Tuesday 26 January 2016

Bubble Rice Cookies泡泡米曲奇 [Plus CNY Giveaway]


Hi

Every mum should have Bubble Rice in her kitchen cupboard. When my 2 kids were still little boys, I used to sprinkle Bubble Rice on their ice cream or they would just eat it by itself.  Those days, I didn’t know these little rice puff can be added into a wide range of recipes.
When I saw this Bubble Rice Cookies from Ann’s blog (Anncoo Journal), I decided to make it and surprise my 2 boys.  I knew they would love it and they wouldn’t last long in my house. Haha!

This little cookies were very easy to make and trust me you would not be disappointed.  I’m quite sure you will make it again and again!
HAPPY BAKING!

INGREDIENTS
130g         Unsalted butter
60g          Sugar
1              Large egg (about 70g)
1 tsp         Vanilla extract
170g         Plain flour
½ tsp        Baking soda
1              Pinch of salt
80g          Rice Bubbles (I used Kellogg’s Rice Bubbles, my children’s favourite childhood treat)
70g          Chocolate chips

METHOD
(1)Cream butter and sugar till white and fluffy.

(2)Add egg and vanilla extract, mix well.

(3)Sift in flour, baking soda and salt and continue to mix well.

(4)Pour in the rice bubbles and chocolate chips, fold well with a spatula.


(5)Scoop chocolate mixture with a dessert spoon (about 2cm) and drop onto a lined baking tray and bake at preheated oven at 150°C for about 25 minutes or until golden crisp.


(6)Cool down cookies and store in an airtight container.  

I’m submitting this post for Cook and Celebrate CNY 2016, organized by Yen(GoodyFoodies) Diana(The Domestic Goddess Wannabe) and Zoe(Bake for Happy Kids)


To welcome the Year of the Red Fire Monkey, 10 cooking bloggers have come together to bring you the chance to *win $500 ang pow!

This giveaway is open to ALL participants!!! And you can be the lucky winner!!! 


To enter, please complete the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is brought to you by:
Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids
Alvin from 
Chef and Sommelier
Ann from Anncoo Journal
Amy from 
Amy's Baking Diary
Charlynn from 
My Baking Cottage
Karen from Luvswesavory
Sharon from Delishar
Victoria from 
Victoria Bakes
Weilee from 
Wei Lee's Passion


Terms and Conditions Apply:
One Prize of SGD500 will be sent to one winner via Paypal (or bank transfer within SG). An email will be sent to the winner to notify him/her of the win. Should the Organiser (Diana) not receive a reply within 48 hours, another winner will be selected. This contest is opened to ALL international participants.


Good Luck!



Thursday 14 January 2016

Champion Garlic Bread


Hi

This homemade garlic bread recipe is indeed a real treat.
The bread was so soft and spongy and it bombed with pungent garlic butter, who’s not to love it?  The garlic and parsley and the combination of olive oil and butter made a great flavour to this bread.  I know this will bound to become my family favourite as the bread were all gone shortly after they were cooled on the rack.
I didn’t roast the garlic.  Instead I minced the whole head of garlic and stir fry them with olive oil as it doesn’t take very long to stir fry.  It is about few seconds to 1 minute or until you get the intense smell of garlic, you know it is done.
I didn’t get to capture nice shots on the bread as my 3 boys [including my hubby] were too impatient to wait for me to take another few more shots. 
Yes. Indeed it’s champion bread and I agreed with Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) that it should WIN all kinds of breads…


Garlic Butter
Ingredients
1 head      garlic, unpeeled (I peeled and minced it)
1 tbsp       olive oil
3 tbsp       minced fresh parsley leave (I used dried parsley)
50g          unsalted butter, softened (I used salted butter)
½ tsp        salt (I skipped as I was using salted butter)

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C fan force.
Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil on the fry pan.

Cut top off garlic head.  Place garlic on a piece of aluminium foil; drizzle with olive oil.  Fold edges together to seal.  Bake 30 mins and allow garlic to cool completely.
Minced the garlic; Heat up olive oil. Stir fry the mince garlic with the heated oil over medium heat for about few seconds until it infuses and the intense smell comes out.  Allow the garlic to cool completely.


Squeeze cooked garlic into a medium bowl.  Garlic will be soft and sticky.  Add butter, parsley and salt, stirring to combine.  Set aside and wait for the bread dough to be ready.
Pour the fried garlic from the pan into a medium bowl.  Add butter and dried parsley, stirring to combine.  Set aside and wait for the bread dough to be ready.



Bread Dough
Ingredients
300g        bread flour
25g          sugar
15g          unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
(I used salted butter)
1 tsp         salt (I skipped because I’m using salted butter)
¾ tsp        instant dry yeast
200ml      milk, lukewarm*

Method
*The milk in this recipe doesn’t require scalding but need to be lukewarm or at least room temperature for efficient proving.

Using a breadmaker, mix all dough ingredients and knead into a smooth and elastic dough and allow it to prove for 1 hr. At this point, you can either store the dough in the fridge to use it on the next day or use it now.

If breadmaker is not available, kneading by hand or electric mixer with a dough hook is possible. Using your hand or an electric mixer, mix all dough ingredients (except butter) to form a dough. If you are using an electric mixer, increase the mixing speed to medium low and knead the dough until it is smooth in its texture. If you are kneading by hand, you need good muscle and endurance to keep kneading until the dough is smooth.

