Hailam Bread aka Kopitiam Roti

I grew up eating Hailam Bread aka Kopitiam Roti.  My grandma's neighbour who is a Hainanese, owns a coffee shop and we often play in her backyard.  

The bread is usually shaved off it tops and then the man who manned the stall will first lightly toast the bread, then he will slap on thick layers of butter and kaya on this white toast and served it with coffee.

To my knowledge, there are still a few such authentic bread shops around, 2 such bakeries are located in Whampoa area and I often buy them whenever I was in that area.

When I saw BA sharing this recipe, it definitely brought back many memories and I am sure it did for others as it was so well received by those who baked it.

So I am documenting this for my children, just so one day, when they are curious as to what I have eaten when I was young.  Simple food and yet rich in soul.

Learnings: The dough was quite sticky, I had problem doing the vertical folds.  Anyway, managed to use the scrapper to "dislodge" the dough from the counter and roll it up. (I only lightly floured the work area as I do not want the flour to alter the texture of the bread).

Also I did not use shortening as I have none at home.

I did not bake that long so I did not get that deep brown top and I also brush some honey to get a golden top instead

Source

What you need:

325g bread flour
25g sugar
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp yeast
200g water
20g shortening (I used butter)

Method:

Grease a 8 X 4 X 4” bread tin.

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix to form a rough dough.

Knead until it became elastic (pass window pane stage).

Remove and shape into a ball,  place in an oiled bowl and proof until double in size.

Gently flour the work counter, degas the dough, and using a rolling pin to flatten out the dough to roll to a rectangle.

Fold in both ends of the vertical side to meet in the middle.

Gently flatten the dough with the roller and roll to form a log.

Seal the edges and place it in the bread tin, cover with cling film and let it proof to lightly touch the rim of the pan.

Bake at 190⁰C for 40 min,

(1^st 20 minutes on 2nd rack from bottom & the last 20 mins on the bottom rack.   The last 10 mins, place a foil over it to prevent it from getting darker).



Enjoy!