Medjool Date Whole Wheat Bread with Cracked Wheat

This bread has an interesting combination: medjool date provides a hint of natural  sweetness, whole wheat flour and cracked wheat add more nutritional values and anise seeds give the bread an unique aroma.

                 

Ingredients to make one 13x4x4 loaf:

Day one:

Preferment:
132g all purpose flour
43g whole wheat flour
111g water

½ tsp instant yeast

Mix all the above ingredients. Cover and let it sit in room temp overnight.

Soaker:
83g water
83g cracked wheat, toasted in a skillet until slightly browned

Mix water and cracked wheat. Cover and let it sit overnight.

Day two:

Main Dough:
207g whole wheat flour
119g all purpose flour
1 tsp instant yeast
223g water
25g sugar
25g unsalted room temp butter
2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
10g salt
100g dried date, pitted
1½ tsp anise seed, toasted in a skillet until lightly browned
All of the preferment and soaker

1) Mix and knead all the ingredients together for the final dough, by hand or stand mixer. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
2) Let it rise in a warm spot until it is at least one and a half times of its size.

3) Shape and put in an oiled loaf pan and let it rise again at least one and a half times of its size. Or almost to the rim of the pan.

4) Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 45 mins.

100% Whole Wheat/Grain Sandwich Bread 全麥/穀麵包

I think most of us know eating whole grain is beneficial to our health. However, making 100% whole wheat/grain bread is really a challenge. The sharp edge of the bran cuts short the gluten and makes the bread dense rather than soft. One way to tackle this is to allow the whole wheat flour to soak enough liquid so the bran is softened.

Chocolate and Walnut Babka 猶太麵包

" Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf. Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. By each stack put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant"         Leviticus 24:5-8

「你要取細麵烤成十二個餅，每一個餅用兩公斤細麵。 你要把餅擺列成兩排，每排六個，放在耶和華面前精金的桌子上； 把純乳香放在每排餅上，象徵這些餅作獻給耶和華的火祭。 每一個安息日，亞倫都要把餅擺在耶和華面前，不可間斷，這是以色列人永遠的約」      利未記 24:5-8

November Cooking Class 十一月烹飪班

Sourdough Rye Bread 裸麥包

It is amazing how four simple ingredients--flour, water, yeast and salt (plus time and patience)--can produce such a nutritious and flavorful food that human beings have consumed since thousands of years ago.

This is my first time using rye to make bread. Rye is very different from wheat. Although rye flour has similar gluten producing proteins, there is virtually no gluten formation. It has more bran, mineral, fiber, soluble sugars, pentosans, and amylase enzymes than wheat flour. All these differences make baking with rye a bit challenging. In particular, amylase will cause the bread crumb to have more of a gummy texture in a process called "starch attack" (I am not going to go into details here. For more information, read Hamelman's book, Bread, p40-42)

Oatmeal Bread (No Knead Method) 燕麥麵包(免揉)

"Most bread produced in factory bakeries in the industrialized world is made without the critical step of fermentation.....Dough conditioners, flavorings, processing aids, gums, fats and additives are used in an attempt to save one precious thing, TIME....They mix, shape, and bake a loaf in less than an hour. A baker using traditional methods and actual fermentation may take up to 72 hours."  by Martin Philip, head baker of King Arthur Flour, "Breaking Bread" (emphasis added).

Hong Kong Milk Tea and Bo Law Bao program update

A limited number of tea filters and blended tea leaves will be available for purchase following the program. First come first served.

Date: 12/2/2017
Time: 2pm
Location: Norwood Library in El Monte, California

Molasses Oats Bread 燕麥麵包

Molasses is a thick and sticky by-product of the sugar refining process. It is more nutritious than granulated sugar because it contains iron, vitamin B, calcium, and magnesium. Usually unsulfured molasses is used in baking or other cooking recipes. Avoid blackstrap, which can make the baked goods bitter. Oats are a common breakfast staple. Besides using it to make oat meal, it is widely used in baking such as bread, cookies, granola, etc. The molasses lend the bread a sweet flavor, moist crumb, and crunchy crust, and the oats compliment the bread by giving it a hearty texture. It is great toasted and spread with butter or used as sandwich bread.

Dill Bread using Tong Zhong 香草麵包

The recipe for this bread originates from a small Jewish community near Tunisia. I figured instead of making egg-related foods for Easter, I would make this bread. The aroma of onion and fresh dill is irresistible!

Cinnamon Walnut Braided Bread 肉桂核桃麵包

This is one of my favorite sweet bread. It is good for breakfast, afternoon snacks, or whenever !

Pork Sung Roll 肉鬆麵包卷

I called it the Taiwanese version of cinnamon roll. Instead of using sugary filling and glaze, it is replaced by pork sung and topped with shredded cheese. Any type of bread dough, like tong zhong, whole wheat or all white, etc, could be used. Perfect option for those who prefer savory instead of sweet bread.

