Tangzhong Sweet Potato Bread - Breadmaker

I've always been fascinated by purple sweet potatoes. How it makes your food all pretty and pink and purple. So girly and pretty! The last time I baked with it was 5 years ago! How time flies! The purple sweet potato bread then turned out so wonderful, I had to do it again. But this time round I wanted to try a different method, so this is my tangzhong method sweet potato bread loaf!

I'm using the bread maker machine to do the 1st stage of kneading and proofing for me. But because my little boy likes cheese sticks bread from Bread Talk, I'm taking some dough out to make some cheese sticks.

The result was good, the bread was moist, fluffy and tasty. There wasn't any distinctive sweet potato flavour, but the bread does have this slight alcohol smell. Was it the sweet potato or was there too much yeast? I'm not sure. But more importantly, the kids loved it. :)

120 gm tangzhong
100 gm cooked sweet potato
50 gm whisked egg
150 ml milk (lukewarm)
40 gm honey
½ tsp salt
300 gm bread flour
50g wholewheat flour
2 tsp instant dried yeast
25 gm butter, melted

1. Make the Tangzhong with 120ml water and 24g flour (click here for how to make tangzhong) 
2. Using a fork, stab the sweet potato all over and microwave it for about 4 minutes. Scrape out the flesh. You need about 100g. 
3. Add all ingredients (except butter) into the breadmaker, the wet ingredients first, then followed by the dry ingredients. Select the “dough” mode, which should knead the dough and go through 1st round of proofing. When the machine kneads the ingredients into a dough, add the butter and let the machine do the rest of the work. 
4. When done, transfer the dough onto a clean floured surface. I needed to make some cheese sticks so I will divide into 4 portions. If you are only doing the loaf, deflate and divide into 3 equal portions will do. 
5. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Roll flat and stretch, then roll into a cylinder. With seal facing down, place in a greased sandwich loaf tin. Cover up and complete the 2nd round of proofing, (about 1hr+) until it’s doubled in size.  (the dough broke when I forced open the cover! Maybe should oil the cover?)
   
6. Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing or storing in an airtight container.

For the Bread Talk Bakery style of cheese sticks, so I took out a 1/4 of the dough to make some.

1. After STEP 4, roll the dough into small log shapes and let it proof until it is double in size. (about 1hr+)
   
2. Brush whisked egg on surface gently, sprinkle with cheese and drizzle with mayonnaise. For cheese I used the leftover pizza mix cheese, consisting of cheddar, Parmesan and mozzarella.
3. Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

Fruit and Nuts Bread Loaf - Tangzhong Method

Many friends, family and acquaintances always commented that my husband must be a very lucky person, to be able to enjoy all the bakes I make regularly. But the truth is, my husband doesn't have a sweet tooth like me and would only try my bakes when I ask him to. So when he requests for something, I know I need to go all out to make it happen.

One day he causally asked if I could make a fruit and nut loaf. He's like a mouse and loves to nibble on dried fruits and nuts! I on the other hand, have the impression that fruit and nut bread loaf are dry and boring. But since he requested it, I will make it happen!

Since it's home-made, I decided that those crappy dried fruit at the baking aisle will not do. Instead, I hunted down those good quality trail mix with huge raisins, great variety of nuts and even dried figs in it! On top of that, we recently bought a huge packet of dried blueberries, so that will be in the loaf too. So luxurious!

Next I looked for a good bread dough recipe. I'm thinking of a fluffy and moist bread dough to go with the fruit and nuts, so it's Tangzhong again for me. Hey, if it's not broken, why fix it?

So let's put two and two together!

Bread dough
210 gm bread flour
40 gm wholemeal flour
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Instant Yeast
1 Egg (lightly beaten)
100 ml Milk
20 gm Butter (softened)
1 batch of Tangzhong

Filling
Good quality trail mix with nuts and dried fruits
enough juice to soak the dried fruits

1. Pick out the dried fruits and soak in juice for at least an hour. You can use it as it is or chop into smaller pieces. 
2. Prepare the bread dough with the bread maker using the "DOUGH" mode. The recipe for the dough is here . 
3. Dust the kitchen counter, take out dough and roll out the trapped air. Divide the dough into 3 portions and roll into a long rectangle. Sprinkle the nuts and fruits onto the dough and roll it up tightly from the long end up. 
4. Butter your loaf tin and place the rolls in. Cover loosely with a clingwrap and let it proof until it doubles in size. Gently brush some egg wash on top of the loaf (careful not to brush onto the pan. Makes it hard to unmould later) 
5. Bake it in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. When it's done remove loaf from pan to cool off in a wire rack.

