Snail Buns

These delicately flavored steamed buns are so named because they are shaped like snails. They are often deep-fried until golden brown after having been steamed. Either way, snail buns are excellent as a subsitute for rice. This recipe defers slightly from 'Flower Buns' and has less ingredients and the texture is just as soft.

Ingredients:

Basic Yeast Dough:

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups water

2 tsp instant yeast

6 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tbsp shortening

2 tsp double action baking powder plus 1 tsp water

Snail Buns:

1 recipe of basic yeast dough

1/4 cup melted lard plus 1/4 cup melted butter plus 1/2 cup sugar(creamed to a paste)

1/4 cup minced cooked ham or grated carrot and /or chopped spring onions

Method:

Basic Yeast Dough :

Mix all the ingredients except the baking powder, to a rough dough, turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 - 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. (if it is very sticky, knead in 1/4 cup additional flour - the dough should be soft)

Lightly grease a bowl with oil and place the dough in the bowl. Turn it so that all sides of the dough are coated.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let the dough rise for 4 hours in a warm area, free from drafts.

Uncover the dough, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Flatten the dough and make a well in the center. Place the baking powder solution in the well and gather up the edges around the baking powder to enclose it. Pinch the edges to seal.

Lightly knead the dough to incorporate the baking powder evenly.

Note:

The dough should be used immediately. If that is not possible, punch down the dough after the 4 hours rise, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to proceed.

Snail Buns:

Prepare the basic yeast dough as directed and cut it in half.

On a lightly surface, roll out each half to form a rectangle approximately 10 by 14 inches and 1/6 inch thick. Spread the surface of one rectangle with half the lard, butter and sugar mixture.

Starting with one of the long exges, roll up the rectangle jelly-roll-style. Pinch the two ends to seal the dough; lightly flatten the roll with the heel of your hand. Cut the roll crosswise into thin shreds. Separate the shreds into 15 groups, and let them rest.

Repeat the process for the other rectangle.

Gather up each group of shreds, and lightly stretch, wrapping them Maypole-style around your index finger and thumb. Tuck the end underneath to secure.

Repeat the procedure for all the shreds and arrange the shaped buns 1 inch apart on several steamer trays that have been lined with wet cheesecloth or with parchment paper punched with holes.

Sprinkle the tops with the minced ham or grated carrot and/or chopped spring onions, and let the buns rise for 15 minutes, covered.

Fill a wok with water level with the bottom edge of a steamer tray and heat until boiling. Place one tray of buns over the boiling water, cover, and steam for 15 minutes over high heat.

Remove, and steam the remaining buns in the same manner.

To reheat, steam the buns for 5 minutes over high heat.

Serves

Glutinious Rice Roll

Today is the 5th Day of the Fifth Moon following the Lunar Calender and today is the day of the 'Chung/Rice Dumpling Festival'.   I had wanted to make  some 'chung'  but due to unforeseen circumstances was not able to make some - excuses - excuses!!!  But...... since i do have leftover Law Mei Farn which is a very good filling for these Rolls.  These rolls are so much easier and faster to make and I am pleased that i have kept half the tradition by having glutinious rice served today but in another form.  You can follow any pau dough recipe or follow the one below.

 Ingredients:

Pau Dough:

2 cups pau flour(if all-purpose flour is used - add more water to make into a soft dough)
3/4 cup wheat starch
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup powdered/confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tbsp shortening/lard
1 tsp instant yeast
2/3 cup water(adjust according)
1/4 tsp vinegar

Filling:

1/2 recipe of Law Mei Farn

Method:

To make pau dough:

Put flour, wheat starch, baking powder, powdered sugar and yeast in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix ingredients well..

Add in shortening/lard and pulse until well mixed.

Add vinegar to the water and pour into flour mixture with the food processor on,  Mix until a soft ball forms - water has to adjusted, adding more a little at a time, to make dough into a very soft and pliable dough.

Remove from food processor and knead until smooth, then leave to proof until double it's size.

To assemble:

Roll the 'law mei farn' into a 2 inch log.

Punch down the pau dough and roll into a rectangle that is big enough to wrap the law mei farn log.

Wrap the law mei farn log with the pau dough rectangle and pinch the seam well.

