Category: Life

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Posted on

Savory

Let’s try some different flavors. Sprinkled a bit “everything but bagel” on the top and a layer of pepperoni. Actually not sure about the pepperoni, but going to add it anyway. Bake the bread in an 8″ cake pan.

Well, the pepperoni is all burned as I thought. Compare to pizza the bread is bake in low heat over much longer time. Oh well, maybe roll the pepperoni in the bread next time.

  • flour-mix
  • tangzhong
  • ingredients-mix
  • dough-mixed
  • kneaded
  • first-rise
  • round-shaped
  • everything-but-the-bagel
  • pepperoni
  • burned-pepperoni
  • round-savory-bread

Substituting butter with vegetable oil for this one. The dough was so liquid and sticky, I cannot even knead it. I can only stretch and fold it over and over. Added sun dry tomato, sun dry tomato pesto, and a few slices of pepperoni. The bread turned out okay, not great. It’s not as crispy as with butter. Well, no more vegetable oil.

  • very-sticky-dough
  • something-inside
  • italian-flavor
Posted on

湯種

Tangzhong: the quick and easy path to softer, more tender dinner rolls, sandwich loaves, and cinnamon buns.

Yvonne Chen

Making the Soft Asian Bread

Was searching for ways to make the soft Japanese bread and found this Tangzhong (湯種) method popularized by a Taiwanese cookbook author Yvonne Chen. King Arthur Baking have a few recipes and blog posts dedicated to this method.

The Basic Bread

On Friday I used the classic sandwich bread recipe from King Arthur Baking with the tangzhong technique. The bread came out so soft and fluffy we finished the first quarter before it was even cooled off. One issue was that I divided the dough into four parts and the loaf came out kind of flat. Next one I will do only three or two parts.

Raisins & craisins

So, we finished that one the next day. This time I will make one with raisins and craisins. Splitting the loaf into only two parts worked out much better. Need to remember to place the loaf evenly in the middle of the pan next time for it to rise evenly for the 2nd rise.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups (360g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup (113g) milk or water
  • 2/3 cup (152g) hot water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough
  • 4 tablespoons (57g) melted butter or 1/4 cup (50g) vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons (8g) salt
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Instructions

Edited based on my own procedure

  1. Dissolve the active dry yeast in 1/3 cup of warm water.
  2. Melt the butter in a toaster over.
  3. Tangzhong technique: Begin by taking 3 tablespoons of the measured flour and 1/2 cup of the measured water; put them in a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens and forms a thick slurry; this will take about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer the cooked mixture to a bowl, let it cool to lukewarm.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients, flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Push the ingredients to form a crater in the center of the bowl.
  5. To make the dough: Pour the remaining water, yeast solution, melted butter and tangzhong into the crater. Mix the dry ingredient into the liquid starting from the center until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough in the bowl or on a lightly greased surface for 10 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple.
  6. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, place the bowl in a warm oven, and allow the dough to rise until puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.
  7. Gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly oiled work surface. Divide the dough in two halves and shape each half into a roll.
  8. Place the two rolls in a lightly greased loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly. Towards the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 350°F.
  9. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until it’s light golden brown. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with a digital thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf).
  10. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Posted on

Two & Three

Last time I cut all the ingredients in half to make one loaf, this time, I use the full amount to make two. Use the standing mixer, focused on kneading the dough thoroughly this time.

Did not know how to shape the dough properly at the end. Also, the dough was kind of dry and would not stick together. Though with better texture, but still drier than I like. The crust was really nice, almost like scone.

The second try
The second try

Update: Wednesday 10/25

Same ingredient, make the dough by whisking dry ingredients into the well of yeast water gradually. Instead of kneading the dough, pulling and folding it over and over for about 10 times. Still it was not sticky at all. Properly divided the dough and shaped it at the end. Came out even better than the last one. Lasted for a couple of days without drying up like the last one.

Make the dough
Third time is the charm
Third time is the charm

Posted on

Bread

Everyone needs a hobby. I had done a lot of workout, especially push ups, during the pandemic. Now I want a new hobby, might as well start with making bread.

Starting with this easy recipe. Took about 3 hours from start to finish. The loaf is a bit stiff and too sweet. Will be cutting down on sugar for the next time.

First, made from scratch, loaf of bread

Excerpt from Easy Home Made Bread Recipe

  • 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 5-6 cups flour –You can use all-purpose flour OR bread flour!
  1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
  2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time.
  3. Knead dough for 7 minutes. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
  4. Punch dough down. Knead for 1 minute and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two greased 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30-40 minutes.
  6. Cool, brush with butter and enjoy!
Posted on

Quiet Desperation

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things. -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Posted on

Connecting The Dots

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. – Steve Jobs

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. – Steve Jobs

Thinking a lot about the words from Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement address recently. About death and connecting the dots.