I didn't grease the pan and the loaves stuck. They fell apart when I try to shake it out! (T-T)

Didn't roll tight enough, causing a huge air pocket.

Flaws aside, it was a very good bread. Bread was soft yet chewy, the fruits and nuts added so much flavour and texture to it. Even a person who don't like fruits and nut loaf (I meant me) will love it!

This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Thanks for reading my blog. Do check out my other posts and click on the advertisements! It really helps! Thank you and have a good day!

Brown Sugar Banana Bread 黑糖香蕉面包

I seem to have a habit of buying recipe books and not "using" them. So I left clear instructions to the kids NOT to eat the last banana left. I need the last one to try out a new recipe from my newly bought bread maker book (麵包機新手的第一本書).

The original recipe was for a sandwich loaf. But I was feeling a little creative that afternoon, so I made the recipe into little individual bear buns instead. I was on the fence on whether to add fillings to the buns or not. But since there's banana and brown sugar inside, I decided to just make it plain.

The recipe is so easy to make and the bear was so cute! But I would definitely skip the egg wash the next time as it turned out too brown!

90g Milk
90g Banana Puree
20g Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
230g Bread Flour
20g Wholewheat Flour
20g Unsalted Butter
3/4 tsp Instant Yeast
black food colouring

1. Put all ingredients in to the bread making machine and select "DOUGH" mode. This will mix, knead and proof the dough for you. If you don't have a bread maker: 
• Make sure all ingredients are in room temperature. 
• Mix the yeast with the milk and wait for a few minutes until the yeast blooms. 
• Put all ingredients except butter into a mixer with a paddler attachment and mix it all up. 
• Once the ingredients are well mixed, add in the butter. Switch to the hook attachment and knead the dough in medium speed for about 10-15min. 
• Remove the hook and cover up the bowl with cling flim and proof until the dough double in size.
2. When the dough is ready knock out all the air and weight it. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
3. From each piece cut out about 5 grams and cut it into 2 pieces for the ears.
4. Roll all the dough into balls. Place them into muffin tins, add the ears. 
5. Cover the muffin tin with a clean tea towel and let it rise again for about 20 minutes.
6. Using a toothpick and black food colouring, draw eyes and nose on the bears.
7. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degress celsius for 15 minutes.
8. Cool on a wire rack before eating!

The next morning, I toasted the bears a little and spread a little peanut butter for the kids. They loved it! For me, I'm a Nutella fan, and Nutella on banana buns was SO DIVINE! Maybe next time I'll wrap it inside the buns.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Bread With Cheese

I was recently in Hong Kong and I came across this big bookstore in Hysan Shopping Centre. As usual, I headed straight to the cookbooks section and a book caught my eye. It says 麵包機新手的第一本書 (The first book for bread making machine amateurs). Hmm sounds like me. Haha.. But I do like it that the author has alot of interesting ideas for different flavours. I also like it that it has alot of step-by-step photos.

This is the 1st recipe I'm trying from the book and so far I like it. Well, I did make slight adjustments to the original recipe, but it still works.

1. Original recipe uses 40g of cream cheese instead of butter. I don't have any, so I opt for butter. Will try cream cheese next time.
2. Original recipe is actually a sandwich loaf. I divide into 12 pieces and wrapped cheddar cheese cubes in them. YUMS.

They say sweet potatoes are super food, so I guess this must be one nutritious bun! Because it's supposed to be a sandwich loaf, it's not sweet. So if you like it sweeter, you can add some more sugar. I like it as it is. Soft, fluffy and goes well with the salty cheese in the middle. Thumbs up!

