Windsor bread

This Windsor bread recipe was very popular shared in FB and I’ve bookmarked it for quite awhile. Finally had a fun bake-together session to bake Windsor bread with my friends a month ago.

Recipe adapted from :Olady Bakes

Windsor Bread

Ingredients:

225g bread flour

25g cake flour

8g milk powder (optional)

1 egg yolk

25g caster sugar

140g – 150g water or milk

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp yeast

25g unsalted butter at room temperature

Instructions 

1. Lay the baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer.  In a mixing bowl, add the flours, egg yolk, sugar, salt and water and knead for a few minutes till the dough combined.

3. Add in yeast and knead for another 5 minutes.

4. Once the ingredients have come together, add the butter and continue to knead till an elastic dough, about 10-15 minutes.

5. Turn the dough on lightly floured tabletop, knead and shape the dough in big round, rest the dough for 10 minutes.  Divide into the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into balls, then rest another 10 minutes.

6. Lightly dust some all-purpose flour on the surface.  Roll out 1 dough, about 12 cm by 8 cm, not too thin. Pat out air bubbles at the edges.

7. Gently roll up from the longest side, pinched to seal and place on baking tray. Don’t roll too tight. Repeat for all other doughs.

8. Place the tray (cover with damp cloth) in a *warm place to allow the dough to proof for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size (*alternatively, turn on the oven to the lowest temperature (35°C) for 1 minute, turn it off and place the tray in the oven to proof. Do not cover with damp cloth, close the oven door for proofing).

9. Lightly sprinkle some flour or powder sugar on top of the dough or brush egg wash on the bread doughs.

10. Preheat the oven to 170°C and position the rack at the lowest of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bread has turned golden brown. (The temperature of the oven varies, do adjust accordingly).

11. Remove tray from the oven and transfer the breads on to a wire rack to cool.

Here’s some of the variations ... adding some cheese and shaped in round buns. This recipe is really a keeper.

Enjoy!

Melon Pan Santa Claus

First time tried out Melon pan recipe and was toying the idea of shaping the buns into something.  Santa Claus ! They looked like Santa Claus with snowy hat and beard initially before landing in oven ... but somehow the positions of hat and beard 'drifted apart' from the face after baked, resulted a batch of grumpy looking old men ... :( opps !
Anyway, I had some fun in shaping the buns ^-^!

Recipe adapted from Melon Pan , Tokyo Mari
Below my slightly modified version.
Santa Claus Melon Pan
Ingredients (Makes 5 buns)
Bread dough ingredients :
150g of bread flour
1 tablespoon milk powder
2 tablespoons of egg (lightly beaten)

(A) 1 teaspoon of dry yeast
(A) 2 tablespoons of sugar
(A) 55ml of warm water

(B) 30g of unsalted butter (room temparature)
(B) a pinch of salt

Some dessicated coconut (about 1.5 tablespoon)
Some chocolate chips to decorate as eyes

Cookie dough ingredients :
100g of all-purpose plain flour (sifted)
30g of butter (room temparature)
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
1/2 an egg (lightly beaten of 1 whole egg but use half)

Method:
Make the cookie dough first :
In a clean mixing bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar till pale and creamy with electric mixer.
Slowly add in the egg and continue beating. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and beat for another 1 - 2 minutes.
Add the sifted flour to the mixture and mix it with spatula. Cling wrap dough and leave in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

To make the bread dough:
Place all the ingredients (A) in a cup, stir and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

In a big bowl, combine bread flour, egg, milk powder and gradually add in mixture (A), mix well to combine with a spatula.

Add all the ingredients (B) to the big bowl and mix it until it combine together. Transfer onto lightly floured surface and keep kneading and stretching the dough until it become smooth and pliable. (it will get less sticky as you knead).

Shape into a ball and place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 30-40 minutes.

Take out the dough, pinch down, and divide into 5 portion. Roll each piece into a ball, let rest for 10 minutes under a damp cloth.

Take out the cookie dough and cut into 5 portions (about 35g each). Flatten out into a thin round with cling wrap. Remove the cling wrap, use a cookie cutter to cut half. 1 portion as beard and the other as hat. Sprinkle some dessicated coconut on cookie dough. Place it over the bread dough. Insert chocolate chips as eyes on the bread dough.

Cover with damp cloth and proof for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Position the rack in the center.
Bake the buns for 10 minutes first (to make the cookie dough crispy), then turn down temperature to 160 degree C and bake for another 12 minutes or lightly browned. (*Note : The temperature of the oven may vary, do adjust accordingly).

