So before I have a chance to decide on color schemes and formatting for my blog, I decided I had to write a post.. now... like NOW.. afterall it is 1am.. and seeing that I started with doing ONLY nocturnal baking 3 years ago to fight insomnia, I felt like it had to be now that I wrote my first blog post. so here it goes!
I've been pretty busy studying for the LSATs so I haven't had as much time to bake as I thought I would. Insomnia is no longer a problem because now I am a grandma and enjoy sleep whenever I can get it. I think another reason why I haven't been baking so much has to do with the fact that I'm a nervous eater..and I have no one to give away my treats to... and therefore there is no reason I should tempt myself with fresh baked goods everyday...
however...that doesn't stop me from foodgawking and browsing blogs in my spare time and mentally bookmarking recipes that I see on foodnetwork at the gym. After reading all about making fluffy asian bread with the tangzhong/water roux method, I grew extremely curious about how fluffy and soft the bread from this recipe would be... It seemed like a pretty long process and from my experience with making croissants a couple years back... it just wasn't worth the time when I could buy a box for five bucks at pavillions in less than five minutes.. anyway, back to the story... one day mom and I went to the asian bakery.. made our way through the war zone of asian moms.. picked out our buns... and paid twenty bucks.. we sat in the car and devoured our buns savoring the taste and smell of fresh baked bread.. wait rewind.. twenty bucks...for some buns that probably cost less then two dollars to pump out... Yeah... thats when I decide I had to give this tangzhong a shot...
after taking my practice test friday morning.. I decided that today was the day that I would make my own asian baos!!
First I made the recipe for the tangzhong
Tangzhong
Ingredients
1/3 cup bread flour
1 cup water
Directions
1. Mix flour and water together and whisk until it is completely dissolved and no lumps remain.
2. Pour mixture into a small pot and turn on medium heat. Begin stirring constantly as the mixture heats up. Whisk until the mixture thickens up and you begin seeing lines!!
3. Transfer to bowl, cover with cling wrap so that the wrap is literally sticking to the tangzhong...
4. Pop it in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight!!
After the tangzhong was done... infinite possibilities began running through my head... pineapple bun?? whole wheat toast?? green onion bun? creamy corn bun...? cranberry swirl?? then it hit me... HOT DOG BAO!!! Anyway, I ended up compromising and using half the dough for cranberry swirl and the other half for hot dog bao, sweet & savory with one batch of dough.. btw, anyone notice how all the chinese breads taste the same.. but with different toppings and fillings? Anyway here is the recipe I used!
Ingredients:
Hotdog Roll directions:
4. Roll out each portion of dough with a rolling pin, then roll up with dough like a cigar horizontally.
5. Turn the dough vertical and try your best to flatten out the roll. You'll end up with a long rectangular shape. Once again, roll the dough from bottom up into a cigar.
6. Slowly roll the dough to lengthen it, work your way from the center out. You should end up with a rope like piece of dough the length of your rolling pin.
7. Wrap the rope dough around the hotdog and let it proof on the baking sheet for about an hour.
8. Brush top with egg white and bake for 30 mints at 330 degrees.
So at the end of my bread making session, which officially ended last night... I had either given away or eaten all the cranberry bread and hotdog bread from the previous day... luckily I was ready to give it another go and made another sweet and savory combo, cranberry swirl bread.. and then I sub'd the cranberries for pork sung, chinese dried pork. I must say that was the best one out of the three breads that I made.
I've been pretty busy studying for the LSATs so I haven't had as much time to bake as I thought I would. Insomnia is no longer a problem because now I am a grandma and enjoy sleep whenever I can get it. I think another reason why I haven't been baking so much has to do with the fact that I'm a nervous eater..and I have no one to give away my treats to... and therefore there is no reason I should tempt myself with fresh baked goods everyday...
however...that doesn't stop me from foodgawking and browsing blogs in my spare time and mentally bookmarking recipes that I see on foodnetwork at the gym. After reading all about making fluffy asian bread with the tangzhong/water roux method, I grew extremely curious about how fluffy and soft the bread from this recipe would be... It seemed like a pretty long process and from my experience with making croissants a couple years back... it just wasn't worth the time when I could buy a box for five bucks at pavillions in less than five minutes.. anyway, back to the story... one day mom and I went to the asian bakery.. made our way through the war zone of asian moms.. picked out our buns... and paid twenty bucks.. we sat in the car and devoured our buns savoring the taste and smell of fresh baked bread.. wait rewind.. twenty bucks...for some buns that probably cost less then two dollars to pump out... Yeah... thats when I decide I had to give this tangzhong a shot...
after taking my practice test friday morning.. I decided that today was the day that I would make my own asian baos!!
