Bread Days: Adventure IV

On this bread-making venture, I made a few rustic loaves that are delicious and nutricious. It was also an excuse to try out a few different techniques with baking, shaping and slicing as well as a new kind of starter.
The loaves I made included two rustic, round quinoa loaves; two blue cheese and walnut loaves and a fig and orange breakfast loaf.
The quinoa loaves were experimental, using a ratio of 1:1:1 unbleached flour, whole wheat flour and quinoa flour made from ground up quinoa grains. The result was an incredibly moist crumb with a thick, crunchy crust giving off the distinct earthly aroma of the quinoa. Fantastic with butter!

 

The blue cheese and walnut loaves was an experiment conducted with a pre-ferment or biga, a starter that uses 3 1/2 cups of flour, 1/4 tsp of yeast and 2 cups of warm water, mixed together and left overnight to ferment. Although the loaves were delicious in flavor thanks to the blue cheese and crunchy walnut combo, I was disappointed with how the crumb turned out; it was too dense. I will have to retry the pre-ferment again next time.

The fig and orange loaf was an extra that I made when I found a small package of figs and since I dislike how it tastes alone, I decided to chop it up and throw it in some dough to make bread, with some orange zest.
IT WAS SUPERB! Better than cinnamon and raisin bread, with a moist crumb and amazing crust. Now I have a reason for those sweetened figs.

This bread adventure was very experimental but the most success came out with the crust of the breads. I made sure to keep my oven at a very high temperature all the while keeping it humid, whether with a pan of water boiling under the racks or spraying the oven with water in the first and last 10 minutes of baking; this ensured my crust was crunchy but left my crumb moist and delectable.
More bread to come!!!

Bread, Bread and More Bread!

I love bread. Hands down, I love baking fresh bread and go through all the waiting and anticipation in the preparations, proofing, kneading, shaping and baking. I love it.
I made Kobacha bread, made of kobacha squash which gave it a golden yellow color.
I made cheesy jalapeno bread, so fluffy and savoury that it's deliciousness should be a sin ahaha!
And...I made a sun-dried tomato foccacia....
And...plain potato bread in rustic loaf form.
Yum, yum, yum!

Simple Breakfast....

...That I could barely swallow cause my throat hurt so bad :( I HATE being sick...
Despite that, I think the pics turned out nice :)
Over-easy eggs on a bed of smoked maple flavoured tempeh "bacon" on buttered, sliced rye. Simplicity PWNS!

 

MUNCH!

Egg-stravaganza!

Geese egg, duck eggs, factory-produced hen eggs, quail eggs

I am always amazed at the selection of eggs available in the markets in Vietnam. You get the factory produced eggs, the range eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, geese eggs, ostrich eggs and of course, different types of balut (which I will not discuss now).
Anywhos, I went out and got a few selections and the kinds I fancy most are duck eggs and geese eggs. Duck eggs are hard to come by in the western world and geese eggs are just as rare.

During my stay in Vietnam, I had nice sunny-side up hen eggs with Vietnamese baguette. Yet, since I have adventurous culinary-blood, I decided to poach duck eggs and soft boil geese eggs in the following days, to see what the difference in texture and taste would be like. And I must say...poached duck eggs are supremely delish and geese eggs have a fantastically big, rich yolk.

Hen Eggs

Sunny-side up hen eggs

 Duck egg-whites are firmer than hen eggs and the yolk is much bigger. To some, duck eggs may have a distinct smell, most likely due to the fact that ducks are water birds.

poached duck eggs

 

Look at the gooold!!

 I soft boiled a geese egg but forgot to take a picture...oops. Geese eggs are not "smelly" like it's duck counterpart and are much larger in yolk size. The yolk thickens quicker though, so eating it is tricky when you have so much gold to mop up with your bread :)

Nested Egg (Attempt #1)

This idea was introduced to me by a co-worker. It's a rendition of "toad-in-a-hole" or "eggs-in-a-basket" with the yolk and white separated. The white is whipped into a meringue and then filled into a hole in a slice of bread. the yolk is gently placed into the meringue then baked until the meringue is golden brown. I made this for a quick breakfast for myself and my best friend. I also sauteed some portabella and tempeh together for a quick side.
I liked how the presentation looked but I think this is something I need to try again, as in better meringue and other preparations.

Sweet Buns "Banh Mi Ngot"

My mom absolutely loves these sweet buns found in Chinese bakeries so I tried to make them at home. I searched up several recipes and finally emerged several recipes into my own. My method does not use a "bread paste" as a starter but I will try one in the the near future for my bread baking.

Sweet Bread Buns 

1 cup warm water
5 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 or 1 cup of sugar (depends on how sweet you like it)

2 eggs, beaten
5 tbsp oil

2 tsp salt
4 ½ cups of all purpose flour

Egg wash:
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp sugar

1.      Place yeast and sugar in a bowl. Add in water and whisk to dissolve. Let proof for 10 minutes.

2.      In a saucepan, heat milk, vanilla, butter and sugar while stirring; DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Remove from heat and let cool till warm to touch. Add in beaten eggs and stir with a wooden spoon till smooth. Add in oil.

3.      In a large bowl or a mixer bowl, add in 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixture. Mix by hand or a dough hook until combined. Add in milk mixture and continue to mix. Add in a cup of flour and the salt until it is fully incorporated; then add in another cup of flour. Repeat until all of the flour is used up and a sticky ball of dough is formed.

4.      Turn sticky dough on a smooth, clean surface, dusted with flour. Knead for 5-7 minutes adding more flour until dough is smooth and not longer sticky. Knead into a big ball. In a large bowl, grease with 2 tbsp oil and place dough inside. Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Celsius.

