French Onion Soup

I am a soup person and love all sorts.  My once-upon-a-time ambition was to open a soup bar. Why a soup bar, you ask?  Well, I chose soup because it is such a versatile thing (at least for me):

• It is comfort food when it rains or is cold outside.  There’s even cold soup for hot days, although I have not yet mastered drinking cold soup. 
• It is medicinal.  I'm sure everyone is familiar with the therapeutic value of chicken soup.
• It is also good for curbing your appetite if you are dieting.  Just stay away from heavy, creamy soup or substitute cream with low fat milk.

Raisin Wheel

I think I am in trouble.  I seem to be keeping a baker's hours.  Since last week, I have been waking up in the wee hours of the morning, contemplating to bake something.  Yikes.

Two nights ago was no different. I woke up at 2 am, and since I was wide awake, I decided to give this recipe from Magic Bread by Alex Goh, a headstart, as it requires a gelatinized dough and an overnight sponge dough.  The gelatinized dough needs to be made ahead and refridgerated for at least 12 hours, and the overnight sponge dough needs an overnight proofing, before usage.  Both these dough are supposed to produce softer bread.

Go Bananas

I am not a fan of bananas in fruit form, but I do love it in a cake.  Banana cakes are the perfect solution for me when I am faced with a stock of unfinished bananas which have gotten brown/black, and no longer palatable to the eyes. And for cakes, the rule of the thumb is the riper the bananas, the better the flavour. Having said that, perhaps I should qualify that if your bananas have ripen beyond recognition, it's time for the rubbish bin :P.

Mediterranean (Wannabe) Cheese Bread

When I came across this Mediterranean Cheese Bread recipe in the Baking Code by Alex Goh, with due respect, I didn't think it was very mediterranean at all.  But being a fan of all things tomato, I liked the idea of incorporating tomato paste into the bread dough, so I decided to try it.

Toffee Macadamia Gateaux

My girl and I played a birthday game last evening with her new dessert set, complete with candles and all.  Our repertoir included singing the birthday song, making a wish, blowing the candles, cutting the cake and licking the icing off them :).  We started the game with our own birthdays, but then extended to include her furry friends, and each and every member of our (extended) family.  In total, we must have done about 20 birthday repertoirs before she decided she wanted to be an ice cream man.

Ham & Cheese Bun

I made these for breakfast today, but didn't have the chance to sample it.  It disappeared by the time I came back from the shops.

The rat culprit ? My brother :P.  But I am flattered that he ate 4 out of 7, as he is one hell of a food critic.  This must be darn good.  I will definitely make them again soon. 


You will need:

Dough
140 ml fresh milk
200 g bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
35 g butter, softened

Filling
4 ham slices
Adequate cheddar cheese, grated
Mayonnaise

Preparation:

Put all the ingredients (except for the butter) in the pan of the bread machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Select the dough function.  Add the butter after about 5 minutes. 

If you do not have a bread machine, do not despair, you can also knead the dough by hand.  To do so, simply put the flour and yeast in a bowl. Stir to combine.  Add the sugar and salt, and stir again.  Make a well in the centre of the flour. Pour milk into the well, and mix to make a soft, moist dough.

Place the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface and, with lightly floured hands, knead for 5 - 10 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.  Add the butter into the dough, and continue to knead for another 10 - 15 minutes until the dough is no longer sticking to the surface and your hands.

Place the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
When the dough program has finished (if using machine) or the dough has risen, take the dough out of the machine / bowl.  Place it onto a clean floured surface and punch down. Shape into round, and let rest for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a long rectangular, and arrange the ham slices on top.  From the long side of the rectangular, roll the dough up in swiss roll style.  Cut the rolled-up dough into 7 equal portions, and place them cut side up on a lined 20 cm round baking tin.  Cover and leave aside to proof for another 30 - 45 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180 deg Celsius about 15 minutes prior to baking.  Glaze buns with egg wash if you wish.  Scatter cheddar cheese all over, and top with mayonnaise.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the buns are golden brown.

P/S:  Regarding the mayonnaise, I will be a bit bossy here and insist that you use the Japanese brand, Kewpie.  It's the best mayonnaise I have tasted so far.

Coffee Cake

Did you know that the term coffee cake can refer to either of the following:

• A class of cakes intended to be served with coffee or for similar breaks and snacks. Under this definition, a coffee cake does not need to contain coffee; or

• A cake, often sponge cake, which is made with coffee or has a coffee flavour.

Source: Wikipedia

Well, I didn't, until I told someone that I baked a coffee cake (and I meant it literally), and he told me that his favourite coffee cake is carrot with cream cheese frosting.  I went blank for awhile :P.