Monday 30 March 2015

Ermine Frosting Red Tea Bread 奶油馅红茶面包


A soft and mild red tea flavoured bread roll filled with vanilla ermine frosting. The ermine frosting uses milk roux to substitute part of the butter and sugar content of the heavy buttercream. A nice combination which is not so rich in taste :)

Yield: 8 pieces of 13cm long buns 
Appliances: Whirlpool Breadmaker BM1000
Raw dough weight: 326  g

Ingredients

140g hot water 热水
2 red teabags  红茶包

10g condensed milk 炼乳
20g softened unsalted butter 无盐奶油, 软化
25g raw sugar 黄砂糖
1/8  tsp salt 盐
15g beaten egg 蛋液

145 + 10g bread flour 高筋面粉*
15g top flour 低筋面粉

1/2 tsp instant dry yeast 速发干酵母

* As the water content in the wet tea leaf varies, so the additional 10g of flour to be added as necessary during kneading depending on the dough wetness.
*由于湿茶叶的含水量会不同,因此额外的10g 高筋面粉是在揉面团时视面团的含水量而加入。

Direction
1. Pour 140g of hot water into a heat resistant container with 2 red teabags. Cover and allow the teabags to steep for about 10 minutes.

2. Remove the teabags and squeeze dry. Set aside.

3. Collect 90g of the red tea and add  condensed milk and butter to it.



4. Pour the tea mixture from (3) into the bread pan.

5. Add in raw sugar and salt.

6. Pour in the beaten egg.

7. Cut open one teabag and add the tea leaves to the bread pan.

8. Add in the bread flour and top/cake flour.

9. Dig a hole with your finger and pour in the instant dry yeast.

10. Place the bread pan into the bread machine.

11. Select function 8 "Dough" kneading, and press "Start".

12. Remove the bread pan from the bread machine and invert out the dough onto a well-floured surface.


13. Flatten the dough with your palm to remove the trapped air.

14. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, about 40g each. Roll each portion into ball shape and place in a covered utensil to rest for 15 minutes.



15. Roll out a dough into a round flat dough.
B

Fold in 1/3 of dough towards the centre, and overlapping by the other 1/3 from the opposite end.


Lightly roll flat the dough and fold it into half. Pinch to seal the joining edge.


Sprinkle some flour over, and roll it into a long rope shape.

16. Place the dough onto a non-stick baking pan sprinkle with some flour.

17. Spray some water and transfer the dough into a closed oven.  Allow the dough to proof for about 30 minutes.
The dough proof faster in a warm oven.


18. Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius.

19. Brush the doughs with egg wash.

20. Bake the dough at 170 degree Celsius for about 16 to 18 minutes at middle rack.


21. Let the buns cooled down over a wire rack.




Ermine Frosting
Ingredients 
80 g whole milk 全脂牛奶
9g all purpose flour 中筋面粉
Pinch of salt 盐
75 g unsalted butter 无盐奶油
30 g icing sugar 糖粉
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 香草精

Direction
1. Whisk flour into milk and heat over low flame.

2. Stirring regularly till the mixture thickens. When you lift up the whisk, the drizzle is able to form a thread.

3. Add pinch of salt and stir well. Cover with a sheet of food wrap, and let it cools down.


4. In a separate bowl, whisk softened butter till fluffy. Add icing sugar in 2 batches into the butter and whisk for about 5 minutes. If the butter is too soft, let it cool in the fridge for about 2 minutes before continue to whisk.


5. Add vanilla essence and blend well.

6. When the milk mixture from (3) has completely cool down, add it by tsp to the butter mixture using a hand whisk.
At the end of the mixing, you'll get very light, fluffy and buttery cream frosting.



7. Transfer the frosting to a pipping bag fixed with 1M nozzle and keep in the cool place. Before frosting, keep the bag of cream in the fridge for about 10 minutes. This helps the frosting to hold better in our hot tropical climate.

8. When the bread rolls have completely cooled down, cut a slit and pipe in the ermine frosting. Enjoy :)
Although ermine frosting is able to hold its shape in normal room temperature, it's best to keep it cool.




Wednesday 25 March 2015

Breadmaker Chocolate Cake on Bread 面包机巧克力蛋糕面包


A delicious sweet loaf combining both bread and spongecake together. The slice was good enough to eat without any bread spread. Bread baked in breadmaker tends to be drier due to a longer baking time. In this recipe, the sponge cake helped to keep the loaf moist after baking. The bread even remained soft and moist till the next day.

