Post Holiday Food Posts: Hong Kong Breads Edition.

What do you do in Hong Kong apart from shop? You eat of course! three2tea's HK breakfast normally consists of bread, well, my HK breakfast mostly consists of bread. Hong Kong has so many wonderful bakeries and all so cheap as well. It's hard not to walk past a bakery and not want to go in and buy something to eat.

Lots and lots of tasty breads!
From top left to top right:

1. A bun I thought was a "Gai Mei Bau", the bun with the sweet, coconut filling in, BUT, I picked up the wrong one, all I got was a plain ole butter roll T_T So dry!
2. A Bau Lau Bao, or pineapple bun, it's good to eat an authentic one!
3. A bun stuffed with ham and cheese for breakfast?! Yum yum, yes please.

2nd row from left to right:

1. I think this one was a blueberry and cheese bun?
2. A Green Tea and Red Bean Mochi Bread
3. The inside of the mochi bread! Mochi bread is a denser bread, with the red bean inside, this combination was delicious. I need to go find me a mochi bread recipe.....

3rd row from left to right:

1. A Cream Horn!
2. A Chestnut filled Bun
3. The inside of the chestnut filled bun, I love anything with chestnut in and I have to make sure I eat something with chestnut in whilst in HK because they are the best!

4th row from left to right:

1. Another Chestnut filled Bread, this one was a little pricy at HKD$10.90, nearly £1 for this! But it was tasty, but not £1 tasty!
2. A Raisin and Cookie Dough Topping Bread
3. A Red Bean and Almond Bread. Red Bean is another favourite ingredient of mine, red bean in anything tastes great!

Wash these breads down with a glass of ginger soya milk in the morning! Nothing tastes better :P

Satsuma-imo.

Olive Oil Rolls

If you've ever been to the far east you'll know people tend to like their breads light and fluffy as opposed to the hard-crusted loaves favoured by westerners. I like a bit of both. There are occasions where only one will do. Crusty bread has its deserved spot next to a nice warm bowl of soup. Most HK restaurants serve butter rolls with soup and as nice as they are they can never beat a crusty roll in my eyes. It's all about the contrast of textures...

Today I have are recipe for a olive oil roll. I like browsing through Japanese websites to find recipes and this is adapted from a recipe I found on Cookpad. Cookpad is a website where users submit their own recipes and other users can in turn upload photos of how their dishes/baked goods turn out. It's a clever idea of filtering out the bad recipes. As this is a Japanese-inspired bread it is of course a soft textured bread - great for a lunch roll (or for dunking in soup if that is your preference).

This recipe makes 10 medium sized rolls.
Ingredients:
540g white bread flour
60g rye bread flour
350ml warm water
50g soft brown sugar
12g fast action dried yeast
6g salt
60ml olive oil (I've used a light olive oil but obviously you can use extra virgin if you want a much stronger taste)
1 egg, for glazing

Method:

1. Put all ingredients, except the egg, into a bowl and combine.
2. Knead for about 10mins until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough is wetter than previous recipes I've posted but it will form into a nice ball eventually so be patient.
3. Leave to rise until doubled in size.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide the dough into 10 balls. You may need a good dusting of flour when shaping each roll as the dough is very soft.
5. Leave to prove until doubled in size.
6. Lightly beat the egg and brush a thin coating over each roll.
7. Bake in a 220C/200C fan oven for 20mins.

The egg glaze gives the rolls an extra glossy sheen, like its been hit by a spotlight.

-Aubergine

Most Unhealthy Lunch Ever?

Good Afternoon!!

This isn't a recipe post, I just wanted to share what I ate for lunch, look away now if you are health conscious!

A GIANT burger!

This lunch consisted of:

• Homemade Bread
• Homemade Thai Green Curry Flavoured Beef Burgers
• Beetroot
• Egg Whites (I maybe poured like 3?!) You will see why in my next post why I had just egg whites left over!)
• Emmental Cheese

And that's it! Well, apart from the lashings of ketchup on top as well. Yummy!

Satsuma-imo.