Cut the log into 1 1/2 inch pieces and put a piece of greaseproof paper underneath every piece. Leave rolls to proof again before steaming.  Pau dough should feel puffy and if touched lightly, the dough should not spring back and the dent remained)

Bring the water in the steamer to a very high boil and steam pau rolls for 8 - 10 minutes.

Serve hot

Serves

Malaysian Round Crimped Loaf Bread

I don't know if this bread is still available in Malaysia as this bread was my favorite. It was there way before sliced sandwich bread and the crimp gave guide to slicing into very thin slices, Bread of yesteryears was from cottage industry and mostly made by Hainanese (yes, the same clan who introduced the famous - Chicken Rice and Kopi(coffee)). The bread made was white bread , tall with a lovely rounded brown top. These bread was fantastic for making 'roti kiap' but the only set back is that this bread can taste very sour sometimes - not very consistent with the oven, which was wood fired. Ah! 'roti kiap' - how i miss it!! = 2 slices of soft white bread cut into about 1 inch thick, squished(not really squished) with a grill basket and put over the charcoal stove. Gone are the days of charcoal grilling, the bread toaster has conquered the kitchen. Oops, off track, sorry, now back to the round crimped bread - this style of bread must be a legacy of the British and i found in the net that the moulds for this bread could be from 1800's.

Ingredients:

1 egg plus water to make 1 cup
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp powdered milk
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole meal flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Method:

Put in egg and water into bread machine bowl, then follow by the other ingredients ending with the instant yeast on top.

Select the 'dough' function and press start.

When bread is ready, remove from bowl and shape into a log - length to fit the size of the bread mould. Lock the mould and leave bread to proof. It will take 1 - 2 hrs depending on the weather. To check if the bread has packed the mould, give a tap on the top of mould and it should not sound hollow.

Bake in preheated 375 f oven for 45 mins.

Remove and let it rest for 10 minutes before opening the mould.

Cool bread before slicing.

enjoy

Serves

Oyster Sauce Char Siew Pau

I was very surprised and happy that my Miss Picky Eater, ate 2 char siew paus, filling and all.  Usually she would just eat the pau and leave the filling.  She must be getting older and eating alot more, variety that is, like green leafy vegetables and fish.  I will go to any lengths to make or cook the food she likes to eat and looking at her devout that 2 paus made me go looking for this recipe which has been with me for more than 30 years.  I had been lazy and depended on the premixed cos pau flour is not readily available here and i have even asked the dim sum restaurants to sell me some of their stock but the reply is that they are always short.  Anyway, the bleached all-purpose flour and wheat starch made pretty good paus - perhaps not as fluffy or perhaps it is not the flour, it is that i do not have the expertise to make them as fluffy.  Even the folding of the paus, has an important part to play when it comes to making them smile.  I noticed that more dough should be on top of the pau and don't be like me, leaving the knob behind.  I must remember to break that knob away.

Ingredients:

Yeast Dough:
300 g pau flour/260 g bleached all-purpose flour and 40 g wheat starch
1 tsp instant yeast
150 ml water




To make pau dough:
150 g pau flour/130 g bleached all-purpose and 20 g wheat starch
3/4 tbsp double action baking powder
130 g sugar
1/2 tbsp lard/shortening
1 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp ammonium bicarbonate
2 tiny drops kan sui

FILLING:

300 g char siew(recipe is here
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
2 3/4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp dark thick soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp waterchestnut powder diluted with 2 tbsp water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp roast sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil


Method:

To make YEAST DOUGH

Mix flour yeast, yeast and water together.  Knead well and leave for at least 15 hours.

To make FILLING

Cut char siew into tiny dices.

Heat wok with a little oil and add in the minced garlic.  Saute until fragrant and add the diced char siew and the water and sauces.  Mix well and thicken with waterchestnut solution.  Cook until sauce comes back to the boil.

Add in chopped cilantro and roasted sesame seeds and drizzle with sesame oil.

Leave to cool.

To make pau dough after 15 hours:

Sieve the baking powder with the flour.

Mix ammonium bicarbonate, kan sui and water and mix until ammonium bicarbonate is dissolved.

Tear up the yeasted dough into small pieces and place in an electric stand mixer bowl,, add in the sugar, lard and the ammonium bicarbonate solution.  Using the dough hook, knead until well mixed,  Add in flour and knead the dough until it is smooth.