Do give it a try in shaping cute (not grumpy) Santa Claus ... Hee .. hee... Happy baking! 

Oatmeal Honey Rolls

I've got an opened pack of rolled oats sitting in the pantry and moving rather slowly.
Chance upon this recipe King Arthur Flour Oatmeal Bread and definitely it comes in timely to help reduce the inventory :)
But I wasn't keen to bake a loaf of bread cos we had just finished the loaf of store bought white bread. So scaled down the quantity to make some buns instead. I remembered my big kids liked the honey glaze Honey Bread I baked previously. So I baked the buns glaze with honey and oats topping.

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Oatmeal Bread
Below my slightly modified version as I've scaled down the quantity.
Oatmeal Honey Rolls
Yields 12 rolls
Ingredients :
270g Bread Flour
60g rolled oats
25g unsalted butter (softened)
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 tablespoons honey
1.5 teaspoons instant yeast
210g lukewarm milk (to use 190g - 210g depending on texture)

Topping
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon of canola oil
15g - 20g rolled rolled oats to sprinkle

Method
1) Heat the milk to lukewarm in a small pan.

2) In a large bowl, combine bread flour, yeast, honey and rolled oats, add in the softened butter, salt with a spatula. Gradually pour in the milk and mix to form a shaggy dough. Lightly dust the hands with some flour and knead the dough by hand. Knead for about 10 minutes till it turns into a soft, smooth dough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to proof until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (it'll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk).



4) To check if dough has doubled, lightly press down into center of dough with one finger. If indentations remain, knock back and punch the dough down. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 45g each). Roll each piece into a ball, gently stretching the dough over itself and pinching together at the bottom. Place each roll seam-side down on a lightly greased pan or baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap for 2nd proofing, about another 30 minutes.

5) Position the rack in the center and preheat oven to 180°C.

To make the honey & oats topping : mix canola oil and honey in a small bowl. Brush glaze over rolls and then sprinkle with some oats.

I made a few snips as thought to replicate
some petals shape but it didn't turn out well

6) Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 - 17 minutes or until golden brown.

7) Let buns cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove the buns from pan to wire rack to cool completely.  Store leftovers in an airtight container, good for about 3 days in room temperature.

Freshly baked healthy Oatmeal Honey Rolls to enjoy for our afternoon break and morning brekkie.

Milky Wreath Bread

Do you see 3 Christmas wreaths hanging on the glass door ? Hee ... hee !

In my younger days, I've ever DIY simple Christmas wreath ... afterall it's all about getting crafty like decorate the Christmas tree, colourful gift wrapping and to make a simple wreath with colourful ribbons and ball ornaments between artificial pine or spruce branches etc. After a while, felt that it's more 'economical' to just purchase the wreaths sold commercially as compared to the materials costs I've invested.

According to : Wikipedia Wreath
"A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring.
In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, mainly as Christmas decoration ...."

Well .. here, I've baked an edible wreath ... lol. Actually bread formed in a ring resembles a wreath. Dust with some snow powder to make it looks like a Christmas wreath hanging on the window or door covered with snow ... wish that I could spend another snowy white Christmas again.

Recipe adapted from : Cookpad
Below my slight modification as added some dried cranberries.

Milk Wreath Bread
Ingredients
150g bread flour (I used 170g)
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
110 ml fresh milk
1/3 teaspoon salt
15g butter, softened

For the filling
2 tablespoons white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon dried cranberries (my addition)

1 to 2 tablespoons Confectioner's icing sugar or Snow powder sugar -  for dusting

Method
1) In a big bowl, combine half of the bread flour together with yeast, caster sugar, and milk. Mix with a spatula till sugar and bread flour dissolved.

2) Add the remaining bread flour, salt, and butter. Continue to mix well till a soft dough is formed.

3) Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead well until smooth. (I added extra 20g of bread flour as the dough is slightly wet and sticky).

4) Shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. I greased the bowl with canola oil. Turning once to grease surface. Cover with cling wrap or cloth and let rise in a warm place until double (about 45 mins to 1 hour).

5) Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 equal portions (the weight of my dough is 50g each). Gently roll into smooth balls and cover with a piece of damp cloth and rest for 10 minutes.

6) Flatten the dough with palm on lightly floured surface. Sprinkle some white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Roll it up and pinch the edges to seal.

