Category: Bread

Cornbread from scratch

There is something about cornbread in America. It has a really long history and traces back in the ancient American Indian days. There is a large variety of cornbreads in US and it is considered a corner stone in the southern US cuisine. From sweet to savoury and some flavored with jalapenos in it.  In Singapore, I think the only time you get to eat cornbread is in Kenny Rogers. And here in US, I really like the southern cornbread from Au Bon Pain. It is sooooo tasty but sadly I couldn’t find a single recipe that is near there. I will persevere and continue to research on it! 


Here, I would like to share a simple cornbread recipe with those who are interested in making some cornbread for your family. This is simple and nice to have when you have some friends over at your home for some soup or even great with drizzled honey or maple syrup. 


Recipe (1 loaf) 
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup of Milk
  • 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp of Butter, melted
  • 1 large Egg
  • 1 1/4 cup Yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
  • Optional: corn kernels
Steps:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit (200 degree Celsius).
  2. Grease the bottom and sides of loaf pan with butter.
  3. Beat milk, butter and egg in a mixing bowl. 
  4. Stir in the remaining ingredients all at once. Ensure flour is mix well but do not overmix and leave the batter slightly lumpy.   
  5. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 20 minutes. 
  6. Cool and serve slightly warmed. 

Modified from Betty Crocker: Best of Baking

by Categories: Bread 2 Comments

Crispy Yummy Roti Prata

Oh boy…. I miss Roti Prata so much. I miss the strong aroma and its “crispy on the outside and tender on the inside” texture. It is so unforgettable. Oh no… The sinful Singapore Indian pancake is calling out to me,”Yummy yummy, make me to eat!” 


Okay, I surrender! I gave in to the temptation the calling of the crispy layered pancake and lets make some Crispy Yummy Roti Prata!


 I am sure the dough is not too difficult to make but I do not think my arms are comparable to those muscular, hairy and skillful prata flippers of Jalan Kayu or Defu Lane. Hence, I will not try to tell you how to flip because I did not and dare not. It will be hilarious to see pratas stuck on the walls of my kitchenette. 

Recipe (makes 12 Pratas)
 Ingredients:
  • 600g of Plain flour
  • 300ml of water
  • 1 Egg
  • 15ml of Cooking oil
  • 1tsp of Salt
  • 1 tbsp Sugar
  • Cooking oil for frying
Steps:
  1. Mix water, egg, salt, sugar and oil together in a bowl. 
  2. In a mixing bowl, put flour in and make a well in the centre.
  3. Slowly, incorporate the liquid mixture into flour by adding liquid mixture into the well and using fingers to mix the flour into the well. 
  4. It should form into a sticky dough. Continue to knead till smooth. About 5 minutes. 
  5. Using a cling wrap, wrap it and put aside for 30 minutes. 
  6. Remove wrap, knead another 10 minutes. 
  7. Make the dough into smaller portions of 80g each. 
  8. Coat with cooking oil and put into a tray. Wrap with cling wrap. 
  9. Leave overnight. 
  10. Heat the frying pan on medium heat and add 2 tbsp of oil. 
  11. Flatten a ball at a time, stretch the dough till translucent thin. (You can try to flip here) 
  12. Roll the dough into a scroll and roll the scroll into “curl up worm”.
  13. Then flatten it with your palm. 
  14. Pan-fry it till both sides are crispy and golden brown. 
  15. Serve with curry or sugar. 

by Categories: Bread 1 Comment

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-apart Bread

I have been really busy lately. Trying to tie things up at work and at the same time spend more time with my family and friends. Currently it is also a time where I take stock of where I am now and planning for the bigger and brighter future to come.

Recently I bumped into a website while using “stumble upon”. There is this wonderful recipe that I told myself that I have to try it. It is the Cinnamon Sugar Pull-apart Bread. I love cinnamon sugar! It is so lovely that I can probably coat my entire bread with it. But well, my husband is anti-cinnamon. He hates cinnamon. However, knowing me… I like to dispel it.
I am going to make him like it…. in fact love it!

Did I succeed? Read on …


The bread was marvellous! The recipe is indeed fool proof. No need machine. Just a spatula and a pair of hands. You are ready to go!

Recipe for a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf
adapted from Joythebaker.com

Ingredients:

For the Dough

  • 2 and 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 56g of unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling

  • 1 cup granulated sugar (I used half white sugar and half brown sugar)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
  • 56g unsalted butter, melted until browned

Steps
  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.
  2. Beat together eggs in another bowl and set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, put milk and butter over the stove until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two.
  4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.
  5. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. Keep stirring.
  6. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky.
  7. Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover a clean moist kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  8. While the dough rises, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside.
  9. Melt butter until browned. Set aside.
  10. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set that aside too.
  11. Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean and moist kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.
  12. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.
  13. Just roll it as large as the dough will go. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough
  14. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
  15. Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book. Place a clean and moist kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
  16. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 180 degrees Celsius. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.
  17. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board.
  18. Serve warm.


My hubby was rather reluctant to try the bread. But after helping me to take a few pictures of the loaf… he tried a small piece. And guess what? I have to stop him from eating the bread as dinner was starting soon. He ate a third of the loaf.

Imagine the grin on my face. I did it again!

by Categories: Bread Leave a comment

Healthy Wholemeal Bread

I always wanted to bake my own bread. Yes, I haven’t got the guts to try even though I have attended a 8-week programme on bread making about 3 years ago. I have tried brioche and croissants but not those traditional bread. Well, what is stopping me is that I am worried if my bread does not rise. I need to get that off my head and I am not going to find the easy way out by getting a bread making machine.
So I flipped my old recipes and there it is “Wholemeal Bread”. The steps were easy to follow and ingredients were simple. I made half the portion as I did not want to have bread for my entire week.

Ta Da!!! Here it is my first loaf of wholemeal bread.


I had the bread for my lazy Sunday breakfast with some jam and a glass of juice!

Recipe for 1kg of bread
(A)
  • 850g Bread Flour
  • 30g Milk Powder
  • 60g Sugar
  • 50g Instant Yeast
  • 10g Bread Improver
  • 150g Wholemeal Flour
  • 50g Butter or Shortening
Ingredient (B)
  • 550g Cold water
  • 15g Salt
Steps:
  1. Using a dough hook beater, mix ingredients A together at low speed.
  2. Add cold water and salt slowly into the mixing bowl till the dough does not stick to the bowl.
  3. Mix the dough for 10 minutes at medium speed. Ensure the dough is smooth.
  4. Remove the dough from the mixer. Fold in the dough and put it back into the bowl. Cover with moist towel and let it rise (approx 15 minutes). Ensure it is placed near somewhere warm.
  5. When the dough is ready, it is doubled the size.
  6. Grease hands and table top with butter.
  7. Take out the dough from the bowl. Divide the dough into 200g balls.
  8. Roll the balls one at a time on the greased surface till the surface is smooth.
  9. Cover the balls with moist cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  10. Roll each ball into rectangle and roll them up like a swiss roll.
  11. Line them up in a greased bread loaf pan.
  12. Cover it with moist cloth and let it rest till it doubles the size.
  13. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes.
  14. When it is done, remove from pan and let it cool on a wire rack.

by Categories: Bread Leave a comment