the opposite longer edge, roll the dough up and seal the edge. Cover and let this rest for 5 minutes. Then, slice the dough into 15-16 rolls. Place pretty side up in a lined bake sheet. Gently brush with egg wash, sprinkle the remaining cheese.
2nd proof: 60 minutes (preheat oven 30 minutes into the proof)
Bake: 180°C 20 to 25 minutes


The next bake was a Sourdough coffee & walnut mischbrot (mixed bread) since it's pretty good as a cake, I figured why not in a loaf. :)

(it does look like the molasses bread doesn't it? This one is all nutty and full of coffee flavor)

Tangzhong

20g TZ flour
100g TZ milk

Dough
All of the TZ
120g buttermilk
1large egg
150g stiff starter (50% hydration)
90g rye flour
180g all purpose flour
60g whole wheat flour
1 tbsp espresso powder
A pinch of cocoa powder
50g brown sugar
7g salt
15g light olive oil
50g toasted walnuts, chopped

Baked in a 9x5 glass loaf pan at 160°C for 45 to 50 minutes until internal temperature is at least 93°C/200°F.

For the next bake, I wanted to make coffee swirls! At the same time, there was a number of chores to run, so I left a piece of dough in water for the bulk this time. Almost 5.5 hours later, the lil dough was floating. I know this method isn't the right way to determine when bulk ferment has ended but it's easy! There's a thread on this here (I dunno if I'd soak a shaped loaf in water though)



Sourdough Coffee Swirl Milk Loaf



Tangzhong

20g TZ flour
100g TZ milk

Dough
All of the TZ
110g buttermilk
150g stiff starter (50% hydration)
45g sugar
1 large egg
260g all purpose flour
60g kamut flour
7g salt
50g unsalted butter
10g light olive oil

With espresso swirl, to 400g dough:
Dissolve 2 tsp espresso / instant coffee powder, a pinch of cocoa powder in 1 tsp water. Add to the dough, pinch and fold, knead until fully absorbed.


Roll the plain dough to a rectangle and the coffee dough to a smaller rectangle to fit 2/3 of the plain dough (I did not measure here). Lay the coffee dough over the plain dough, letter fold twice. Cover and rest for 15 minutes. Then roll to about 10" x 15", slice the dough into 6 strips (this depends on the type of braid, usually I make 3 - 4 strand braids). Make two braids, roll the ends under and place in a buttered pan (9x4x4). Cover and proof (24°C about 2.5 hours)

Bake at 180°C for 35 - 40 minutes until the internal temperature is at least 93°C/200°F.


The final bake (from yesterday) was made from leftover carrot purée. I made two loaves of swirly loaves as gifts and decided to use the remaining purée for our own loaf for the weekend. (yes, buttermilk and a braid, again)

Carrot + orange milk loaf

Tangzhong
15g TZ flour
75g TZ milk

Dough
All of the TZ
70g carrot purée
100g buttermilk
40g sugar
zest of 1/2 orange
4g instant yeast
1 large egg
340g all purpose flour
60g Kamut flour
6g salt
10g light olive oil
50g unsalted butter

Pullman 9x4x4 
Bake at 180°C for 25 minutes with the lid on, 15 - 20 minutes with lid off, or until internal temperature registers at  93 - 97°C/200 - 206°F.

Kistida's picture
Kistida

Made 2 versions of molasses bread before making others this last 2 weeks or so. One with toasted walnuts and one with drunken raisins - accidentally soaked the raisins in whiskey instead of rum, resulting in puffy, pretty strong tasting drunken raisins. Must make mistakes like this more often!

 

 

Molasses Bread
Makes 1 loaf
160°C/180°C 40 - 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 88-95°C

Tangzhong:
20g all purpose flour
100g milk

Dough:
All of the TZ
200g all purpose flour
150g Kamut flour 
60g whole wheat flour 
6g instant yeast
6g salt 
160g milk
100g molasses 
2 tsp lemon juice 
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 
A pinch of allspice/ground cloves
50g unsalted butter
10g light olive oil
Optional: 3/4 to 1 cup raisins soaked in water, juice or rum, overnight. Drain and pat dry or, 100g toasted walnuts, chopped 

 

Next one was Pain brié. This is always a favorite of mine thanks to its soft crumb and buttery taste. This time, I made it using my liquid starter with a lil bit of salt to slow the fermentation a little bit.


