Strawberry Mille-Feuilles : Bake-Along #73

Bake-Along #73, theme is Mille-Feuille, also known as Napoleon. It is a French pastry, with custard cream, whipped cream and berries sandwiched between two or three pieces of crispy flaky puff pastry. There are other variations to Mille-Feuille which you can find when you google for more info. 

This week's theme is selected by Lena, to bake together with Zoe and myself, and everyone is welcome to join us. Bake any Mille-Feuille and join our blog-hop, by linking your post to the linky.

To bake this delightful pastry, I've turned to one recipe from this gorgeous book from my cookbook collection, by master baker, Nick Malgieri. His book Pastry Perfection is simply fabulous! 

I have used store-bought puff pastry instead of making my own, due to time factor (I've only made this Mille-Feuille yesterday, at the last moment!). I would really love to try his puff-pastry recipe which he has provided in the book. Well, one day, hopefully soon (fingers crossed!). I have however followed his recipe on how to bake the caramelised pastry, his orange vanilla custard and sweetened whipped cream. He has used a mixture of strawberries and raspberries, but I've used only strawberries.

Since the custard cream need to be refrigerated until chilled, I've made it the night before, and left it in the refrigerator overnight. Ingredients for the custard cream are egg yolks, whipping cream, milk, caster sugar, large pieces of rind from a small orange, plain flour and vanilla extract.

I did not roll out the puff pastry but used it as it is. The one I bought is about 8" square. I placed the 

pastry on a lined baking sheet, prick holes all over, sprinkled with caster sugar, cover with a large parchment paper, and top with another baking sheet to prevent the pastry from puffing, bake as directed for about 15 minutes. Invert the dough by grasping both sides of the baking sheet together so that the pastry do not slide out. Remove the top baking sheet, the top parchment paper, then sprinkle the dough evenly with some icing sugar. Proceed to bake as directed in the recipe until the sugar melts and caramelised the pastry to a deep golden brown, watching it carefully so that it do not burn. Slice the pastry to desired serving size while it is still hot. Slide cut pastry, still on the baking parchment back to the baking sheet, cover with another baking parchment, and place another baking sheet on top, until you are ready to assemble, to prevent the crispy baked pastry from warping.

Whipping cream is whipped with a little caster sugar, to soft peaks.

To assemble the Mille-Feuille, place a slice of pastry with the caramelised side facing up on a serving plate. Top with a layer of custard, arrange some sliced strawberries, and top with the sweetened whipped cream. Finish off by placing another slice of pastry, caramelised side facing up, pressing it gently to adhere the layer to the cream. Serve immediately.  Yummilicious! 

Though it is rather messy to eat, we enjoyed eating this Strawberry Mille-Feuille. I like the custard cream, it has the aroma of orange and vanilla and is not too sweet. I've also reduced the sugar slightly for the whipping cream, and everything comes together rather deliciously with the crispy flaky pastry!

Strawberry Mille-Feuilles
(adapted from "Pastry Perfection", Nick Malgieri)
1 batch Caramelised Puff Pastry Layers ** (refer below)
(cut into two 19cm square layers)

Vanilla Orange Pastry Cream :
180ml whole milk
60ml double cream
50gm caster sugar
zest of 1 small orange, removed in large strips with a vegetable peeler
3 medium egg yolks
2 tablespoons unbleached plain flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Finishing :
240ml double cream
2 tablespoons caster sugar
350gm small strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1. For the pastry cream, combine the milk, cream, half the sugar and the orange zest in a small saucepan and whisk to combine. Bring to the full boil over a low heat. Meanwhile, in a bowl. whisk the egg yolks and then whisk in the remaining sugar. Sift over and whisk in the flour.
2. When the milk mixture boils, whisk it into the egg yolk mixture. Strain the mixture back into the pan (leaving the orange zest in the strainer) and place over a medium heat. Use a small, pointed-end whisk to stir constantly, being sure to reach into the corners of the pan,until the cream comes to the full boil and thickens. Cook, whisking constantly for another 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the vanilla extract or paste. Scrape the cream into a glass bowl and press clingfilm directly against the surface. Chill until cold.
3. A few hours before serving the mille-feuilles. use a sharp serrated knife to cut each of the layers into 8 rectangles, each about 4.5 x 9.5cm.
4. Just before assembling, whip the cream with the sugar to a soft peak.
5. Arrange 8 of the cut layers, caramelised side up, on dessert plates. Top each with a heaped tablespoon of pastry cream. Arrange some of the strawberries on the pastry cream, then top with a spoonful of whipped cream. Cover each with another puff pastry layer, caramelised side up, and gently press to adhere the layer to the whipped cream.
6. Serve immediately; these can wait an hour at a cool room temperature but not much longer.