7) Gently stretch out flatly by hands, and cut 5 notches with a dough cutter. Roll up from left to right, and pinch the ends of the dough together.

8) Place the dough with seam side down on a lightly greased mould with butter. (I used a chiffon tube pan) Cover with a damp cloth to proof for 20~30 minutes.

9) Preheat oven to 180°C. Position the rack in center of oven. Bake for about 15 ~18 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Check the bread after 10 minutes.
(Note: The temperature of the oven may vary, you have to adjust the temperature and timing to suit your oven)

Once the bread is cooled,  dust with some snow powder before serving.

《Although it's been said many times, many ways ... Merry Christmas to you !》

♡☆♡~~~☆☆♡☆☆~~~♡☆♡

Linking this post to Cook and Celebrate Christmas 2015

Organized by Yen from GoodyFoodies, Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

Apricot & Cranberry Flip Sweet Bread

I seldom bake freshly baked bread/bun at home .... hee... hee ... cos too time consuming for me as I don't own a bread making machine. I've bookmarked some bread/bun recipes but I just didn't have the time to try baking all. Glad that my big kids loved some of my 1st attempt like Christmas-star-shaped Breads, Honey Bread, Chicken Floss Buns and Ham & Cheese Buns :)

I remember the dough for making Honey Bread was very easy to handle and so I decided to try another recipe from Seasons and Suppers.

I anticipated that I will have trouble "transporting" the long twisted dough onto the baking sheet.  So I moved the dough onto the baking sheet with greased parchment paper before I made the cut and twist.

Recipe source and adapted from Seasons & Suppers

Below my slight modifications made as I've halved the recipe, added some dried cranberries and adjusted the amount for some ingredients

Apricot & Cranberry Flip Sweet Bread
Yield: 1 loaf (about 16 slices)
Ingredients
For bread dough
1.5 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
60g warm water
45g caster sugar
50g butter, softened,
60g warm milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
350g all-purpose flour

For filling
2 tablespoons butter, softened
60g apricot jam
25g dried cranberries - soak in warm water and pat dry (my addition)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon mix with 20g sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Sliced almonds, for top (optional)

Method :
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
In a stand mixer with kneading hook attachment. Combine these ingredients in the mixing bowl : caster sugar, butter, warm milk, salt, egg, yeast mixture and 200g of the flour. Beat the mixture with kneading hook until smooth. Stir in gradually the remaining flour to form a dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. At the stage, the dough is pretty easy to handle and no longer feel the stickiness.

Shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. I greased the bowl with canola oil. Turning once to grease surface. Cover with cling wrap or cloth and let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 to 1-1/2 hours).

1st proofing doubled in size after 1hr 30 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into approximate 20-inch x 11-inch rectangle.
Meanwhile, prepare baking sheet with greased parchment paper.

Spread 2 tablespoons of butter and apricot jam to within 1/2 inch of edges.

Scatter some dried cranberries and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over apricot jam.

With the longer side, carefully roll up like swiss roll. Pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down. Transfer the dough onto the baking sheet with greased parchment paper.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll in half lengthwise. Pinch one end together and twist the two strands together 3 or 4 times, keeping the cut edge facing upwards as much as possible. Pinch together the other end to seal. Cover with cloth for 2nd proofing, about 30 minutes. If using almonds, scatter a few on top before baking.

Not good in making the twist ...

Bake in a pre-heated 170°C oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Switch baking sheet halfway through baking time to ensure even baking. I tent with aluminium foil at the last 5 minutes into baking. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Lemon icing glaze (optional) :
200g icing (powdered) sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Combine and stir until smooth with a spoon. Adjust the consistency to your preference by adding more lemon juice or icing sugar. Once the loaf is cooled, drizzle or spread the icing glaze.

My addition of some dried cranberries hope to give a Christmasy touch. We loved the soft bread texture, sandwiched between the sweet apricot jam and cranberry bits, filled with a hint of woody cinnamon fragrance. Yum!

Coffee break !

Enjoying some without the
icing glaze. Taste as good!

Enjoy !

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate Christmas 2015

Organized by Yen from GoodyFoodies, Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

Ham & Cheese Rose Bun

I used the same bread dough recipe that I'd made the chicken floss buns about 2 weeks ago here.  I still have some chicken floss and bread flour, so obviously to make the chicken floss buns again.

When kneading the dough, my boy asked if can make ham & cheese buns since we have some ham and cheddar cheese in the fridge.  Well, why not ? So, I have 2 requests ... to bake ham & cheese bun and chicken floss buns for our brekkie ^-^!