Mix in the unsalted butter and keep kneading at medium low speed or by hand (about 10-15 mins) until dough is elastic and can stretch to form thin and translucent membrane. Allow the dough to rise for about 60 mins or until doubled in size. At this point, you can either store the dough in the fridge to use it on the next day or use it now.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions, then allow to rest for another 10 mins. Flatten each portion of dough, spread a thin layer of garlic butter and roll it into oblong shape. Repeat the same shaping method with the rest of the dough. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and allow them to rise for another 1 hr or until doubled in size.


Chill the left-over garlic butter in the freezer until firm.

Egg wash for baking
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan forced.

Beat both egg yolk and milk roughly with a fork until combined.

Apply egg wash on the surfaces of the dough. Cut the center of each with sharp knife. Place 1/6 of the frozen garlic butter onto the slit. Repeat this step with the rest of the dough.


Bake at 180°C (or 160°C fan forced) for 17 mins or until golden brown. Transfer the breads immediately onto a wire rack to cool. Serve when they are slightly warm or at room temperature.


HAPPY BAKING! 

Saturday 2 January 2016

Golden Sandwich Bread


Hi

My first blog of the year, I would like to wish all the bloggers whom I have been baking along with since I started this blog – A Happy and Beautiful 2016!   And also to those who visited or chanced upon my blog and had left a comment, I would like to say “Thank You” for all your encouragement.

 On the 1st day of 2016, I had made my 1st ever successful bread which totally won over me!
This was my 1st time experiencing the intense joy of smelling freshly baked bread that coming from our very own oven.  Wow!
Thanks to this wonderful recipe which I adapted from Joyce (Kitchen Flavour).  I had a very bad experience in making bread.  My failure was due to using lousy yeast.  When I shared my previous failure with Diana Gale (The Domestic Goddess Wannabe), her first reaction was, “Amy! The yeast you used is dead!”  She immediately confirmed that.  I took her advice and changed the yeast to the brand that she recommended.

Before I start making, I did some research on yeast and also the proofing process.  One of the ways to be confident that the bread will turn out well is to make sure the yeast you are using is alive.  Yeast needs water and sugar to activate.  If it’s alive, when water and sugar are added to the yeast, it will start to ferment and becoming frothy.  It is good habit to check and ensure that the yeast you are using is active and not dead.  Better to spend few minutes checking the yeast before making than time wasted to make bread that doesn’t rise.

Steps to ensure the yeast is not dead
1½ teaspoons dried yeast.
1 tablespoon sugar
65ml warm water

Mixed them all together in a cup.  Leave it aside for a few minutes.  When you come back in 5-10mins, it should look like this.
This is indeed a perfect recipe for 1st timer!  It is ordinary plain loaf bread.  Soft, fluffy and tasty enough that can be eaten as it is.

2015 is an eventful year that I hardly got much time to try out new recipe.  In 2016, I have set my priority to try making variety of breads and those in my To Do List.

HAPPY BAKING!


INGREDIENTS
<For two 9-inch loaves>
6 cups(800g)           Bread flour
2 tbsp(30g)              Sugar
3/4 cup(170g)          Room-temperature tap water
3 tsp(10g)                Fine granulated active dry or instant yeast
1 cup(225g)             Whole milk, scalded and cooled
3                               Large eggs at room temperature
4 tbsp(60g)              Butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
                                (I used salted butter instead)
1 tbsp(18g)              Fine sea salt
                                (Since I used salted butter, I skipped this)

Two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans, buttered and the bottoms lined with parchment paper (I used cooking oil to grease the pan and skipped the bottoms lined with parchment paper)

METHOD
Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl and set aside.

Pour the water into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk in the yeast. Wait 5 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in the cooled milk and eggs.

Use a large rubber spatula to stir the flour mixture into the liquid a little at a time, stirring to combine between additions.

Place the bowl on the mixer with the dough hook and scatter pieces of butter on the surface of the dough; mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute.  Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 15 minutes <1st proofing>

Increase the speed to medium, sprinkle in the salt, and beat the dough until it is smooth and elastic, for 2 to 3 minutes longer. Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl and turn it over so that the top is oiled.  Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment until almost doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes <2nd proofing>



Invert the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Flatten the dough to a disk. Fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll the top toward you all the way to the end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten, and repeat. Return the dough to the bowl (oil the bowl again if necessary), cover, and let ferment until fully doubled, 30 to 45 minutes <3rd proofing>

Invert the dough to a floured work surface and shape it into a rough square. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 equal rectangles, each about 715 grams. Pull the narrow ends of 1 rectangle of dough outward to widen. From one of the wide ends fold the sides in about 1 inch or so, then roll down from the top as for turning the dough. Drop the roll into one of the pans, seam side down. Repeat with the second loaf and pan.

Cover with oiled or sprayed plastic wrap and let the loaves proof until they have risen about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Once they're close to the top of the pan, set a rack a notch below the middle level and preheat the oven to 400 deg F (200 degC).

Place the loaves in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 375 deg F (190 deg C). Bake until well risen and deep golden.

Unmold the loaves and cool on a rack on their sides. Wrap and keep at room temperature, or double wrap and freeze.

*HAPPY*