5.      After 1 hour, dough should have raised double in bulk. Grease a round cake pan or a rectangular baking pan. Cut dough with a knife into equal portions, making each portion weigh around 50-70 grams; roll up into balls. Assemble into pans, leaving a bit of space between each ball for expansion.

6.      After you are done assembling, cover with a towel and leave for 1 hour.
Prepare egg wash by beating egg, sugar and milk together.

7.      After 1 hour, brush with egg wash, and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.(DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR WHILE THE BREAD IS BAKING)
When bread is done, let cool for 5 minutes, loosen sides with butter knife and remove from pans; transfer to racks and cool completely.

Good luck!!

Pink Pancakes: Stacks of Love

Happy day-early Valentine's Day to those who are luckily in love or those who celebrate this "holiday." This year I am single but that doesn't mean I can't share a bit of my love.
This irresistibly sweet stack of love is perfectly fit for this occasion. Pink Pancakes studded with chocolate chips, stacked between layers of Smuckers strawberry jam, smothered with bittersweet chocolate sauce and topped with a dollop of whipped cream and pink mint and chocolate chips. Can you feel the love yet?

Balsamic Eggs Benedict

A Healthier Version of Eggs Benedict (if you can believe)

"In marble walls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold."

What am I?

You probably guessed the answer: An Egg. 

 Ever since my first Eggs Benedict I have been addicted to poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. This time, I took a little twist on this classical dish and instead of using regular vinegar to poach the eggs, I used balsamic vinegar. The hollandaise I made this time is a bit thicker and healthier because instead of butter, I used extra-virgin olive oil (recipe adapted from Chef Gordon Ramsay). Also, I actually used English muffins instead of cut-out toast and instead of veggie ham, I used sliced hot house tomatoes. So, perfectly poached eggs on English muffins, tomatoes and smothered with hollandaise, a dash of pepper and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The rich and creamy hollandaise goes well with the slight sweet n' tanginess of the balsamic vinegar.
I think next time I will make a balsamic vinegar reduction for extra flavor.

 Balsamic Eggs Benedict

Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of cayenne powder (optional)

In a stainless steel bowl, place in egg yolks, and whisk for 3-4 minutes over a pot of simmering water until yolk mixture thickens and is a pale yellow.

Remove from pot and gradually add in olive oil, whisking constantly until fully incorporated.

Whisk in lemon juice and season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne.  Keep sauce warm by placing bowl over a pot of low simmering water until serving. Best if served immediately.

Poached Eggs

2 fresh eggs

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Bring a medium pot of water with 1 tsp salt to a high simmer and add in the vinegar.

Crack one egg into a custard cup or bowl. Stir water rapidly to create a vortex and gently slip egg into the water. Repeat with the other egg.

Cook for 3 minutes or until the eggs begin to float and the egg whites are set and firm. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and dab on a towel to dry.

Preparation

1 English muffin, sliced in half or 2 crumpets, buttered and toasted

2 slices of hot house tomatoes

Salt and pepper

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Place tomatoes on the toasted English muffin and dash with salt and pepper. Top with the poached egg. Drizzle with the hollandaise sauce and balsamic vinegar. Top with some black ground pepper.

Remember, the perfect poached egg is when you cut into it, and the yolk comes streaming out!

Enjoy!!

Apple Pies and Apple Muffins

Left to right, counter clock-wise: Apple Pie, Apple Streusel Pie and Apple Muffins

Happy September!!!
I have been in a baking mood lately, and since I still had sooo many apples on my apple trees, only one answer echoed in my mind: apple pie.  This famous, and irresistible pastry filled with warm, cinnamony sliced apples is love and comfort. The flaky crust is perfect and oh-so-easy to make; justifying the saying, "as easy as making pie." The filling was the same recipe that I used in my Pleasurably Blissful Cheescake recipe. I had left over filling and enough dough for one crust so I also made an Apple Streusel Pie.
Also, I still had many apples left, so I diced them up, candied them, and made muffins. I am such an apple freak lol.

Apple Pie

Oh-So-Easy Flaky Crust
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup butter
5 tbsp or more of cold water

In a food processor, pulse together flour and salt. Add in shortening and butter and pulse until flour and fat resemble course crumbs. Slowly add in water and pulse until mixture is moist enough to form a firm ball.
On a floured surface, remove dough, and knead once and divide into two balls, one being slightly smaller than the other.
With a floured rolling pin, roll the bigger circle onto the pin and lay onto a 9 inch pie pan.
Add in filling. Brush edges of pie crust with water or milk and drape other dough onto the pie, remember to add slits or cut out a small whole to let steam out. Or, you can also cut the top circle into strips and weave them onto the pie. Crimp edges and brush top with a mixture of milk and sugar or a beaten egg to form a nice wash (I sprinkled some brown sugar on mine).
Bake in an oven at 300 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes.
Serve with ice cream for extra indulgence!!

Process of Apple Pie

Eggs Benedict

Alright. I have never poached an egg before, nor have I ever made Eggs Benedict. This is my first attempt and it was quite successful. Instead of actual ham or bacon, I used slices of vegetarian ham, pan fried with butter for extra flavor. Also, I ran out of English muffins and there was not a crumpet in sight so I used what I had-whole wheat bread. I used the edge of a glass to cut out circles the size of the ham slices and toasted the bread. I somewhat over toasted the toast but it softened with the hollandaise sauce and yolk so it was all good. And the hollandaise sauce, one word: HEAVEN. I absolutely LOVE it! I will definitely be using this sauce for future purposes.
As for poaching the egg, I will have to time it a bit longer, since the white wasn't completely solidified in one of the eggs. I am hoping to poach eggs in wine or balsamic vinegar in the future for a different kind of flavor shot.

Eggs Benedict (on toast)

Show me the gold!!