Pandan Sponge Cake

My sugi and pandan plants are growing at an alarming rate and I needed to prune it back.  Since I have a batch of homemade pandan extract and I needed to bake for a charity event, so I try this Pandan Sponge Cake.

Learnings: I baked this without water bath method and in 2 X 6" cake tins as the organiser requested for us to cut into small serving size. 

It needed 15 mins at 130°C and then slowly up to 150°C for another 10 mins.  Am happy that it brown nicely.

Initial bake, I used butter but hub feels the one with the coconut oil has a stronger fragrance.

The texture is also soft and cottony with a nice hint of coconut taste.  Maybe next time, I will change the milk to coconut milk.

Note to self: For this event, I used 4 times the recipe.

Thanks CS for sharing this great recipe.

Adapted

What you need:

100g cake flour
5 egg yolk (approx 65g each)
10g pandan juice (homemade)
70g milk
40g butter (I used coconut oil)
1 tsp vanilla essence

5 egg whites
100g sugar

Method:

Preheated oven of 150°C.  Prepare 7" round tin in water-bath. (I dry baked)

Sift cake flour.  Set aside.

Warm up pandan juice, milk and butter to lukewarm.

Add in cake flour and mix well.

Add in egg yolk one by one and whisk well.

Add in vanilla paste and blend well.

In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy, drizzle in sugar slowly while beating until soft peak.

Fold 1/3 of the meringue to the egg yolk batter and fold in the remaining meringue.

Bake for 40 mins. Remove the water-bath and continue to bake for another 30 mins.  (I have modified the baking time as above)

Enjoy!

Cheese Roll

I have a slab of frozen puff pastry and some hard cheddar cheeses that I needed to clear.

So this Cheese Roll will be just nice as snack. 

Learnings: This is so easy to prepare and it is definitely hardy if you needed a quick snack.  Very yummy.

What you need:

Frozen puff pastry

Butter, softened

Hard cheese of your choice (I used hard cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese)

Black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C.  Lined baking sheet.

Brush a layer of butter over the puff pastry.

Spread a layer of cheese evenly.

Sprinkle ground black pepper over it.

Roll the pastry tightly.

Cut into 1 cm thick.

Bake for 10 - 15 mins or until golden.

Remove and cool completely on rack.

 Enjoy!

  

Beef and Cheese Roll

Today, I shall try a savoury bread instead of a plain or sweet one.    This Beef and Cheese Roll nice for a change.

Learning: I must not be afraid to put more fillings.  Still need to figure out how to roll them up without spilling all over.

Note to self: I used 1/2 a bowl of filling.  Next round, should try to add more.

Overall, the dough is very soft and fluffy and has a hint of chewiness to it. 

What you need:

2g instant yeast
1 tbsp water

6g salt
150g bread flour
150g plain flour
20g olive oil
180g cold water

Method:

Mix yeast with water and set aside until foamy.

Combine salt, bread flour, plain flour, olive oil and cold water.  Mix well.

Add in the yeast water and knead until smooth.

Shape into a ball and let it proof for 30 mins.

Divide dough into 2 and shape into a ball again.

Oiled 2 bags and place dough into one each.  Seal and let it chill for 24 hours.

Flour work surface and remove dough.  Degas and shape into a ball.

Roll into an oblong and place minced beef and cheese over.

Roll up and sealed well.

Put onto baking sheet, cover and let it rest for 10 mins.

Glaze with egg wash.

Bake at 190 deg for 15 mins or until golden.




Enjoy!

Pizza (soft dough)

We have not eaten a homemade pizza for quite a while so today, I am trying out another recipe.

This pizza dough yield a soft texture and personally I quite like it.

What you need:

500g bread flour
5g instant yeast
5g salt
50g olive oil
250g water

Method:

Combine yeast and 1 tbsp water (from the 250g).  Set aside for it to foam.

Mix bread flour, salt, water, olive oil and yeast mixture.  Knead until elastic.

Shape into a ball, cover and let it proof for 30 mins.

Divide into 100g balls and shape into rounds.

Cover and let it rest for 10 mins.

Roll into a disc and top with pizza sauce and your favourite toppings.

Bake at 180 deg until cheese till golden.



Enjoy!

Swirl bread

I bought a cube bread tin during my last holiday.   It was an impulsive buy at first because I find it cute but subsequently I regretted not getting a pair.

Anyway, today I shall try out this Swirl bread.

Learning: I failed in my mission to turn this into a cube bread.  I shall try again.  Nevertheless the bread is very soft and fluffy.

Another learning point is that I must roll out more and try to fold as tight as possible for it to have more swirl.

What you need:

150g bread flour

30g wholemeal

20g cake flour

1/3 tsp salt

1/3 tsp instant yeast

20g sugar

10g milk powder

25g unsalted butter, room temp

110g water
1 small egg

Mix to form a paste

10g cocoa powder

15g water

Method:

Combine water (110g) and flours together and mix to form a rough dough.  Let it sit for 1 hour.