Remove dough and spread dough out into a rough rectangle.  Mix 1/2 tsp of baking powder with a little water and spread it over the rectangle.  Roll it up and knead until smooth and not sticking to your hands.

Divide dough into portions (i like to weigh them 35 gms each).  Line the divided dough up.  Start from the first portion, cup the dough portion with your palm and round it.  Repeat with the rest of the portions, lining them up in order.

While making the paus, fill steamer pot with water and bring to the boil.

Roll the first rolled portion dough out into a circle and fill with a tablespoon of cooled filling.  Pleat the circle up and seal well.(i roll the circle bigger, so that i can have more dough on top of pau.  I find that more dough is good for the pau to smile.  Remove the last pinch from the top).  Put a piece of paper at the base of pau and leave in a steamer rack, covered with a damp cloth while you prepare another 6 more paus.

Make sure water is in a rolling boil before putting the steamer rack with the prepared paus to steam for 10 minutes(if you are making bigger paus, then steaming time will be longer).

Continue to wrap paus with the char siew filling and steam.

These paus cannot be consumed yet as they stink from the ammonium bicarbonate.  A second steaming of 10 minutes is required to allow the ammonium to dissipate.

Enjoy the paus warm.

 Serves

Croissants

There are so many masters showing how to make croissants and i am overwhelmed but after spending hours reading and watching youtube, i think i am ready to make some.  I am not very happy with the appearance of my croissants as i think they looked like Mr. Crab.  I ate the ones i opened up for pictures and i could not stop eating them - they were light, crispy on the outside and the inside is soft and buttery, unlike the ones you get from the store which are all air.  I am glad, i followed the advice of a croissant master whose advice is - "You don't actually need to proof croissants very long. The longer you proof them the more air they take in and the weaker they'll taste. Try not proofing them and you'll be amazed at how much better they will taste. proofing is great if you're selling them - makes the buyer think he's getting more - all they're actaully getting is more air which robs them of intensity. Cheers from the croissant master."

Armed with the book - About Professional Baking - The essentials by Gail Sokol, i made croissants.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm(110f)
3 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 cups/10 ozs/285 g bread flour
2 cups/9 ozs/255 g all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups/12 ozs/340 g unsalted butter, cold but not hard(leave at room temp for 30 mins to soften slightly)


Method:

Croissant Base Dough

In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment on low speed, blend the honey, brown sugar, and lukewarm milk until well combined.

Sprinkle the yeast over the milk mixture and blend on low speed.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together both flours.  On low speed, add the flours, the vinegar, and the salt to the milk and yeast mixture.  Blend until a soft dough forms.  If the dough feels too sticky, add another 1/2 to 1 oz(15 - 30 g) all purpose flour.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  Do not overknead.  Using your hands, shape the dough into a rough rectangle about 1 - 2 inches(2.5 to 3 cm) thick.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for about 30 minutes.

Preparing the Butter to be enclosed : 

Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a work surface and lay the butter in the center of it.  Place another piece of plastic wrap on top.

Hit the butter with a rolling pin until it softens.  Once it has softened a bit, roll the butter into a 6 - 12 inch(15 by 30 cm) rectangle.  Chill the butter while the dough is being rolled out.

Enclosing the butter:

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 10 bu 15 inch(25 by 37.5 cm) rectangle.  Peel one sheet of plastic off the butter and flip the butter onto the middle of the dough, lining up the butter with the dough so that the butter covers approximately two thirds the length of the dough.

Fold the unbuttered third of the dough up over the center.  Then fold the remaining buttered third over the top, just like a letter is folded.  Be sure to pull the edges of the dough being folded over so they match the edges of the dough underneath.  Press to make sure the edges are sealed.  If the edges do not eal, brush a small amount of water on the bottom layer to act as glue.

Completing One Three-fold or Letterfold Turn:

Rotate the dough 90 degrees so that when the dough is rolled out, the open ends become the short sides of the rectangle.  Again, roll out the dough to a 10 by 15 inch(25 by 37.5 cm) rectangle and fold it in thirds like a letter.  This completes one three-fold turn.  Using a pastry brush, brush off any excess flour.  Press one finger into the dough to show one turn has been completed.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for 1 hour.  A marker can also be used to mark the plastic wrap to show the number of turns completed.

