Milky Squash Bread with Walnut 南瓜牛奶核桃麵包

Baking is like magic. You can turn the basic ingredients into something totally different. It's so amazing to see the finish product! My previous breads were all hand made. I found out that we can use a food processor to make the dough which saves a lot of time and energy. ^_^

Ingredients:
Butter-30g
Flour-295g
Mashed Squash-125g
Sugar-20g
Salt-2g
Milk-75-80g
Instant Yeast-3g
Walnut-60g

Method:
1. Prepare a food processor put flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast. Blend them for 5 seconds.

2. Add mashed squash and continue to blend. Pour small amounts at a time. ( Do it 2-3 times, don't pour it all at once. Flour needs time to absorb.)

3. Slowly add milk little by little.

4. Continue to blend them until you can make a thin layer when you stretch the dough.

5.  Get ready for fermenting. Make the dough a round shape. Prepare a container and put it in there. Spray some water on the surface of the dough. Use a cling wrap and rubber band to seal it.

6. Place it in the microwave with a cup of HOT water. Close the microwave. Let it ferment for 60 mins. If the water gets cold, replace with a hot one.

7. Use one finger to poke the center of the dough. If the dough doesn't bonce back, it means it's done. If it bonces back, let it continue to ferment for another 10 mins. and test again with your finger.

8. Spray some flour on the counter. Place the dough on top and press it to let the air out.

9. Bake walnuts at 325F for 6 mins. Chop them into small pieces.

10. Add chopped walnuts into the dough. (Fold the dough from one end to the other and press it. Continue to do it until they are evenly spread.

11. Separate them into little balls. (Use a weight to make sure they are the same size)

10.Place the little dough on a cake baking tray. (Remember to brush a layer of butter on the tray to prevent the bread from sticking.)

11. Put them into the oven or microwave with the door closed to ferment for another 60 mins.

12. 10 mins before the fermenting is done, take them out. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

13. Brush one layer of mixed egg on top of the bread.

14. Bake them at F350 for 15-20 mins or until they turn golden colour.

15. Take them out. When they are cool, use a bread knife to cut them into pieces.

16. Serve.

Milky Egg Bread 奶酥麵包

Ingredients for the stuffing: (Portion 8 pcs)
Unsalted butter-80g
Icing sugar-65g
Milk Powder-80g
Egg-15g
Salt- 1 pinch

Method:
1. Place unsalted butter in room temperature until it's soft.  Filter the icing sugar. Beat the egg and use a weight to get 15g.
2. Beat unsalted butter with icing sugar until they turn white.
3.Add milk powder and salt. Continue to mix them.
4.Add egg and continue to mix. Make a round or square shape
5. Use a cling wrap to wrap it.
6. Store it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hr. Or when you are about to put them with the dough.

7. Cut them into 8 pcs. about 30g each.

Bread Ingredients:
All purpose flour-300g
Instant Yeast 3/4 teaspoon
Egg-1 ( about 50g)
Milk-140cc
Sugar-25g
Unsalted butter-30g
Salt-1/4 small teaspoon

Method:
1. Cut the butter in to small pieces. Put it in room temperature until they are soft.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a container, except the butter. Add the liquid ingredients. Make sure
you leave 20-30cc aside for later. (If add all the liquid at once, the flour won't be able to absorb all at once. The dough will be sticky. So it's important to leave 20-30cc aside first.) Slowly add the liquid while mixing the dough.

3. Continue to use your hands to mix the ingredients. When you can grab the whole dough, move it to a counter. Add butter and continue to mix.

Put butter

                          Fold it and put pressure on it. Keep on doing this until the butter is absorbed.

4. Start to hold one end of the flour and throw it to the other end. Fold it 90 degrees and do it again. Until you can make a thin layer when you stretch the dough. (Using a bread machine will be faster, if you don't have a machine, you need to do this motion about 200-250 times. It took me 30 mins for me to make a thin layer this time.)

                                                                           Throw it

                                                                             Fold it

                                                              Thin layer means it's done!

5. Make the dough a round shape. Prepare a container and put it in there. Spray some water on the surface of the dough. Use a cling wrap and rubber band to seal it.

6. Place it in the microwave with a cup of HOT water. Close the microwave. Let it ferment for 60 mins. If the water gets cold, replace with a hot one.

7. Use one finger to poke the center of the dough. If the dough doesn't bonce back, it means it's done. If it bonces back, let it continue to ferment for another 10 mins. and test again with your finger.