Coffee Bun 咖啡味墨西哥包

It is often said that we eat with our eyes. I totally agree with that. Presentation, plating and color coordination enhance the appeal of a dish tremendously. Yet another important factor that attracts our attention is aroma.

This coffee bun is an good example. I am drawn to this bun not only by its aesthetic but by its strong coffee aroma. I seldom drink coffee but its aroma is so attractive that it makes me want to take a bite. This bun is similar to the bo lo bao/pineapple bun, except the crust is not as crunchy.

Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Bread 核桃肉桂麵包

I always get excited about learning, no matter if it is new knowledge, technology or, of course, new recipes.

Until recently, I did not know about this kind of bread, called Povitica. It is a Croatian sweet bread. For Croatians, Povitica is a very common gift between friends and families. This culture is very similar to gifting of mooncakes during Mid Autumn Festival for the Chinese.

Although Povitica is similar to cinnamon rolls here in America, it has its own characteristics. The dough needs to be rolled out as thin as possible and it does not need a lengthy second rise as in making regular yeast bread.

And the filling is decadent: lots and lots of ground walnuts with cinnamon and cocoa powder, all of my favorites. Perfect choice for the Holidays.

Please read the recipe and the notes at least once before you begin for best results.

Purple Rice Bread 紫米麵包

If you are like me who eat bread on a daily basis, do you get bored with white toast or whole wheat bread? Here is something different: whole grain bread, not only with whole wheat flour, but also with rice.

This is my first time using rice to make bread. I should have made it earlier! It stays soft for 3-4 days in room temperature, just like tong zhong bread.

Purple rice is also called black glutinous rice or sticky black rice. It is one of the fragrant type of rice. Cook it in a rice cooker and cool before adding to the bread dough.

Sliver Thread Roll 銀絲卷

"Fun to eat and easy to make" is the best description of this dim sum bao. A variation of mantau, the sliver thread roll is made by cutting the dough into many thin strips and wrapping them together in a bundle. The most common way to enjoy it after breaking open the outer layer is to pull out and eat the threads one by one. Some people like to dip it in condensed milk. I like the deep fried version: the outer layer is crispy while the threads inside are still soft.

I have been searching for a good English translation for the name of this bread: sliced roll, bread roll, etc, but I've given up and am now using my own translation.

For a successful roll, please read the whole recipe and pay attention to the notes below.

Seeded Whole Wheat Bread 全麥種子麵包

Since I started making my own bread a few years ago, I have almost exclusively been using the Tong Zhong method. It gives me consistently soft and fluffy bread that lasts up to four or five days at room temperature. However, I learned this is not the only method for soft, long-lasting bread.

I have been exploring new ways to make bread with a higher percentage of whole wheat. Most breads that are labelled as whole wheat in the market are made with only 30% whole wheat flour while the majority is white bread flour. I think the main reason is not so much the cost but the nature of wheat flour.

Steamed Char Siu Bao 蠔皇叉燒包

Happy New Year to all my blog readers!

As this blog approaches its fourth year, I would like to start a new series. This is the first post on the dim sum series, with more to follow. Stay tuned.

Every time I go to a dim sum restaurant, char siu bao (BBQ pork bun) is one of my must-have dishes. Inside the white, fluffy, and sweet bao is char siu with oyster sauce. It is so easy to gobble one down in less than a minute. Believe it or not, I have been trying to make a decent char siu bao on and off for more than three years.

Herb, Garlic and Cheese Pull-Apart Bread using Tong Zhong 香草蒜味湯種麵包

Just by looking at the name of this bread, you can imagine how fragrant your kitchen will be while it is in the oven. This savory version of monkey bread is great to accompany a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner!

光是看到這麵包的名字你便可以想像到它所散發出的香味是多麼的吸引，這款咸味麵包肯定在聖誕大餐桌上大受歡迎 !

Wheel-Shaped Bread 車輪包

A recent trip to Hong Kong has brought back many memories....the place where I was born and raised has changed tremendously since my last visit there many many years ago.  The most noted change is the overwhelming dominance of jewelry, drug and cosmetic stores on major roads throughout the tiny city. It is reported that there are more than 37 jewelry stores in one segment on Nathan Road. It certainly reflects what drives the economy of Hong Kong.

Amid all these changes, I managed to find some familiar places in the neighborhood where I grew up--the old apartment and the kindergarten where I spent my childhood.

Sourdough using All Natural Levain 天然酵母麵包

Warm summer days are good for eating ice cream, right? Besides making lychee ice cream, I also make good use of warm room temperature to cultivating levain (levain is a French word derived from Latin, meaning to rise). Making a levain culture from scratch takes a lot of time, care, and patience. If you plan to go away on vacation for a few days, do not begin the culture. It takes 5 days for the culture to mature before it is ready to be used. Even though it sounds a long time, but it takes only a few minutes each day to feed and maintain it.