Bread/Buns

After second trial, only then I manage to get the texture I want. You see, I like to eat bread a lot and if you have been to Japan or good Japanese bakeries, you will know what I meant here. They bake the best breads ever, in my opinion, and only when I was working in Food related sector when I was with Wolff Cellulosics, only then I knew that there is such a thing called High Protein flour. I though all flour are the same. Know that I am learning to bake, you have many types, oh gosh I can't even remember them. You have fine flour, pau flour, bread flour (high protein flour), all purpose flour, Rose flour, self-raising flour....and the list goes on. But it is fun, and actually the type of flour you use is very important, besides the technique you apply. You miss out one thing, then the result will turn out differently. Say for instance when I try this recipe out the first time, and as I do not have a dough maker (it is machine where you put everything in, set the timer, and choose who mode you want, you can just leave it there, and it will process for you), and I have do it manually with my hands. The first time doing that, I failed to get the texture I want because I added in too much flour...so that the dough will be less sticky. Well, when I got the first batch of my bread after the baking, I was sad.....but they say, never give up and being a persistent person, I tried again the next day, after doing some post analysis on which part I failed and which area should I zoom into (I need to thank my late Aunt, as when I was a boy I used to sit next to her when she is preparing the pau dough, and hence I got an idea how to improve my dough making process, manually). And here you are, after my second testing...though the appearance is still not perfect, but I got what I want and the bread texture is simple gorgeous. I got the recipe again from Christine's recipes but I modify a bit of it to suit what I want.

350 gm bread flour (leave some if you are making the dough manually, without the machine)

35 gm sugar

5 gm salt

56 gm whisked egg, plus extra for egg wash

7 gm milk powder (I use Nestle milk powder)

125 ml milk (full cream Dutch lady milk)

120 gm Tangzhong (refer to the method mentioned below. All I copied from Christine's recipe, weblink is enclosed for your reference).

5 to 6 gm dried instant yeast

30 gm butter, softened at room temperature

100 gm raisins (I use 50gm raisins, and 50gm dried longan)

1/2 tsp mixed spice, or to taste

Ingredients of tangzhong (湯種 The amount is enough to make two loafs):

• 50gm/ 1/3 cup bread flour
• 250ml/ 1cup water (could be replaced by milk, or 50/50 water and milk

Method of making tangzhong:

1. Mix flour in water well without any lumps. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.
2. The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It’s done. You get the tangzhong. (Some people might like to use a thermometer to check the temperature. After a few trials, I found this simple method works every time.) Remove from heat.
3. Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature.  Just measure out the amount you need. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, you need to discard and cook some more. (Note: The chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients. )

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com

Thanks.

Choong
BM