Repeat rolling, folding, and marking the dough with a finger to show the number of turns completed two more times for a total of 3 three-fold turns, chilling the dough in between each completed turn.  After three turns have been completed, wrap the dough twice in plastic wrap and chill it overnight in the refrigerator.  Because the yeast in the dough will cause it to expand overnight, be sure to wrap the dough securely.

The above makes one recipe of croissant dough, using one half in this recipe and reserving the other half for another use.

Rolling and cutting croissants:

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into 12 by 16 inch(30 by 40 cm) rectangle.  The dough should be approximately 1/8 inch(3 mm) thick.  Brush off any excess flour and sqaure off the edges using a ruller and a pizza cutter.

Using a pizza cutter and a ruler, remeasure the length of the dough and cut it in half crosswise.  Do not separate the two halves.  Cut down the length of the entire rectangle, dividing it into thirds beginning at one of the short sides.  There shoud be a total of six(6) rectangles.

Separate the six rectangles and cut each one diagonally to form two triangles.  There should be total of 12 triangles.  If at any point in rolling the dough and it becomes too soft, gently place it on a sheet pan and chill it for 10 - 15 minutes.

Using the pizza cutter, make a small 1/2 inch(1.2 cm) slit at the base of each triangle.  Taking one triangle, gently roll over it with a rolling pin so its length is stretched about 50% longer than its original length.  Do not press down hard with the rolling pin or the layers will be flattened.  Using both hands, gently pull the base so that it widens out even more and begin to roll the triangle from the base, pulling the tip of the triangle to elongate it.  Roll it into a tight crescent shape, making sure that the tip of the triangle is tucked underneath the crescent so it will not unroll during baking.  Place the croissant on a parchment-lined sheet pan, curving the ends to resemble a crescent as it is placed on the baking sheet.  Repeat slitting, rolling and shaping the remaining chilled dough to make a total of 12 croissants, maintaining a space between each one.  Place the croissants in a proof box set at no highter than 85f(39c) for 1 hour until they appear spongy and puffed (i do not have a proof box so i left the sheet pan, covered on the kitchen counter).

Preheat the oven to 425f(219c).

Spritz the croissants lightly with water using a spray bottle before placing them in the oven(oops i forgot to do this).  Once the croissants are in the oven, reduce the temperature to 400f(205c).  Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the pan and continue baking the croissants for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until they are golden brown.(i baked another 5 minutes only cos i was on convection).

Serves

Chance Tomato Gugelhupf

I named this savory Gugelhupf after my dear friend, Nancy whose nickname is 'Chance'. This nickname is only known among our classmates from The Convent. Being taught to speak in english, we would all chance or dance but nancy somehow adopted the american slang and it was 'Chance", so that's why we nicknamed her so. Nancy has the same passion as i do, we both love to bake and our conversion would be always about baking something. I have told her that i wanted to make 'gugelhupf' but have not been able to bake one cos i do not have the proper mould. The day, i took her to Denver downtown, it was so hot that we can't remain outdoors anymore, by chance , we landed in TJMAX and what did we see? A blue silicone gugelhupf mould staring at us. Since my birthday was around the corner, 'Chance' gave me the most wanted present and so i have to bake a gugelhupf as soon as we got home. Thank you, dear 'Chance' for making this possible and hope that you had a safe and comfortable journey home to Malaysia.

Ingredients:

(for a 23 cm / 9 inch bundt pan)

3 large eggs + enough water to make 1 cup

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

3 cups bread flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1 stick/4 ozs soft butter

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 bunch parsley

4 spring onions

25 cherry tomatoes

a dash of pepper

Method:

Roast pine nuts without any oil until fragrant.

Wash and chop parsley.

Wash and dice spring onions.

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Put the ingredients for the bread in the bread machine according to the order listed, starting with the liquids and ending with the yeast on top of the flour.

Choose the dough function and when dough has formed, add in the butter.

At the first beep, add in the pine nuts, parsley and spring onions. Continue dough function until it is over. The dough should have been doubled.

Butter the bundt pan.

Wash and dry the tomatoes.

Roll the dough into a log shape.

Cut off 25 slices of dough.

Press down each slice, put one tomato on each slice, add some pepper.

Wrap each tomato into the slice of dough, forming little balls.

Put balls into pan.

Let rise until dough has doubled its volume.

Bake on bottom rail of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

Let cake rest for 10 minutes, then flip over onto a wire rack.

Serves