Sourdough Pain Brié
2 small loaves
220°C/430°C 15 minutes with steam, 10-15 without.

Stiff Starter 60% - 8-12 hours:
10g starter (100% hydration)
290g all purpose flour 
172g water 
1g salt

Dough:
150g all purpose flour 
150g kamut flour 
140g water or 160g milk 
10g salt
50g unsalted butter

Yesterday, I made was a sourdough tea-infused loaf. Basically, I just wanted to have a favorite tea in my bread (and there are several more to try). Milk is slowly infused with tea over a simmer, then used in the dough the next day. I used chamomile and lavender tea here with butterfly pea flowers for a pastel blue swirl. The baked loaf has a light scent of chamomile, while the lavender’s gone. 

 

Sourdough Tea-infused loaf 
Makes 1 loaf 
160°C/ 180°C 40-50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 88-95°C

Stiff starter 50% hydration: 
30g stiff starter
50g water
90g all purpose flour
10g whole wheat flour
10g sugar 


Tangzhong
:
100g infused milk*
20g all purpose flour 


Dough
:
All of the TZ
180g stiff starter
160g all purpose flour
100g Kamut flour 
50g whole wheat flour (or 150g kamut for lighter crumb)
6g salt
30g sugar/honey 
160g infused milk*
10g light olive oil
30g unsalted butter


*Tea-infused milk - boil then simmer 15 minutes, cover and chill overnight 
400g milk
15g honey 
5 x chamomile & lavender tea bags

Optional: 30 x Butterfly pea flowers
 

The dough is mixed with 120g milk then, 10g with salt. 20g milk is heated to create a blue milk with butterfly pea flowers. After mixing in butter and oil, the dough is split to 2 equally before mixing in the remaining 15g plain and blue milk respectively. This bit is tedious and I could’ve just make two doughs from scratch…but for the lazy me, there’s less mixing time this way. 


The other bakes and makes:
The other small batch goodies I made were pineapple tarts (used 2 egg yolks in the pastry dough), followed by pastila (used the 2 egg whites, sugar and lots of apples), 2 batches of espresso biscotti with spelt and mocha ganache - recipes at the bottom of the post :)

 

 


For the dragon boat festival this year (14 June; next year it’ll fall on 3 June) I made steamed rice cakes and nyonya-style sticky rice dumplings (zongzi), 2 of my late grandmother’s favorites. These were my first attempts and I’m so happy with the results!  Despite having trouble folding the bamboo leaves (my hands can’t quite fold them like my grandma), some filling and rice leaked, they cooked up soft and fragrant thanks to small pieces of Pandan leaves, bamboo leaves and spices in the filling. The rice flour that I used had a strange smell to it. The steamed cake had a chalky taste to it! Will have to test this recipe with a different brand or make it from cooked rice next. 

 

Here are the other recipes:

Pineapple tarts
Adapted from: https://rasamalaysia.com/best-ever-pineapple-cookies-pineapple-tarts/
160°C 25 minutes, until golden brown

Pastry
175g unsalted butter, room temperature
50g sweetened condensed milk
1 egg yolk
230g all purpose flour
20g cornflour
5g salt
Egg wash: 1 egg + 1 tbsp milk + a pinch of salt

Pineapple jam (tart, lightly sweetened)
1 pineapple, diced, or 2 x 400g cans
1" cinnamon stick
2 cloves or 1 star anise
1 tsp lemon juice
50g sugar (use 30g for canned pineapples)



Pastila
Adapted from: https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/329836-pastila-master-apple-russian-treat

8 apples (or 6 large apples)
100g sugar
2 egg whites
A pinch of ground cinnamon

 

Espresso biscotti
Adapted from: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/barista-biscotti-bites-recipe

Biscotti
120g all purpose flour
120g spelt flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
80g unsalted butter
90g brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp coffee extract
2 to 3 tsp espresso powder
2 large eggs
60g dark chocolate chips
60g toasted walnuts or almonds, roughly chopped

Easy mocha ganache
150g dark chocolate chips
30g milk
10g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp espresso powder

Steamed rice cake: https://whattocooktoday.com/bai-tang-gao.html
Nyonya Zongzi: https://whattocooktoday.com/nyonya-chang.html & https://mykitchen101en.com/nyonya-chang-nyonya-glutinous-rice-dumplings/

 

 

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