Add in the remaining ingredients (except butter) and knead until smooth.

Knead in softened butter until it reached window pane stage.

Shape into a ball, cover and let it rest for 1 hour or until double in size.

Punch down and divide into 2 portions.  

Shape into a ball for the white and cover and let it rest for 10 mins.

For the chocolate, knead in the chocolate paste until evenly distributed and shape into a ball.  Cover and let it rest for 15 mins.

Flatten with a rolling pin for both flavours.  

Roll into an oblong for both portions.  The width should be the same as your cube pan.

Stack chocolate onto white dough and roll tightly into a log.

Pinch the sides and the seam.

Cover and let it proof for 40 mins.

Bake 25 – 30 mins at 180°C.

Enjoy!

Spelt and seeds Sourdough Bread (same day)

Decided to revisit this recipe again.  

This time, I decided to incorporate spelt flour into it as i still have a small balance and wanted to finish it up before getting a new batch.

As my family prefers seeds and nuts bread so this time, I added in more seeds.

I am so motivated in making bread these days as I found a kaki that encourages me each day with her beautiful bread.  Thanks W!

Now, let's me share with you my Spelt and Seeds Sourdough Bread (same day).

Findings:  Though some like their crumb shot to have lots of air pockets but I rather have less as it is easier to lay on my fillings.

I also noticed that my seeds are rather lopsided.  So next round, I have to take care to eventually distributed them.

Source

What you need:

200g bread flour
200g spelt flour

250g water ( an additional 100g come from the starter making a total of 70% Hydration) 

200g Levain (Levain is 50% of total flour )

10g Salt (2%)

20g flaxseeds, toasted
20g sesame seeds, toasted
15g pumpkin seeds, toasted

Method:

Mix bread flour and water in a mixer and with a paddle hook, stir in slow speed for 2 – 3 mins.  Let it rest for 15 mins.

Change to hook and add in the Levain. Knead another 6-8 mins till you can feel the window pane appear.

Transfer the dough to a bowl or container and add salt and gently give a few folds. Leave it for 3 hours.

During 3 hrs bulk ferment, do 3 stretch and fold (S and F) at beginning half and hour interval).  Add seeds on the last S and F.

Pre-shape and rest 20 mins in room temperature (29 to 31°C).

Do a final shaping and transfer to a banneton and leave it to proof for 45 min to an hour at room temperature.

Preheat the oven, with the Dutch oven, to 260°C.  

While the oven is preheating, place banneton into fridge for 40-60 minutes to stiffen the dough to aid scoring. Best to "eyeball" when final proofing is done.

Take out the dough from fridge and do a scoring.

Transfer to your dutch oven and put it into oven. Lower the temp to 230°C for 25 mins and bake with the cover.

Uncover the dutch oven and lower to 200°C and bake another 20 mins  until surface is golden brown. (Please adjust individual oven heat accordingly)

Remove bread and let it cool for 1 hour before slicing. 

Enjoy!

Walnut and Raisin Multigrain Sourdough bread (Same day)

Playing with my sourdough again after a long break.  Here is a Walnut and Raisin Multigrain Sourdough bread.  

I added walnut and raisin as I noticed that my hubby tends to favour more on such bread.

This time I did not use a dutch oven.

What you need:

15g flaxseed 

150g bread flour

20g rye flour
30g wholemeal flour

125g water (an additional 50g come from the starter making a total of 70% Hydration) 

100g Levain (Levain is 50% of total flour )

5g Salt (2%)

Handful of walnut, toasted and chopped
Handful of raisin

Method:

On low heat, pan toast the flaxseed until it starts to crack.  Set aside.

Mix bread flour and water in a mixer and with a paddle hook, stir in slow speed for 2 – 3 mins.  Let it rest for 15 mins.

Change to hook and add in the levain. Knead another 6-8 mins till you can feel the window pane appear.

Transfer the dough to a bowl or container and add salt and gently give a few folds. Leave it for 3 hours.

During 3 hrs bulk ferment, do 3 sets of stretch and fold (S and F) at beginning ½ hour interval).

Add in chopped walnut and flaxseed.

Pre-shape and rest 20 mins in room temperature (29 to 31°C).

Do a final shaping and transfer to a banneton and leave it to proof for 45 min to an hour at room temperature.

Preheat the oven, with the Dutch oven, to 260°C.  

While the oven is preheating, place banneton into fridge for 40-60 minutes to stiffen the dough to aid scoring. Best to "eyeball" when final proofing is done.

Take out the dough from fridge and do a scoring.

Transfer to your dutch oven and put it into oven. Lower the temp to 230°C for 25 mins and bake with the cover.

Uncover the dutch oven and lower to 200°C and bake another 20 mins  until surface is golden brown. (Please adjust individual oven heat accordingly).

Remove bread and let it cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!