** Caramelised Puff Pastry Layers

300gm puff pastry (I've used store-bought puff pastry)

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1. Lightly flour the work surface and the dough and roll it to a 25 x 38cm rectangle. (It's helpful to roll the dough part of the way, then transfer one of the pieces of parchment paper for lining a tin to your work surface, flour it and finish rolling the dough directly on the paper).
2. Slide the paper and dough into one of the tins and use a fork to pierce it all over at 1.25cm intervals. Cover the dough loosely with clingfilm and let it rest for several hours. (I used store-bought puff pastry; 2 pieces of 8" square, did not roll it out, use it as it is, and skip the resting time, proceed to step 3).
3. When you're ready to bake the layer, set a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 200C/gas mark 6. Line two 25x38cm Swiss roll tins with parchment paper.
4. Sprinkle the dough with the caster sugar and place the second piece of parchment paper on top; stack the second tin on top of the parchment. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 190C/gas mark 5. Bake for about 15 minutes until the layer is almost cooked through.
5. Remove the stack of tins and dough from the oven and invert them, grasping both sides to avoid having the dough slide out. Increase the oven temperature to 230C/gas mark 8.
6. The dough will now be resting on a piece of parchment on the back of a Swiss roll tin. Lift off the top tin, peel away the top paper, and slide the layer of dough, still on the second piece of paper, back into the original tin. Evenly sprinkle with the icing sugar and bake, watching carefully, for 7-10 minutes until the sugar melts and glazes. Don't wal away or it will definitely burn.
7. Slide the baked layer, still on its paper, to a cutting board and slice it into the desired pieces while it is still warm. To prevent the pastry from warping once it has cooled, slide it or the pieces back between the papers and tins until you are ready to proceed.

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Do stop by Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking Hot Milk Cakes with Strawberries and Cream from Bon Appetit Dessert Cookbooks, pg 128 or here. Please do join us and link your post to our linky which will start on 22nd till 31st January. Everyone is welcome to join us! Only current post please.

A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :

1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.

3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

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Spinach and Bacon Tart

Spinach and Bacon Tart, simply delicious!

This recipe is from master baker, Nick Malgieri's "bake!" cookbook, and it is one of my favourite baking book. I like his pastries and bread recipes, and the ones that I've tried, turned out really well.

For this Spinach and Bacon Tart, recipe indicates to use baby spinach, but I've used the regular ones as I'm unable to find baby spinach from the market. Or you can use frozen spinach for this (refer to the recipe instructions for frozen spinach). Cook the spinach as per the recipe's instructions, once they are cooled, squeeze out any excess moisture (wow, there's so much water!) and chopped them up roughly.

The chopped spinach, ready for the tart.

I made the pastry in the morning, and while the pastry is resting in the refrigerator, I prepared the spinach and the rest of the filling ingredients.

The pastry dough is enough to make two single 25cm tarts, or one double-crust tart. Since this recipe calls for one single crust, I've kept the other half frozen. After refrigerating one half of the dough for at least an hour, the dough is then rolled out to line the base and sides of a tart pan.

The filling is made by mixing the cooked bacon and spinach, together with eggs, cream and cheese. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over the prepared crust. Bake in a preheated oven at 190C for about 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown, and the filling is set.

Freshly baked Spinach and Bacon Tart, smells really good, and I love how it looks, with specks of green spinach in creamy filling, with lovely golden brown crust.

This tart is so delicious. I really love the crust. It is so tender, flaky and buttery. As for the filling, it is delicious, with tender creamy spinach, salty bacon and all that cheese! My family love savoury tarts and pies, and this tart definitely is in our list of favourites. Though this is really good when served warm, it is just as delicious when eaten at room temperature. Yummy!