The only hurdle in the recipe was finding the right time to prepare and pour the spongecake over the bread dough in the midst of proofing. I was lucky to succeed in my second attempt. My first bake rose to a dangerous height of almost overflowing the pan only 15 minutes into the 1 hour baking. The bread was salvaged after baking in the oven
Maybe I'll try baking it in the oven for a fluffier texture without the size restriction of the breadmaker :)

Yield: 13Lx10Wx13H cm
Loaf weight: 458g

Ingredients
135g bread flour 高筋面粉
15g top flour 低筋面粉
25g raw sugar 黄砂糖
10g condensed milk 炼乳
15g beaten egg 蛋液
1/4* tsp instant dry yeast 即发干酵母粉
1/8 tsp salt 盐
90g soya/fresh milk 豆浆/鲜奶
20g unsalted butter 无盐奶油

* if your breadmaker has a bigger or deeper bread pan, you can increase the yeast amount to 1/2 tsp for a fluffier texture.

Direction 
1. Pour soya/fresh milk, condensed milk and unsalted butter in a heat resistant bowl.
Keep warm in a rice cooker for about 10 minutes.
This step is optional. I prefer to work with warm ingredients :)



2. Pour the warm ingredients from (1) into the bread pan.

3. Add in the sugar and salt.

4. Pour in the beaten egg.

5. Add in the bread and top/cake flour.

6. Dig a hole and pour in the instant dry yeast.

7. Place the bread pan into the bread maker. Select "dough" function and start the process.



8. The dough is ready.

9. Sprinkle some bread flour over both the work top and dough before inverting it out.

10. Flatten the dough to remove the trapped air.
The dough maybe quite sticky, so wear a pair of disposable gloves to handle it.

11. Fold in the four sides of the dough. Cover with a lid and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.





12. While resting the bread dough, wash the bread pan and lightly coat it with butter. Set aside.

13.  After the rest, with the folded side facing down, sprinkle some flour over the dough.

Roll the dough out into a long flat dough. The width of the dough should correspond to the length of the bread pan.

Flip the dough over again, so the smoother side will be facing out when roll up later.

14. Roll up the dough starting from the shorter end.



15. Lower the dough into the bread pan. Lightly press the dough to ensure the dough has an even height. Spray some water, cover with a sheet of food wrap, and let it proof in a closed breadmaker for about 45 to 60 minutes, or till the dough reaches almost 1/2 the height of the bread pan.



When the bread dough reaches about 1/2 the height of the bread pan. You can start to pour the chocolate spongecake batter.

If you're a slow worker like me, you'll need about 20 to 30 minutes to prepare the spongecake part. So I started preparing it while the bread dough was about 15 minutes into proofing. 

Avoid preparing the spongecake batter too early as the air bubbles may burst causing the cake to lose its leavening power.

Chocolate Cake 巧克力蛋糕
Room temperature Ingredients 室温材料

25g top/cake flour 低筋面粉
10g cocoa powder 可可粉
2 egg yolks 蛋黄
10g fine sugar 细糖
10g vegetable oil 植物油
15g milk 牛奶

2 egg whites 蛋白
1 tsp lemon juice 柠檬汁
20g fine sugar 细糖

Topping 表面装饰
1 tbsp almond flakes 杏仁片

Direction 
1. Mix top/cake flour and cocoa powder in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Beat egg yolks and sugar till pale yellow.

3. Add in vegetable oil and blend well.

4. Sieve and fold in flour mixture from (1) and milk in alternative manner.
Start with 1/2 of the flour mixture, then follow by 1/2 of the milk. Repeat for the remaining ingredients.
Set aside.


5. In a clean, dry and grease-free bowl add egg white and lemon juice. 
Beat using an electric hand mixer till frothy, for about 30 seconds. Add in the sugar in 3 batches. 



6. Beat at high speed at the start and reduce to low speed towards the end of the process. Beat the meringue till almost reaching stiff peak stage, the meringue will stay in an inverted bowl without falling off.

7. Scoop about 1/3 of the meringue into yolk batter from (4). Fold to mix.


8. Pour the mixture back to the remaining meringue and fold to mix.



9. Pour the batter onto the bread dough. Lightly bang the bread pan a few times to remove any trapped air bubbles in the batter.



10. Transfer the pan to the bread maker to bake. 


11. Select function 12 "bake", select your desired browning colour, and start the baking process (about 1 hour).

To have a better browning effect, cover the window with a piece of aluminum foil.

12. About 5 minutes into baking, or when the surface starts to form a dry layer, lays some almond slice over it.
Close the lid and continue the baking process.

13. When the baking is over, remove the bread pan from the bread maker, and allow it to cool down for about 2 to 3 minutes before inverting it out into a cooling rack.


14. Slice the bread after it has completely cool down. Enjoy :)