110g milk
120g sweet potato mash
15g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Whole wheat flour 30g
Bread flour 220g
Butter 40g
3/4 tsp Instant yeast

Cheddar cheese cubes (about 2cm cubes)
Extra milk for brushing

1. Cut sweet potatoes into small cubes and steam them under high heat for about 10mins, or cooked through. Mash them up and set aside 120g to cool. 
2. Place all ingredients except for the cheddar cheese cubes into the bread making machine pan and select "DOUGH" function. 
3. When the dough is ready flatten it out and roll it up again into a log. Cut out 12 equal portions. (I weighed the whole dough and divided the weight by 12. Which is about 45g each.)
4. Flatten each dough, place a piece of cheese in, pinch it together to close and gently roll the dough to smoothen it. Place it seam side down into a muffin tray. 
5. Proof for 30-45mins. 
6. Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 10-15mins. 
7. Gently brush milk on top of buns before baking in a preheated oven for 20mins. 
8. Remove buns from muffin tray to cool on wire rack. Best eaten warm!

Tangzhong Wholemeal Milk Bread (Bread Machine)

I think I found it.

My dream was to be able to replicate a loaf of store bought bread with my bread maker. I'm not ashamed to say that we love our store bought bread. We love it so much that we can finish the whole loaf before the week ends. So I think it's cheaper to make our own bread instead of having to buy it. Besides, I see it as a personal accomplishment. :)

The problem is, everybody claims that their recipe is soft/moist/fluffy, but they still turned out a little dense. I think it's because the Westerner's preference in bread is different from us Asians? So I tweaked my search to "soft asian bread maker recipe" instead. The results were mainly Hokkaido Milk Bread and Tangzhong Bread. I didn't have any whipping/heavy cream on hand, so I did the Tangzhong method last night.

If you see my last blog on Tangzhong bread, it explains that a water roux with a 1 : 5 (bread flour : water) ratio is added to the ingredients, resulting in a soft, fully and moist bread.

I am SUPER happy with the bread. Very touched. Very 感动. Finally, a bread that is SOOO close to the ideal texture! It's soft, very fluffy and quite moist. It was an emotional morning. :') Thank you The Wonder Mummy! See how soft the bread is!



OK, before we go to the recipe, please TAKE NOTE!

• The original recipe select dark crust, but because every machine is different, mine ended up a little too dark. I will use medium or light crust next time. 
• Dough using the Tangzhong method is known to be wetter, so don't be worried if it looks very wet. As long as the dough is able to come together during the kneading process, it's ok. 
• Different brands of flour have different absorbency rate. Don't follow the recipe blindly. My dough was a little too wet and couldn't come together during kneading, so I sprinkled about 1 tablespoon of extra flour to the dough. Use your own judgement! 
• This is considered a small loaf for my SEVERIN bread maker so I have to adjust the settings to "small loaf". This affects the baking time.

Tangzhong paste (I super love that it makes exactly enough for a loaf of bread without any leftover!)

50 ml Water
10 gm Bread Flour

- Mix flour and water together and keep stirring over low heat with a whisk until mixture turns thick and swirl lines appear.
- Cover with a plastic/cling wrap. Make sure it is in contact with the tangzhong.
- Let the tangzhong cool down to room temperature before using.

Bread Dough Ingredients

210 gm bread flour
40 gm wholemeal flour
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Instant Yeast
1 Egg (lightly beaten)
100 ml Milk
20 gm Butter (softened)
1 batch of Tangzhong

1. Place the Tangzhong, milk, egg into the bread tin. 
2. Add in the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Lastly dig a shallow pit in the middle of the flour and add in the instant yeast. 
3. Select white loaf function, small Loaf, light crust. 
4. Press START.

Honey Oat Bread (Bread Machine)

I'm obsessed.

I'm always thinking of ways to sneak in fiber into my children's diet. Always have vegetables in every meal and healthy choices for snacks! I know, I'm so boring. Oats are SOOO nutritious, I wish my kids would love them. But even with added chocolate, my elder girl wouldn't touch a bowl of oatmeal with a 10 foot pole. I have to beg, nag and even threaten her in order for her to take a few bites. So let's get creative! This recipe would be a perfect way to sneak in some oats into the kid's breakfast without them even knowing! Heehee..

I don't know why there's a giant crack on my bread. Rustic looking? :P

There were raving reviews for this recipe online, and yes, the bread does turn out quite delicious. But do take note that Western style bread is more dense with a nice crust. So don't expect the bread to turn out soft and fluffy. It's great for making sandwiches as it holds it's shape pretty well. I like it plain or toasted with butter as the honey and oats give it alot of flavour.

I followed the previous method of dissolving the yeast in the water 1st before adding the flour. It's unconventional, but I feel like it makes the yeast more effective.