Spinach And Bacon Tart

(adapted from "bake!", Nick Malgieri)
Makes one 25cm, about 10 servings
450gm baby spinach or 280gm frozen spinach, thawed
110gm thin-sliced streaky bacon, cut into 5mm dice
85gm finely diced white or yellow onion
salt
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
110gm coarsely grated mature cheddar, Gouda, or Swiss Gruyere cheese
3 medium eggs
One 25cm unbaked tart crust made from Flaky Pastry Douhg (refer * below)

1. For the filling, rinse the spinach and place it in a colander to drain. Place the spinach in a large saucepan and place over a high heat. Cover the pan and let the spinach steam, uncovering and stirring it occasionally, until it is completely wilted and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain in the same colander, and allow to cool. Once cooled, squeeze the moisture from handfuls of the spinach, then coarsely chop by hand. If using frozen spinach, just wring out the excess moisture.
2. Cook the bacon over a medium heat in a shallow saute pan, stirring occasionally to keep the pieces separate. Once the bacon has coloured nicely, take off the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan.
3. Set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 190C/gas mark 5.
4. Place the pan on a medium heat and add the onion. Once it starts to sizzle, decrease the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onion is wilted and just beginning to colour, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and bacon to the pan and season with a little salt, several grindings of pepper, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg. Stir everything together until evenly combined.
5. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the cream and grated cheese. Taste for seasoning. At this point, it should taste like well-seasoned creamed spinach. Add a little more salt and pepper if necessary. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Scrape the filling into the prepared crust and spread it evenly.
6. Bake the tart until the crust is well coloured and baked through and the filling is set, about 35-40 minutes.
7. Cool the tart on a rack and unmould it. Slide it from the flan tin base to a serving plate to serve.

Storage : Keep the tart at room temperature on the day it's baked. Loosely cover with clingfilm and store leftovers at room temperature for up to one day.

* Flaky Pastry Dough
Makes about 500gm dough, enough for two 25-cm tart crusts or one double-crust pie
260gm plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
170gm unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 12 pieces
2 medium eggs

1. To mix the dough in a food processor, combine the flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl fitted with the metal blade. Pulse several times to mix.
2. Add the butter and pulse repeatedly at 1 second intervals until the butter is in small pieces.
3. Add the eggs and pulse just until the dough almost forms a ball; pulsing too much at this point will incorporate the butter smoothly and cut down on flakiness.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and carefully remove the blade. Gently press the dough into a cohesive mass.
5. Divide the dough in half, then flatten each half into a disc. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate until firm or as long as 3 days.

~ I rolled out one half of dough to line the base and sides of a 9" tart pan. I freeze the other half.

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I'm linking this post with :

Cook-Your-Books #18 @ kitchen flavours

and
"My Treasured Recipes #3 - Taste of Autumn (Oct/Nov 2014)" hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well In Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House.

Part Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

This lovely bread from Nick Malgieri's book, "bread", is made with two different doughs, one with whole wheat flour and the other, plain dough. Each are mix separately and left to rest for one hour before they are kneaded together. According to him, "Getting the best texture possible in a whole wheat bread depends a lot on giving the ground bran in the flour time to absorb water and soften". His brilliant technique in letting both doughs rest separately, the whole wheat so that the brans have time to absorb the water, and the plain dough to ferment in that one hour, and by combining them together, the process is speeded up a little, there really is not much kneading at all.

Just a few minutes of kneading to mix the doughs together, until they are well mixed, it takes only 2 minutes when using the stand mixer attached with the dough hook. The dough is then left to rise. The risen dough is flattened to a disk, fold them as per the instructions in the recipe, and left to rise the second time. The dough is then pulled into an 8-inch square without deflating it too much, roll it jelly-roll style and placed in the prepared loaf pan for the final proofing. Bake as directed.

This bread is really nice. It has light dense crumbs, yet quite soft in texture. As you can see from the photo above, it bends easily when I hold it at one end. It makes a wonderful sandwich bread.