While trying to wrap or fold the bun for the ham & cheese, the steamed 南瓜玫瑰馒头 Pumpkin Rose Mantou crossed my mind.  Yes, I loved the rose shaped mantou very much and using the same technique, I think could make the shape of rose bun as well.  Yes ! I'm glad that it turned out prettily like yellow roses ^-^

Ham & Cheese Rose Bun
Note : I got the "hang" of making the rose buns, so eventually I made 3 mini chicken floss buns and 10 ham & cheese rose buns :D

Ingredients
270g bread flour
30g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 egg
30g caster sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
150ml milk
30g unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 slices of ham
5 slices of cheddar cheese

Egg Wash (1 egg, beaten)

Instructions
In a big bowl, add the flours, yeast, egg, sugar, salt and 120ml of the milk.

Mix, and add the rest of the milk gradually while mixing.
Once the ingredients have come together, add the butter and knead to incorporate.

Keep kneading the dough until the dough is elastic (it will get less sticky as you knead) and has reached the windowpane stage.
(I spent about 20 mins in kneading the dough)
Shape into a ball and place the dough in a bowl.

Spray with a little water (I skipped this as don't have a sprayer) and cover with a piece of damp cloth.

Place the bowl in a *warm place to allow the dough to rise for about 1-1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
*As shared on proofing dough : turn on the oven to the lowest temperature (35°C) for 1 minute, turn it off and place the dough in the oven to rise.

Punch the dough to allow the air to escape.

Divide the dough into 18 portions about 30g each. Shape each portion into a ball. Cover with a piece of damp cloth and rest for 15 minutes.

For the ham & cheese rose buns, I tried 2 ways : -

(A) Used the same technique in making rose mantou :



Lay 1 round dough disc, 1 slice of ham, 1 dough disc, 1 slice of cheese and 3rd piece of dough, overlap each other in a row. Use one piece to roll into a small log. Put the log-shaped dough at the end of the circle of dough and roll up the dough pieces. Once all rolled up like a big log, place it horizontally and cut the center using a knife or dough cutter to make 2 roses.

Quite ok but I was not too happy as it's too fat and it looked like wrapped dumpling.

I tried another way instead, refer pictorial below :
(B)

1. Make 3 round dough disc.  Lay 1 round dough disc, place 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese. 
2. Roll it up like a small log. Pinch the seam/edges to seal

3. Place the log over 1 round dough disc, roll it up. Pinch the seam/edges to seal. Repeat for the 3rd dough disc.

4. Place it horizontally and cut the center using a knife or dough cutter to make 2 roses.

Place the dough on two baking trays. Place the trays in the oven to proof for 50 minutes.

Remove the trays from the oven and preheat the oven to 170°C.

Brush egg wash on the bread dough. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bread has turned golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Note:
I used the lowest rack to bake.

The temperature of the oven may vary, you have to adjust the temperature and timing to suit your oven.

That's for my brekkie to kick-start a lovely day !

Happy baking and have a lovely day too :D

Chicken Floss Buns

I received a big pack of chicken floss during CNY 2015 gifts exchange with my relative. Opened the pack about a week ago.  Other than to sprinkle some floss on cold or steamed dofu, spread on white bread, I can't think of other ways to enjoy them. Ha ha ... CNY is over so I don't wish to bake anymore Chicken or Pork Floss Cookies now (pork floss cookies).

I like to buy those chicken or pork floss buns from bakeries for our brekkie occasionally.  So, I decided to make some ... bought a pack of bread flour to bake chicken floss buns. Hee ... hee... I don't keep stock for bread flour as I don’t always bake bread although I've attempted a few last year : Japanese condensed milk bread, Honey Bread, Christmas star-shaped breads etc.

I have to thank Diana for sharing this recipe here.  Glad that everything went smoothly... from kneading of the dough to proofing to baking them in oven. Just when I took the bottle of mayonnaise out from the fridge ... oppsie ! it has EXPIRED one month ago !! So ... got to use butter instead.

Recipe adapted from : Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe
With my notes in blue.

Chicken Floss Buns
Ingredients:
270g bread flour
30g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 egg
30g caster sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
150ml milk
30g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pork (or chicken) floss
Mayonnaise
Egg Wash (1 egg, beaten)

Instructions:
In a big bowl, add the flours, yeast, egg, sugar, salt and 120ml of the milk.

Mix, and add the rest of the milk gradually while mixing.
Once the ingredients have come together, add the butter and knead to incorporate.