1 cup water
1⁄4 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups white bread flour
1 cup whole meal flour
1⁄2 cup oatmeal (I use instant oatmeal)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Place the water, honey and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes.
2. Add the oil, flour, oatmeal and salt to the yeast mixture.
3. Select Basic or White Bread setting, and press Start.

White Loaf Bread

In recent years I'm starting to lose faith in cook books. I'd rather believe in the recipes from the internet, especially those with reviews. Many reviews means that it is a tried and tested recipe by actual people out there. So for my 2nd attempt for my bread machine I looked to the internet and found this recipe. This recipe is rather interesting as it defies conventional method of making bread using a bread machine. Instead of putting the yeast on top of the flour, away from the liquid, you mix the yeast with the liquids 1st, just like how you make bread by hand.

Flavour wise, I like this better than my last loaf. It uses less yeast, so the yeasty smell was less apparent. Hubby commented that it was more dense than the last one, but I don't feel it. But we both love the crust on this one. I think it will taste even better with some wholemeal flour added to it.

I wanted the bread to be ready for breakfast, but I wasn't sure if I can set the timing for this recipe due to it's unconventional method. Is it OK to let the yeast and liquid ferment for a few hours? I don't know. So I set the bread machine on just before I go to bed, and woke up at around 4am to take the bread out of the machine when it was done. By morning we woke up to the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread!

I forgot to take a picture of the whole loaf but it does look a little darker than the last loaf. I was a little too busy making tuna sandwiches for the kiddo's breakfast! I only remember after I made the sandwiches...

I think I need to buy a better serrated knife. Mine's too short and not sharp enough.. Enough talk. Here is the recipe.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tablespoons white sugar
7 grams instant yeast
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt

1. Place the water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes. 
2. Add the oil, flour and salt to the yeast. 
3. Select Basic or White Bread setting, and press Start.

My 1st Breadmaker Bread - White Bread

Hubby said he wanted to buy something expensive and nice for me on Mother's Day and asked me what I want. My answer? A breadmaker.



I know, I know.. it's a little cliche. The little woman, asking for a bread making machine for Mother's Day. Feminist all over the world would roll their eyes and groan. But I've been wanting to get a breadmaker for so long! Every weekend I look for sale on breadmakers at electronic stores. I don't want to get one that is too expensive because I'm afraid that I would lose interest after awhile and waste money. So even as I get the opportunity to get one for free I chose the one on sale.

The machine comes with an instruction booklet and some recipes. But the promoter said that being a German brand, the bread in the recipes are more tough, like most European bread. So the staff actually experimented it himself and wrote down some of his own recipes, more suitable for the Asian palette. I thought that was SO SWEET and thoughtful! Talk about customer delight! So, the recipe that I'm sharing today, my VERY FIRST breadmaker bread, is by the Severin staff.

It's nothing fancy, but I thought I start with the basics 1st.

350ml Water
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon sugar
75 grams butter (melted)
100g wholemeal flour
400g bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

1. Place everything except for the flour and yeast into the baking pan. 
2. Sift the flours together and add into the pan. 
3. Make a little well on top of the flour and pour in the yeast. 
4. Close the cover, choose program 2 (white bread/french bread) and start the machine.

It took about 4 hours and it's so fun to watch the bread being made while I just carrying on with my daily activities!



The last hour is the best as the baking process starts and the house smells so nice! It also signify that the bread would be done soon, so it was quite exciting! Finally it's done!



I was quite worried as it felt quite dense as I try to lift it up.



But it turned out quite well! The taste was really good!



To be totally honest, the store bought wholemeal bread is still better and we will still continue to eat that. But now I have an additional option and I can't wait to try more interesting bread the next time!

Double Cheese Bread (Tangzhong method)

I've heard alot about the Tangzhong method but I've never had the chance to try it. Having 2 kids has been taking a toll on my baking time! Today I finally found the time and energy to try it out and I was not disappointed! The bread turned out just like they claim. Fluffy, chewy and yet still soft. The original dough recipe is from DessertzHouse. I just changed the filling.

HOW TO MAKE TANGZHONG
1 : 5 (bread flour : water)
example 100g flour : 500g water
- Mix flour and water together and keep stirring over low heat with a whisk until mixture turns thick and swirl lines appear.
- Let the tangzhong cool down to room temperature before using.