8. Spray some flour on the counter. Place the dough on top and press it to let the air out.

9. Separate them into 8 little balls. Each one is about 70g.

10. Use a roller to roll each dough about 12cm in diameter.

11. Put the stuffing in the middle and close it by sticking the dough  at the edges together.

                                 Make sure it's totally covered. So it won't explode when baking

12. Make sure the edges don't touch the stuffing, otherwise they won't stick.

13.  Place the finished stuffing dough on a baking tray. Put the side that you close face down.  Remember to brush a layer of butter on the tray to prevent the bread from sticking.)

14. Put them into the oven with the door closed to ferment for another 60 mins.

15. 10 mins before the fermenting is done, take them out. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

16. Brush one layer of mixed egg on top of the bread. Spray some white sesame for decoration.

17. Bake them at 350F for 15-20 mins or until they turn golden colour.

18. Done

Maple Syrup Walnut Bread 楓葉糖核桃麵包

Same ingredients as Taiwanese Donuts http://carolcooking.blogspot.com/2011/07/taiwanese-donuts.html

Follow from steps 1-6 or you can make both and use the remaining dough to make the bread. And add

Walnut-30g
Maple Syrup or honey-15g
Sugar-2 teaspoons

Method:
1. Prepare a baking tray and brush unsalted butter around the tray.
2. Bake Walnuts at 325F for 6 mins. Chop them into small pieces.

After chopping them.

3.Use the remaining dough from making the donuts. Use a knife to cut them into 2 cm size.

4. Mix the small pieces of dough and walnut. Place them into the baking tray.

5. Spray the maple syrup around the dough.

6. Spray a little water on top. Use a cling wrap to cover the top and use a rubber band to seal it. Sit in warm place for 40 mins.

Fermenting

After fermenting.

7. Spray sugar on top.

8. Heat the oven at 350F and bake for 15 mins or until they turn golden colour.

Nice Colour!

9. Remove the bread from the tray.

10. Spray more maple syrup on top.

11. Use a knife to cut to the size you want.

12. Serve.

Done!

Taiwanese Donuts-台式甜甜圈

Portion: 10 Donuts

Ingredients:

Mash Potato-100g

All purpose flour-300g

Milk Powder-10g

Instant Yeast-1/2 teaspoon

Egg-1

Orange Juice-70cc

Sugar-30g

Extra Virgin Olive Oil-30g

Salt-1/4 small teaspoon

Milk Powder

Method:

1. Peel the skin of the potato and cook in boiling water. Use a chopstick or fork to poke the potato. If you can poke through, it means it's done. Remove the water and smash the potato.

2. Mix all the liquid ingredients together and leave 30cc aside for later use. Put all the ingredients in one container and start to use your hand to mix them until the flour doesn't stick on your hand. Slowly pour in the 30 cc liquid. Continue to mix them with your hands for 20-30 mins. When you can grab the whole flour, move to a counter space and continue to stretch the flour until you can make a thin layer on your hand. See the pic below.

3. Place the flour in a container. Spray some water on top. (not too much) Use cling wrap to wrap around the container. (I use a rubber band to seal it.) Put in a warm place and let it sit for 1 hr and 30 mins or when you see the size double. (Fermented process)

4. After it's fermented, use your hand to press the flour to squeeze our the air. Continue to make it become a round shape. Use a wet cloth to cover the flour. Let it sit for another 15 mins.

5. Spray flour on the counter. Use a rolling pin to make the flour about 1 cm thick. (In the process while you roll, if it sticks, just spray some more flour)

6. Use a bowl or cup to make the donut shape. Or you can make any shape that you like. Remember to put flour on the bowl that you are using to prevent the flour from sticking.

7. Prepare a big flat container. Put a layer of flour on top to prevent sticking. With the shapes that you made, place them in there. Place them in the oven for 15 mins for fermenting.

8.Heat a pan and add e.v.o.o. You don't need a lot of oil to fry, pour in about 1 cm height. Fry them with low heat. If you want darker coloured donuts, cook them with medium heat. If you want the color to be even, you can pour more oil when you fry them.

9. Place the fried donuts on a paper towel to absorb the oil.

10. Dip the donuts with sugar.

11.Serve

For the remaining dough from making the shapes, you can check this link to make another dessert. http://carolcooking.blogspot.com/2011/07/nut-walnut-bread.html