First I made the recipe for the tangzhong
Tangzhong
Ingredients
1/3 cup bread flour
1 cup water
Directions
1. Mix flour and water together and whisk until it is completely dissolved and no lumps remain.
2. Pour mixture into a small pot and turn on medium heat. Begin stirring constantly as the mixture heats up. Whisk until the mixture thickens up and you begin seeing lines!!
3. Transfer to bowl, cover with cling wrap so that the wrap is literally sticking to the tangzhong...
4. Pop it in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight!!
After the tangzhong was done... infinite possibilities began running through my head... pineapple bun?? whole wheat toast?? green onion bun? creamy corn bun...? cranberry swirl?? then it hit me... HOT DOG BAO!!! Anyway, I ended up compromising and using half the dough for cranberry swirl and the other half for hot dog bao, sweet & savory with one batch of dough.. btw, anyone notice how all the chinese breads taste the same.. but with different toppings and fillings? Anyway here is the recipe I used!
Ingredients:
2½ cups bread flour
3tbsp+2tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
½ cup milk
120g tangzhong (half of the tangzhong made)
2 tsp rapid rise yeast
3tbsp+2tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
½ cup milk
120g tangzhong (half of the tangzhong made)
2 tsp rapid rise yeast
3 tbsp butter (melted 30 seconds in the microwave)
Directions
1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tangzhong, then add into the well of the dry ingredients. Knead until your dough comes together and then add in the butter and continue kneading. I hand kneaded it and it took around 20-30 minutes.. You know you're done when you can perform the window test!
1. Combine the flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tangzhong, then add into the well of the dry ingredients. Knead until your dough comes together and then add in the butter and continue kneading. I hand kneaded it and it took around 20-30 minutes.. You know you're done when you can perform the window test!
2. Knead the dough into a ball shape. Take a large bowl and grease with oil. Place dough into greased bowl and cover with a wet towel. Let it proof for 40 minutes.
3. Transfer to a clean surface. Divide the dough into six equal portions. Knead into balls. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.
Cranberry Swirl directions
4. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Cover with cranberries, roll your rolling pin over the cranberries to secure the spot.. and then fold the bottom of the oval up to the middle and then fold the top of the oval down to cover the bottom flap.. sort of like a 3-fold letter.
4. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Cover with cranberries, roll your rolling pin over the cranberries to secure the spot.. and then fold the bottom of the oval up to the middle and then fold the top of the oval down to cover the bottom flap.. sort of like a 3-fold letter.
5. Flip the dough so the folds are facing the down and then roll the dough out to a rectangular shape turn the dough around put another layer of cranberries. Once again, roll the rolling pin over the cranberries and then begin to roll the dough upwards like a cigar.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the rest of the portions and let it proof a second time for 60 minutes.
7. Brush the tops with egg white and pop it in the oven for 30 mins at 330 degrees.
Hotdog Roll directions:
4. Roll out each portion of dough with a rolling pin, then roll up with dough like a cigar horizontally.
5. Turn the dough vertical and try your best to flatten out the roll. You'll end up with a long rectangular shape. Once again, roll the dough from bottom up into a cigar.
6. Slowly roll the dough to lengthen it, work your way from the center out. You should end up with a rope like piece of dough the length of your rolling pin.
7. Wrap the rope dough around the hotdog and let it proof on the baking sheet for about an hour.
8. Brush top with egg white and bake for 30 mints at 330 degrees.
So at the end of my bread making session, which officially ended last night... I had either given away or eaten all the cranberry bread and hotdog bread from the previous day... luckily I was ready to give it another go and made another sweet and savory combo, cranberry swirl bread.. and then I sub'd the cranberries for pork sung, chinese dried pork. I must say that was the best one out of the three breads that I made.
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