Keep kneading the dough until the dough is elastic (it will get less sticky as you knead) and has reached the windowpane stage.
(I spent about 20 mins in kneading the dough)
Shape into a ball and place the dough in a bowl.

Spray with a little water (I skipped this as don't have a sprayer) and cover with a piece of damp cloth.

Place the bowl in a *warm place to allow the dough to rise for about 1-1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
*As shared on proofing dough : turn on the oven to the lowest temperature (35°C) for 1 minute, turn it off and place the dough in the oven to rise.

Punch the dough to allow the air to escape.

Divide the dough into 8 portions, about 70g each. Shape each portion into a ball.
(I yielded 7 portions, about 72g each)
Cover with a piece of damp cloth and rest for 15 minutes.

Roll each ball into a rough rectangle. Roll the dough and pinch the edges to seal.
Place the dough on two baking trays. Place the trays in the oven to proof for 50 minutes.

Remove the trays from the oven and preheat the oven to 170°C.

Brush egg wash on the bread dough. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the bread has turned golden brown.
(I used the lowest rack to bake)

Haa ha ! Kissing each other !

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Using a spatula, spread mayonnaise (I used butter) on the top half of the bun. 
Press the bun gently onto the chicken or pork floss to coat. You may need to press gently on the bun to help the floss adhere to the buns.

Ta da ! Well ... finally our homebaked chicken floss buns for brekkie!

See the generous amount of chicken floss! 

Before I could say something, my boy was surprised to see I've made these buns.
Boy : oh you can make pork floss buns !
Mom : it's chicken floss buns :D
Boy : can try now ?! Supper time ....
Mom : baked for tomorrow's breakfast (actually ...  I can't wait to try the bun too). Ok let's cut half to try  ....
Boy : oh nice! Mmm ... good!

Well, sure to make another round of chicken floss buns. Enjoy !

Happy baking and have a great week ahead!

Submitting this post to the event : Little Thumbs Up - April 2015 Theme Chicken organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe 

 

Christmas Star-Shaped Breads with Brown Sugar

Well, here again ... not fond in baking bread but baked breads twice in a row within a week. So, what has caught my eyes or interest me ? The lovely designs of course. But I'm so eager to try out these star shapes ... I supposed this star-shaped breads can be baked any time ... so I couldn't wait till Christmas ... lol ! Also, with some left-over cake flour, just nice to finish it off.

Recipe source : cookpad
Below my slightly modified version and notes in blue.

Christmas Star-Shaped Breads with Brown Sugar
Ingredients:
190g Bread flour
60g Cake flour
70g brown sugar (I used 60g)
145ml Milk
5g Dry yeast
25 Shortening (I replaced with unsalted softened butter)
3g Salt
Some pistachio nuts for decoration.

Methods:
1) In a small pan, heat and warm the milk to body temperature. Add all the ingredients except butter into a bowl, and mix well. (I used stand mixer fitted with the dough hook to mix the ingredients in low speed. Gradually add the milk in to gauge the texture).
When it starts to come together, add the butter then knead by hand into a soft, smooth dough. (I added about 1.5 tablespoons of bread flour as the dough is slightly sticky).
Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

2) This dough contains a lot of sugar, so it takes a long time to rise. (Mine took about 1 hour 25 mins - 1st proofing). After the proofing, gently punch down, divide into 10 even pieces, and let it sit for 10 minutes.
(I weighed the dough and divided 6 rounds of 65g each, used remaining to make some smaller designs for the center)

3) Then form into shapes. The picture shows how to do it.

Cropped pictures from the web page for easy reference:

4) Make an octagonal, hexagonal, pentagonal star shapes according to the size of the dough.

5) The dough looks like this. When the cuts are deep, the star-shapes look nice after baked. Proof the dough (2nd proofing).
(I covered the dough and let it rest about 15mins)
The next step is baking.

6) Decorate a little with some nuts. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Check the bread after 10 minutes.

Baked these for our brekkie ... but couldn't wait to try one for supper. Yummy! The bread is soft and not too sweet. I find that this dough is like Honey Bread, not sticky and very easy to handle. Will definitely bake these again during Christmas ^-^!

I'm linky this post to Cook and Celebrate (Christmas 2014), organized by Yen from Eat your heart out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

I am submitting this post to Best Recipes for Everyone (November 2014 Event: My Bread Story) hosted by Fion (XuanHom's Mon Kitchen Diary).