I am happy to be able to share some recipes here. This blog is intended to share about health and Food is a big part of being healthy. I hope that the recipes i share would inspire you to eat at home, spend more time cooking your own food and help you be on track towards a healthy lifestyle.
Cooking at home has many benefits. Most notable for me is that you know what you are eating and thats very important. to bake your own bread means you will have a fresh loaf free of preservatives and added chemicals for flavouring or coloring.
The satisfaction of creating something for your family and yourself is undeniable awesome. It helps relieve stress and it help to keep the family bond strong. But cooking doesnt have to be gruesome and long. It all depends on you and the time you have. There are recipes that requires very little prep, and there are recipes that requires days to prep. choose the right one for you according to your wants and needs.
Today I will share my secret arsenal of bread making.
lets start with the time consuming Sourdough Recipe
I have of late been into baking (breads). What a joy it is to see simple ingredients of yis water and flour turn into a symphony of texture, flavor and aroma. yumm.. just thinking about bread makes me hungry
So sourdough is the "ibu roti" or base to which you culture your yis, ferment the dough and bring flavour to the bread. Having sourdough gives your bread a different dimension. you can make bread with the simple steps skipping the making of a sourdough, but do try it if you have the time.
traditionally, sourdough is made from yis that exist in the air. so you just let your dough sit until it "catches" something. but this process is slow and the yis isn't as active as the commertial ones. flavour wise, the 'wild' yeast brings a better flavor.. but it is hard to manage. so for a novice like me, i will teach you the commercial sourdough recipe.
Sourdough:(will update pics later for a better step by step instructions)
ingredients:
1 cup water - warm, not hot or yis will die, not cold or the yis will take extra time to activate
1 sachet of yis
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon sugar
method:
1. dissolve sugar in water, then dissolve yis
2. add the yis solvent to the flour and mix well
3 make sure the items are in a sealable container.
4. cover with a dry n clean kitchen towel and leave to rest in a warm place (msia, smua pun warm place ok, jgn saja kau simpan dlm frigde).
5.leave for up to 6 hours. stir and mix occasionally.
6. you should see it bubbling, and you should start to smell the fermentation.
7. put your dough mixture in the frigde, cover (do not use airtight container, the yis needs to breathe)
creating the sponge:
1. before using your sourdough, you need to add more flour n water so you get more quantities of the good flavor.
2.so add 1-2 cups flour and equal amount of water in the sourdough mix. Add a little sugar as well. this is also called "feeding" gives more food for your little yis pets and make them thrive. when they thrive, you get more flavor.
3. when you add / feed, leave the mixture outside to let the yis get active. leave for 1- 4 hours. depending on how strong u want the flavour to be.
4. put in the frigde if not used. take out and use as the recipe require.
5. make sure u mix well and let the mixture come to room temperature before every use.
6. when you see the mix change color or smell funny.. its time to throw it out. a good kept sourdough can keep for years...
Whole meal BUNS/bread (depends on how you shape them)
ingredients
2 cups sourdough
2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup plain flour for dusting and kneading
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon butter/margerine/olive oil
method
1. mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl, with a wooden spatula except the plain flour (to prevent your fingers from becoming fish in batter... its a joke.. dont be serius
2. once everything clump together, dust your table or working board with flour and start kneading your bread
3. knead and dust with flour until the dough doesnt stick to our hands or the board. the longer you spend kneading the dough, the better the texture and rise later on. when kneading make sure u stretch the dough. u can watch you tube to see examples if unsure. I knead at least 10 minutes. sometimes more. wholemeal doesnt form as much gluten as flour so it needs longer kneading and work to get better results.
4. put the dough in a dusted or oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap, then cover with dry kitchen towel and let rise for 1-2 hours. the first proof is the flavouring part.
5. after you are happy with the rise... destroy it!! haha. i mean punch it down. you may knead lightly and shape to the size and shape you want. buns.. make em small, bread leave it whole. you can go round, oval.. anything and its all up to you. but cooking time will vary depending on the shape and size
6. after shaping, leave to rise for second time. second proofing is to collect air in the dough. and give it that light texture. thats why you need to knead well so that air gets trapped in and not just seep away. proof for 30 min-1 1/2 hour. you can add nuts/herbs on top before baking.. or just leave it plain with some cuts (scores) to let it rise evenly
7. preheat oven at 200 (or 190 with fan), bake in preheated oven for 30-40 mins. how to know it is done? when you tap, the crust is firm and it produces a hollow sound... (dum dum dum)
8. take out when happy with the color n texture... and cool on a rack.