Wholemeal Twisted Bread with Pumpkin & Fennel Seed

Hello, Aubergine here. I'm sorry I've been MIA recently. My notebook died about 2 weeks ago and I only got it back from repairs this weekend. Luckily I still had my smartphone to get my internet fix but blogging would have been impossible especially at the the rate I type on a smartphone!

So, recently I've been following Lorraine's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food TV series and in one of the episodes she made a Twister Bread which looked amazing. I took the twisting idea and applied it to a basic bread recipe I had lying around.

The only reasons I didn't use the original recipe were one, I didn't want to eat another white bread for the 3rd week running and two, because it's a bread for my work lunch. My colleagues tend to interrupt me during my lunch break and talking with poppy seeds stuck in my teeth just wouldn't be professional (or attractive)!!

This is how my bread turned out:

OK...my bread doesn't look as nice as Lorraine's as I was a little reserved with the twisting - next time I'll go all out and twist until I can't twist 'no more'.

Ingredients
500g wholemeal bread flour
325ml warm water
10g salt
2tsp honey
4g dried fast action yeast
handful of pumpkin seeds
1tsp fennel seeds

Method

1. Put all the ingredients, except the seeds, into a bowl and combine to form a dough.
2. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic and leave to rise until double in size.
3. After the 1st rise, turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to a rectangle to about 1cm thickness.
4. Sprinkle over the seeds and use a knife to cut the dough up into 6 strips.
5. Twist each strip a few times and stack them together.
6. Twist the whole thing again and combine into a ring. Leave to rise again until doubled in size.
7. Bake for 30 mins at 220C/200C fan or until the bottom of the bread sounds hollow.

Hopefully I've described the method good enough but if that fails then the link I've provided also has a video so you can see from the master how it's supposed to be done! Enjoy!

-Aubergine

Boozy Cheese Rolls

I won a couple of beers through a competition a while back, and being a teetotaler the beers have been sitting at the back of my fridge for months on end without any hope of being drunk. "Why would she enter a beer competition when she doesn't drink?" I hear you say. It's all very logical, it wasn't just a beer competition but a pie and beer competition, with pies made by a very well-known local pie maker. And believe me, once you've tasted their pies you definitely would not pass up the chance to get them for free!

Now, back to the beer. I've been thinking of ways to use it and the only options I could think of was either to use it in a stew or use it to make bread. I'm not a very big meat-eater so I never have meat lying around in the fridge so that ruled out option 1. So here I am, showing you a Boozy Cheese Bread.

I've used a mix of three flours: white, wholemeal and rye just because I've been making too much white bread lately so felt like varying it up a little. Obviously you can use whatever bread flour you want but just keep in mind how much water you need as white bread flour tends to absorb less water than wholemeal and rye bread flour.

This recipe makes 16 rolls...enough to keep us going for the week!

Ingredients
600g white bread flour
200g rye bread flour
200g wholemeal bread flour
14g dried active yeast
7g salt
15g sugar
20ml olive oil
440ml can of beer
220ml warm water (approx.)
150g cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. Put all the dried ingredients (except the cheese) in bowl, keeping the salt and the yeast on opposite sides of the bowl.
2. Add the olive oil and beer. Start mixing the dough and gradually add the water. A little judgement is required here, as you want enough water to form a nice dough ball that's soft but not too wet. I would say it's a texture that you can easily knead with.
3. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic and leave to prove until double in size.
4. After the first proving, mix in the grated cheese and divide the dough into 16 balls.
5. Shape the balls into rolls or buns. I've done half and half. Prove again until double in size.
6. Bake in a preheated oven of 210C/190C fan for 25mins until the rolls/buns sound hollow when tapped on the underside.

The great thing about making rolls is that there's no need for slicing so once they're cool enough to handle, tear apart and eat! Mmmm...cheesy goodness.

-Aubergine

Soft White Baps

...or soft white buns for non-UK residents! This is a recipe I've found on the Guardian website by baking guru Dan Lepard. These baps are perfect burger buns and now that summer has finally arrived in the UK there's no reason not to make them for your summer BBQ.

The recipe can be found here. Here's how mine turned out:

I deliberately placed them close together to get the same look as those burger buns you find in the bakery section of your local supermarket.