Part Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
(adapted from "bread", Nick Malgieri)
Makes one 9-inch loaf
WHOLE WHEAT DOUGH :
2/3 cup/150gm warm tap water, about 100F
2 cups/270gm whole wheat flour (spoon into a dry-measure cup and level off)
2 tablespoons/30gm light brown sugar
1 tablespoon/15gm unsalted butter

WHITE DOUGH :
2/3 cup/150gm room-temperature tap water, about 75F
2-1/4 teaspoons/7gm fine granulated active dry or instant yeast
1-1/3 cups/180gm unbleached bread flour
1-1/2 teaspoons/9gm fine sea salt (I use 1 teaspoon)
One 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, buttered and the bottom lined with a rectangle of parchment paper
(oops... I did not line the bottom)

1. For the whole wheat dough, pour the water into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and add the whole wheat flour, sugar, and butter. Use a rubber spatula to stir the ingredients to a rough dough, then mix on the lowest speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover it with plastic wrap, and rinse off the dough hook.
2. For the white dough, mix the water and yeast in a medium bowl and use a rubber spatula to stir in the flour. The dough will be a little dry, but keep mixing until all the flour is absorbed. Cover with plastic wrap.
3. Let both doughs rest for 1 hour.
4. Scrape the white dough from its bowl over the whole wheat dough in the mixer bowl and mix on the lowest speed until the doughs are smoothly blended together, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the salt and increase the speed to low/medium and beat 2 minutes longer.
5. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and turn it over so that the top is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
6. Scrape the dough to a floured surface. Flatten the dough to a disk. Fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll the top toward you all the way to the end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten, and repeat. Return the dough to the bowl smooth (bottom) side upward, and let it rise until fully doubled, about 45 minutes longer, depending on the room temperature.
7. Invert the dough to a floured surface and without deflating it too much, pull it into an 8-inch square. Tightly roll the dough toward you and place in the pan seam side down.
8. Cover with oiled or sprayed plastic wrap and let the loaf proof until it has risen about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Once it's close to the top of the pan, set a rack a notch below the middle level and preheat the oven to 400F.
9. Place the loaf in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 375F. Bake the loaf until well risen and deep golden and an internal temperature of at least 200F, 30 to 40 minutes.
10. Unmould and cool on a rack on its side to prevent falling.

I'm linking this post with 

Cook-Your-Books #16 @ Kitchen Flavours

Pain de Mie (French Sandwich Bread)

I bought my pullman bread pan many years ago, like 5 or 6, maybe 7 years ago, no idea exactly when, but it was a long time ago! It has not been sitting idle in my pantry cupboard, I have used it before for baking other breads, but have not made any pullman bread, as it was meant to be used for! Finally, a few weeks ago, I decided to try a Pullman Bread recipe from one of my favourite baking book, Nick Malgieri's, "Bread".

The bread dough is mixed as usual as per the instructions in the recipe below. As for the shaping of the dough before the final rising, I have made some changes, which can be found, noted in blue, from the instructions (at no. 8) in the recipe. Simply because the first time when I've made this bread by following the instructions in the shaping, the shape of my bread turned out funny! With some spaces and bumps on the surface, not a pretty sight! Obviously I need to practice more on the shaping. So on my second attempt,  instead of following Nick Malgieri's way of shaping the dough, I have adjusted to my simple way of shaping it, which works fine for me. 

Once I have shaped the dough, it is placed in the Pullman pan for the final rising, with the lid on, but only two-thirds of the way in. When the dough has risen to about 1/2" below the level of the pan, slide the lid to close the pan completely and proceed to bake as per the instructions below.

Baked out great. Perfectly flat at the top with  nice light golden colour.

The sides are a little pale in colour, I actually removed the bread from the pan and placed it on a baking tray, and bake for about 5 more minutes, but it makes no difference to the colour. I'm afraid of drying out the bread if baked it longer, so I took it out from the oven and left it to cool on a wire rack.

I guess the colour does not really matter!

The texture inside is moist, soft and fluffy. 

See how soft the bread is. It is a keeper recipe!

I have made this bread a couple of times. And it makes a lovely sandwich bread. Another plus is, it stays as soft on the third day! Be sure to wrap it in plastic wrap and placed in an airtight container.