Double Cheese Bread
(makes 8 in a 8" pan)

240g bread flour
5g yeast
5g salt
20g sugar
1 egg
50g water
60g flour paste (tangzhong)
30g butter (softened)

1 egg yolk with a splash of milk for eggwash
Block cheddar cheese cut into small cubes for filling
Shredded cheddar for sprinkling ontop

1. Put all of the bread ingredients, except butter into a mixing bowl. 
2. Add butter after everything is nearly incorporated. 
3. Knead the dough until it becomes very elastic and smooth. I use the mixer. 
4. Grease a bowl with some oil, put the bread dough inside. Cover with some cling wrap and proof the dough until double in size. To check that the dough is ready or not, insert your floured finger into the middle of the bread dough, if the hole stays there then it is ready. 
5. Push the air out of the bread dough. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes. 
6. Cut the dough into 8 equal portions. 
7. Flatten each piece of dough, put a piece of cheese in the middle and close it up. Roll the dough into a ball and place into a greased 8" pan. 
8. Proof for the dough for the second time at a warm place until double in size. 
9. Brush dough with eggwash and sprinkle with cheese. 
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for 15 minutes. Transfer onto a wire rack to let cool.

I am no expert in making bread. I learn as I go along. But here are some things I learned through experience so I'm sharing it with you here today.

The thing about bread is that there is no hard and fast rule. Instead of flour, try oiling your hands before handling the dough. It prevents sticking and keeps the bread nice and moist without the extra flour.

There is no exact timing for proofing. It depends on everything from the flour, the yeast to the weather and temperature of your kitchen. USE YOUR EYES to judge!

Overall I was quite pleased with the result of the bread. Best thing is that I have leftover tangzhong, so I can continue exploring this method tomorrow. Practice makes perfect!

Pandan Raisin Buns

My Dad used to own a bakery store when I was a teenager and as a bread lover, that was the best part time job I could ever have. One of the perks of the job was that I can eat anything I want in the store. The warm cheese bread, the sugar donuts fresh from the fryer, the fluffy cakes, and yes, the raisin buns. My Dad would make a whole load of them and I LOVE eating them warm from the oven, the sugary top sweet and sticky. Till now I still love them, so I decided to hunt down a similar recipe and recreate my favourite raisin buns.

To be honest, I'm terrible at kneading bread dough. I could never get the hang of it, so I always use my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer to do the job for me. They say you have to knead with your hand, but hey, so far the mixer has been doing a great job. Just make sure you give it more time to knead and proof the dough properly! Never make bread if you don't have time. Plan ahead! Like last night I mixed everything together 1st and put my kid to bed while the dough proofs. When I'm out the dough is ready for me!

The original recipe used a bread maker, so I tweaked it and wrote down instructions for using a kitchen mixer.

Ingredients:

240g bread flour
60g wholewheat flour
50g castor sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp pandan paste *
1 egg
150g slightly warm milk
20g unsalted butter
5 g salt
1/4 cup raisins

Sugar syrup (melt 1 tbsp sugar + 1 tbsp water)

1. Soak raisins in warm water. 
2. Using a kitchen mixer, mix warm milk, castor sugar and yeast together and wait 5 minutes till bubbly. 
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients except for butter. Using a hook attachment, knead until a dough ball is formed and the bowl is clean of all flour. Add in butter and knead until butter is mixed in and dough is elastic and smooth. 
4. Gather dough to form a ball. Oil the mixing bowl, put the dough back in and cover bowl with cling wrap. Let it rest for about 50-60 mins or double in size. 
5. Divide dough into portions of 60 gm each. Shape into balls and put into muffin pan lined with papercups. Let it proof for another 50-60 mins or until dough has doubled in size. 
6. Apply milk on dough and bake at 180-190ºC for about 12 mins or till lightly brown.
7. Immediately after taking the buns out of the oven, brush buns with sugar syrup.

* On hindsight, this is the 1st time I used pandan paste and although it is very fragrant, I would cut down the portion a little next time. The bread is WAY too green and the flavour a little too strong. Maybe use natural pandan next time?

The bread is soft and fluffy but not to the point of sticking to your teeth. I love it! Will definitely do it again.

The muffin cups gives the buns a nice shape! Would definitely try this with different flavours next time.

Got some spare dough so tried my braiding skills. Nice? :)