I've been very slack at updating this blog so I'll definitely bake more stuff to show you guys.

- Aubergine

One Dough, Two Breads: Pumpkin and Cheese & Almond and Lavender Marmalade

Another bank holiday, another bread. Well, in this case, two breads. We go through about two loaves of bread each week and sometimes it gets a bit boring eating the same flavour bread day after day so I thought I'd try something a little different this week and bake two different flavours.

Rest assured, two different breads does not mean double the amount of work as my nifty tip here is to start from the same base dough and after the first fermentation split the dough in half and add nuts, dried fruit etc of your choice.

I've chosen to make a Pumpkin Seed and Cheese Bread and an Almond and Lavender Marmalade Bread. The lavender marmalade was a nice find at a farmer's market in a nearby town but early next year, when the Seville oranges are in season, I will try making my own. As for the cheese, I used Machego cheese which is a hard cheese made from Ewe's milk and has a nice tangy flavour.

Pumpkin and Cheese Bread

Almond and Lavender Marmalade

Ingredients (makes two loaves)
700g white bread flour
300g rye flour
14g dried yeast
10g salt
10g sugar
30g butter
600ml warm water

Other Ingredients
100g grated Machego cheese
a handful of pumpkin seeds

2tsp lavender marmalade
a handful of flaked almonds

Method

1. Rub the butter into the white bread and rye flour. Add the rest of the dried ingredients making sure that the salt and yeast are at the opposite sides of the bowl - this is to prevent the salt from killing off the yeast.
2. Add the water and mix until a dough is formed.
3. Tip onto a flat surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
4. Leave to rise until double in size.
5. After the first fermentation, divide the dough in half. I like to weigh the dough so I can get similar sized breads but I'm a bit pedantic. Doing it by eye works just as well.
6. For the cheese bread, knead the cheese into the dough. Form the dough into a ball and wet the surface. Take your pumpkin seeds and press them into the surface of the dough. They to pressed in firmly otherwise they will fall off when you come to slice the bread. Leave to rise until doubled in size.
7. For the marmalade bread, flatten the dough out into a rectangular shape about 1cm thick. Spread the marmalade over the dough leaving about 1cm around the edge of the dough so that you can seal it later. Sprinkle the flaked almonds all over the marmalade. Next fold the dough in half, and then in half again making sure to seal the edges as you don't want marmalade seeping out and burning during baking. You should end up with a square dough. I baked this in a square tin to help preserve the shape. Leave the dough to rise until doubled in size.
8. Preheat your oven to the highest setting and bake for about 10 min, lower the temperature to about 200C/180C fan for a further 30mins or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the underside.

The method of setting the temperature high at the start of baking is to give the dough an extra rise and to develop a nice crust. Keep an eye on the pumpkin bread especially if you have a hotpot in your oven as the pumpkin seeds can burn easily.

Please have a go and let me know what weird and wonderful combinations you come up with!

-Aubergine

Mexican Buns

As it's the Jubilee bank holiday weekend, I have a few days off to experiment with some new bread recipes.

I attempted the Mexican Buns for the first time. I guess they are similar to the Hong Kong 'Pineapple Bun' or the Japanese 'Melon-pan', a soft bun with a crispy, cookie topping. Out of the three I still prefer the Pineapple Bun, especially when they have the Cocktail Bun (Gai Mei Bau) filling...mmm. Not very traditional but very delicious. I'll try and make some myself in the near future but for now you will have to make do with Mexican Buns.

This recipe makes 12 muffin-sized buns. If like me you choose to line the muffin tins please please please use non-stick muffin cases. I made the rookie mistake of using the standard cases and as a result I lost part of my bread to the stupid case when I came to eat them. Don't make the same mistake!!

In this recipe I've used some cocoa powder as it's a nice contrast to the white topping but you can skip this and add 10g more bread flour instead.