Pain de Mie (French Sandwich Bread)
(adapted from "Bread", Nick Malgieri)
Makes one 9-inch long loaf
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons/200gm whole milk, scalded and cooled
1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon/100gm room-temperature tap water, about 75F
2-1/4 teaspoons/7gm fine granulated active dry or instant yeast
1 tablespoon/14gm sugar
3-1/2 cups/470gm unbleached bread flour
   (spoon into a dry-measure cup and level off)
2-1/2 tbsps/40gm unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 tsp/9gm fine sea salt (1 tsp)
One 9x4x4-inch covered Pullman pan or one 9x5x3-inch loaf pan,
   brushed with soft butter and sprayed with vegetable cooking spray

1. Whisk the water and yeast together in the bowl of an electric mixer, then whisk in the cooled milk and sugar.
2. Use a large rubber spatula to stir the flour into the liquid. Scrape the side of the bowl and continue mixing until no dry flour remains visible. Distribute the butter in 8 or 10 pieces on the dough.
3. Place the bowl on the mixer with the dough hook and beat on the lowest speed for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in the salt and beat the dough on medium speed until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
5. Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl, turn it over so that the top is oiled, and let the dough ferment until it is almost doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
6. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface. Flatten the dough to a disk. Fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll the top toward you all the way to the end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten, and repeat. Return the dough to the bowl smooth (bottom) side upward, and let it rise until fully doubled, 30 to 45 minutes longer, depending on the room temperature.
7. Invert the dough to a floured work surface and divide it in half. One piece at a time, pull the dough to a rough rectangle and tightly roll if from the farthest long end toward you, jellyroll style, pinching the end of the dough to seal. Leave the pieces of dough on the work surface seam side up and cover loosely with a cloth or oiled plastic wrap; let rest for 20 minutes. (my changes : did not do this step, refer to the my step at no 8)
8. To form the loaf, place both pieces of dough 1/4 inch away from each other on a floured work surface. Grasping one of the short ends with each hand, twist the dough in opposite directions to make an interlocked spiral. (Instead of dividing the dough into two, I pulled the whole piece of dough into one rough rectangle, roughly the length of the pullman pan, and roll it jelly-roll style, tightly. Then I hold the two ends together and twist three times along the length of the dough, proceed as per step 9).
9. Slide both hands, palms upward, under the twisted dough and invert it, seam side down, into the prepared pan. Slide the cover about 2/3 of the way across the top of the pan. Let the loaf proof until it is about 1 inch away from the top of the pan.
10. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400F.
11. Once the dough has risen so that it is only 1/2 inch away from the top of the pan, slide the cover closed and place the pan in the oven. Decrease the temperature to 375F and bake for 25 minutes.
12. Without removing the pan from the oven, use oven mitts to slide the cover off the pan. Continue baking until the internal temperature of the dough is over 200F, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
13. Remove the loaf from the oven and unmold it onto a rack to cool. Wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature if using the same day, or double wrap and freeze for longer storage.

I'm sharing this post with :

Cook-Your-Books #10 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

and 

Full Plate Thursday @ Miz. Helen's Country Cottage

See Ya In The Gumbo @ Ms. enPlace

Hamburger Rolls

The year 2013 has been a delicious year! I have tried out more than 200 new recipes from my cookbook collection. I have posted most of them in my blog, dozens are still in my draft folders and there are others that just did not make the cut. Hopefully for this year, I'll be able to try out as many recipes, maybe even more, hopefully! I intend to make the full use of my cookbooks!! That's how Cook-Your-Books, an event which I'm hosting, came about. Thank you to all those who has joined Cook-Your-Books for the past seven months, and am looking forward to more of your delicious links in 2014. If you are new to Cook-Your-Books, you may read all about it here. Join me in this event, cook or bake from recipes which you already have, from your cookbooks. I'm sure there are at least a few recipes which you have been eyeing, but have not done anything at all. So let's get those books out of the shelves, get cracking, and see you at Cook-Your-Books! The linky for Cook-Your-Books will start on the 7th of each month right to the last day of the month.

For today, I'm sharing a hamburger rolls recipe which I've made last week, from "bread' by Nick Malgieri, one of my favourite baking book. We had these rolls with BBQ Chicken Burgers for dinner. These rolls can be made into hotdog buns, refer to the instructions in the recipe below.