9. you can cut into hot buns and eat.. but bread loafs should be cooled before you cut.
enjoy!!!
Cooking at home has many benefits. Most notable for me is that you know what you are eating and thats very important. to bake your own bread means you will have a fresh loaf free of preservatives and added chemicals for flavouring or coloring.
The satisfaction of creating something for your family and yourself is undeniable awesome. It helps relieve stress and it help to keep the family bond strong. But cooking doesnt have to be gruesome and long. It all depends on you and the time you have. There are recipes that requires very little prep, and there are recipes that requires days to prep. choose the right one for you according to your wants and needs.
Today I will share my secret arsenal of bread making.
lets start with the time consuming Sourdough Recipe
I have of late been into baking (breads). What a joy it is to see simple ingredients of yis water and flour turn into a symphony of texture, flavor and aroma. yumm.. just thinking about bread makes me hungry
So sourdough is the "ibu roti" or base to which you culture your yis, ferment the dough and bring flavour to the bread. Having sourdough gives your bread a different dimension. you can make bread with the simple steps skipping the making of a sourdough, but do try it if you have the time.
traditionally, sourdough is made from yis that exist in the air. so you just let your dough sit until it "catches" something. but this process is slow and the yis isn't as active as the commertial ones. flavour wise, the 'wild' yeast brings a better flavor.. but it is hard to manage. so for a novice like me, i will teach you the commercial sourdough recipe.
Sourdough:(will update pics later for a better step by step instructions)
ingredients:
1 cup water - warm, not hot or yis will die, not cold or the yis will take extra time to activate
1 sachet of yis
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon sugar
method:
1. dissolve sugar in water, then dissolve yis
2. add the yis solvent to the flour and mix well
3 make sure the items are in a sealable container.
4. cover with a dry n clean kitchen towel and leave to rest in a warm place (msia, smua pun warm place ok, jgn saja kau simpan dlm frigde).
5.leave for up to 6 hours. stir and mix occasionally.
6. you should see it bubbling, and you should start to smell the fermentation.
7. put your dough mixture in the frigde, cover (do not use airtight container, the yis needs to breathe)
creating the sponge:
1. before using your sourdough, you need to add more flour n water so you get more quantities of the good flavor.
2.so add 1-2 cups flour and equal amount of water in the sourdough mix. Add a little sugar as well. this is also called "feeding" gives more food for your little yis pets and make them thrive. when they thrive, you get more flavor.
3. when you add / feed, leave the mixture outside to let the yis get active. leave for 1- 4 hours. depending on how strong u want the flavour to be.
4. put in the frigde if not used. take out and use as the recipe require.
5. make sure u mix well and let the mixture come to room temperature before every use.
6. when you see the mix change color or smell funny.. its time to throw it out. a good kept sourdough can keep for years...
Whole meal BUNS/bread (depends on how you shape them)
ingredients
2 cups sourdough
2 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup plain flour for dusting and kneading
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon butter/margerine/olive oil
method
1. mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl, with a wooden spatula except the plain flour (to prevent your fingers from becoming fish in batter... its a joke.. dont be serius
2. once everything clump together, dust your table or working board with flour and start kneading your bread
3. knead and dust with flour until the dough doesnt stick to our hands or the board. the longer you spend kneading the dough, the better the texture and rise later on. when kneading make sure u stretch the dough. u can watch you tube to see examples if unsure. I knead at least 10 minutes. sometimes more. wholemeal doesnt form as much gluten as flour so it needs longer kneading and work to get better results.
4. put the dough in a dusted or oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap, then cover with dry kitchen towel and let rise for 1-2 hours. the first proof is the flavouring part.
5. after you are happy with the rise... destroy it!! haha. i mean punch it down. you may knead lightly and shape to the size and shape you want. buns.. make em small, bread leave it whole. you can go round, oval.. anything and its all up to you. but cooking time will vary depending on the shape and size
6. after shaping, leave to rise for second time. second proofing is to collect air in the dough. and give it that light texture. thats why you need to knead well so that air gets trapped in and not just seep away. proof for 30 min-1 1/2 hour. you can add nuts/herbs on top before baking.. or just leave it plain with some cuts (scores) to let it rise evenly
7. preheat oven at 200 (or 190 with fan), bake in preheated oven for 30-40 mins. how to know it is done? when you tap, the crust is firm and it produces a hollow sound... (dum dum dum)
8. take out when happy with the color n texture... and cool on a rack.
9. you can cut into hot buns and eat.. but bread loafs should be cooled before you cut.
enjoy!!!
