Bread Flour And Instant Yeast

I have tried using both "Red Man" and "Prima Flour" BREAD FLOUR which turns out equally good with price ranging from S$2.80 - S$3.00 depending on the supermarkets. Whereas for the INSTANT YEAST I have do a swap on my last two recipes from "Bake King" to "Saf instant"(comes in a box of 5 packets each weighing 11g) upon recommended by Sherie and a few baking friends.

BREAKDOWN OF TIME SPENT 
FOR MAKING THE BREAD

I am sure some of you are just like me, whenever we scan through any bread related recipes we are always hesitate to try out the recipe due to the long proofing hours. But physically what it required is about only 15 - 20 minutes of hands-on such as preparation plus kneading of the dough(for those without bread machine at home) whereas the rest of the time taken is more for proofing of the dough. Below is the breakdown for your reference:-

~ Preparing Tangzhong/Water Roux: 3 minutes

~ Preparation plus Kneading: 15 minutes

~ 1st Proofing: 45 - 60 minutes or double it's original size (you can do other household chore while waiting)

~ Shaping: 5 - 7 minutes

~ 2nd Proofing: 45 - 60 minutes or double it's original size
(Check the dough after 45 minutes by pressing it lightly with a fingertip, it is ready when the dent springs back slowly. But if the dent stays as it is, the bread is overproofed.)

~ Adding Toppings/Baking Time: 20 - 30 minutes depending on the recipe.


Below are some Bread RECIPES:-



OR click HERE for more recipes.

Japanese Matcha Powder

Matcha - 抹茶 refers to finely-milled Japanese green tea. Recent years it has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream and a variety of Japanese confectionery too. Other than Japanese cuisine and pastry, matcha powder is also used as flavouring in many Western-style chocolates, candy, and desserts such as cakes, pastries, cookies, pudding and etc.

A few weeks back, I have made some lovely "Matcha Madeleines"(click Here for recipe) and "Matcha & Chestnut Chiffon Cake" (click Here for recipe) whereby I received some emails regarding on where to get the "Matcha Powder". Actually I have bought this Japanese Matcha powder from the NTUC located in Junction 8, at the Japanese section. This type of Matcha powder is slightly more expensive then the usual baking green tea powder that we used to purchase from Phoon Huat. A small can of 40g cost about S$6+ but I can guarantee you the end-products will be much more better then the usual green tea powder used.

Miniature Liqueur Collection

For those who loves to bake and make desserts you might often come across some name of these familiar liqueur like: Grand Mariner, Tia Maria, Kahlua and etc. Each liqueur had their special fragrant and taste which is used in different bakes and desserts. For example: Kahlua is usually used in making Tiramisu because of it's strong coffee fragrant while Grand Mariner is used for making Orange Souffle or anything that had need an extra orange favour.



For those who are interested in getting these miniature liqueur you can go to Isetan at Shaw Centre. The price range from $6 - $8 depending on the kind of liqueur.

All About Flour

The term "Flour" is generally used to refer to any edible substance in powdered form. Of all the cereals milled into flour, Wheat Flour is by far the most versatile, as it provides the elasticity in dough required for baking. Rice flour and Cornflour do not have this property.



Bread Flour(高筋面粉)
It is a high-protein flour, ideal for making all varieties of bread, buns and other flour-based products.

Cake Flour(低筋面粉)
It has the least amount of gluten of all wheat flours, making it best for light, delicate products such as sponge cakes, and some cookie batters. Cake flour often comes bleached, which gives it a bright, white appearance.

Cornflour(粟粉)
It is also known as cornstarch or maize flour, is milled from the starch of corn kernels. It contains no gluten and is used as thickener, giving sauces a smooth consistency. It can be combined with other flours for baking.

Plain Flour(普通面粉)
It a mutli-purpose wheat flour made from a blend of hard and soft flour. The husk particles are sifted out after milling. This flour is also ideal for Oriental specialties like Chinese dumpling (bao), Chinese dough fritters (yu tiao) and roti prata.

Poltenta(玉米粹)
It is a coarse flour ground from yellow and white corn. Cook it like porridge or use for cakes and bread. It may also be mixed with water or stock, cut into slices and grilled or fried.

Rice Flour (占米粉)
It's ground from white or brown rice and is used as a thickener or a substitute for people with gluten or wheat allergies. It can be used to make shortbread and rice noodles, or in general cooking mixed with other flours.

Self-raising Flour (自发面粉)
It is plain flour combined with a leavening agent, usually baking powder. It is used where leavening is required in recipes and is best suited for baking cakes, hot cakes such as American pancakes and cookies. It is also excellent as a batter for frying chicken, fish, prawns and banana fritters.. To make self-raising flour: add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to each 1 cup of plain flour and sift together 2 - 3 times.

Semolina
It is ground from the endosperm of hard durum wheat. It's a strong flour suitable for making sugee cake, pasta, cakes, semolina pudding, cookies and soup as well as baby weaning food. It is also available in coarse and fine varieties.

Wholemeal Flour(全麦面粉)
This is made from milling the whole wheat grain, so the bran and germ of the flour are still present. The bran makes the flour slightly heavier but is more nutritious. This flour is subject to rancidity so purchase in small quantities and store chilled.