Ingredients
For the bread:
250g bread flour
10g cocoa powder
4g dried yeast
130ml warm water
2g salt
30g sugar
1/2 egg
20g butter

For the topping:
50g butter
70g sugar
120g plain flour
1 egg
pinch of salt

Method:

1. For the bread: mix all the dried ingredients and rub in the butter.
2. Pour in the egg and the water a mix until a dough is formed.
3. Knead the dough on the work surface until it is elastic and smooth.
4. Leave to rise covered until double in size.
5. In the meantime, to make the Mexican topping: cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Add the flour, egg and salt to the sugar and butter mixture and combine.
7. Transfer the topping mixture into a piping bag afor use later.
8. Once the dough has doubled in size, divide the dough into 12 balls. Cover and leave to rise again until doubled in size.
9. Pipe a swirl of Mexican topping onto each bun starting from the inside out.
10. Optional: now you can add some decoration onto the Mexican topping. Here, I've used some flake almonds.
11. Bake in a pre-heated oven 180C/160C fan for 20 mins.

Unfortunately, you can't eat these straight out of the oven as the topping needs to cool and harden. The crispy topping is what makes the Mexican Bun after all. Enjoy!

-Aubergine

Sultana Bread

This week's loaf is a sultana bread. This is a very light-textured bread with custard powder in the recipe which gives it that nice golden colour. As the name suggests it is a sweet bread so it's ideal for breakfast. Or if you're like me, it will do equally as well at lunch slathered with some peanut butter.

Yam and Coconut Milk Loaf

Not another milk loaf?! :P I told you I loved milk loaves, so here's another variation whether you like it or not!

The recipe asked for yam essence to be used, well, I can't buy yam essence over here, but I can get purple yam paste. So I thought, "close enough" and bought it, hoping I would get a loaf that looked like the picture. It was close, but not close enough....

Hokkaido Milk Loaf

Well traditionally this milk loaf is made with the gorgeous, yummy milk from cows in Hokkaido, Japan. Unfortunately, because we all live in the UK, we can't get Hokkaido Milk. So, my Hokkaido milk loaf, in fact, contains milk from British cows :O! Now having actually spent some time in a Hokkaido dairy farm in Japan, and having tasted freshly baked bread made from this milk, I can say that it is one of THE best loaves I have ever had! Needless to say, I am willing to try anything in order to recreate this great tasty bread. So my milk loaf contains, milk (shock), cream, bread flour, sugar, egg, salt and yeast. I also added in a special ingredient, more on this later. After hrs of kneading, proofing and kneading and....proofing again, here is my finished result:

Gai Mei Bao

Gai Mei Baos are a common item to see in chinese bakeries. Basically, they are bread buns filled with this sweet, coconut, butter filling.

So I decided to test out this one recipe I found in a book for Gai Mei Bao and once again, my bread making skills aren't up to par yet! Damn you bread, why don't you ever rise properly for me?!

More Japanese Breads!

After browsing more pictures from our travels, I came across some more lovely pictures of tasty bread treats from Japan. Enjoy.....

Date and Fig Rye Bread

Hello! This is Aubergine here. The blog has been up and running for over a week now and I think it's about time for my first post. And what else could it be about other than bread; which I love to eat and love to make.

I started to make my bread because I wanted more control and variety in what I was eating. Like any other child raised in the UK, I've been brought up on your average supermarket sliced loaf made using the Chorleywood Process. To sum it up in a nutshell this is a method where manufacturers can churn out loaves as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Yes, the end result is a fluffy loaf with week-long mold resistance, but with all the additives in it what can it be doing to our bodies? I admit there are still times when I'm short of time and still willingly buy these breads. I hope that with practice I can eventually be the bread-winner bread-provider of the family. So please stick with me through my successes and failures and let's help each other out to be better bread-makers!

So without further ado I introduce my first bread of the week: the date and fig rye loaf.

Japanese Breads

I've just been browsing through our pictures from when we were in Japan and I want to eat some more of these breads!

Ahhh soooo craving for some, I must learn these recipes! How are they so creative when shaping these breads?! How I miss our daily trips to the bakery as well in Japan. :(

Club Sandwich

People who have ever had afternoon tea or 'ha mg cha' will know that the club sandwich, known as 'gung si sah man ji' in chinese, is a regular on restaurant menus. A club sandwich basically consists of two layers of fillings sandwiched between three slices of bread, normally toasted. Bacon, lettuce and tomato are normally the main ingredients in this but you can put whatever you like in it.