The dough is mixed in the stand mixer, and to make the hamburger rolls, when the dough has risen to doubled the size, divide them onto 10 equal pieces. Each piece is rolled to a round and left to rise in the prepared baking pan until doubled in size. Deflate each risen piece using the palm of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Brush some milk over and sprinkled with sesame seeds if using. Bake, as directed in the recipe. The rolls will puff and rise during baking.

Freshly baked rolls. 

Nick Malgieri describes these rolls  as "They're soft-textured but not mushy and have a hint of sweetness from the milk and malt syrup."

Just as he describes, these rolls are soft-textured, but not fluffy soft and best eaten on the day they are made.

Chicken Burgers for dinner, will be sharing this next week!

Hamburger Rolls
(adapted from "bread", Nick Malgieri)
Makes 10 rolls
Sponge
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons/200 gm milk, scalded and cooled to 95F
1 tablespoon/10 gm fine granulated active dry or instant yeast
1-1/2 cups/200 gm unbleached bread flour (spoon into a dry-measure cup and level off)

Dough
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons/200 gm milk, scalded and cooled to 95F
2 teaspoons/14 gm malt syrup or honey
2-3/4 cups/370 gm unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons/12 gm fine sea salt
5 tablespoons/75 gm unsalted butter, softened
milk, for brushing
white sesame seeds, optional
two cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans lined with parchment paper

1. For the sponge, pour the milk into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk in the yeast. Wait 1 minute and whisk again. Use a rubber spatula to stir the flour into the milk, stirring and scraping the sides of the bowl until no dry flour remains - the sponge will be fairly firm. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the sponge ferment until it has more than doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
2. For the dough, use the rubber spatula to stir the milk and malt syrup into the sponge, followed by the flour. Place the bowl on the mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes, then let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
3. Sprinkle in the salt and mix the dough on medium speed until it is smoother, 2 to 3 minutes more. Beat in the butter in 3 separate additions, continuing to beat until the dough is smooth, elastic and shiny. Scrape into an oiled bowl and turn the dough over so that the top is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough ferment until it starts to puff, about 30 minutes.
4. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Flatten to a disk and fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll the top toward you, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten, and repeat. Return the dough to the bowl, seam side down, cover, and let ferment until fully doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
5. To form hamburger rolls, slide the dough to a floured surface and form into a rough square without deflating it. Cut into 10 equal pieces of 100 to 105 grams each. Round each piece : move one to a flour-free place in front of you. Cup your right hand over the piece of dough so that the top of your palm just beyond your fingers is touching the dough. Press the piece of dough and move your hand in a circular motion at the same time. If you're pressing hard enough you'll be able to feel the dough turning into a sphere. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, then invert to a well-floured towel. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let proof until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Halfway through, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 400F.
6. Invert the rolls to the prepared pans, spacing them at least 3 inches apart all around, and gently press to deflate each to 1/2 inch thick. Brush with milk and sprinkle with the sesame seeds, if using. Place in the oven and decrease the temperature to 375F. Bake the rolls until well risen and deep golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Once the rolls are fully risen and starting to color, about halfway through baking, turn the pans back to front and move the pan on the upper rack to the lower one and vice versa.
7. Cool the rolls on a rack and use them the day they are baked, or wrap, bag, and freeze for longer storage. Reheat defrosted rolls at 350F for 3 minutes and cool before serving. Only cut the rolls in half horizontally right before using them.
8. For hot dog buns, after rounding the dough in step 5, only let them rest on the floured towel for 10 minutes. Take one of the buns and use the palm of your hand to roll it into a cylinder about 6 inches long. Invert back to the floured towel and proof until almost double, about 30 minutes. Pan, deflate, and brush with milk as in step 6. Normally hot dog buns are not sprinkled with sesame seeds. Bake, cool, and store as for the hamburger rolls. Right before using, cut the buns horizontally three quarters of the way through.

CB1/14

I'm linking this with :

Cook-Your-Books #8 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Golden Sandwich Bread

Sometimes simple is the best! Just like this plain white bread. Soft, fluffy and tasty enough to eat it just as it is. This fantastic bread is from Nick Malgieri's newest book simply titled "BREAD". I ordered this book months ago before it was released, as I have tried one of the preview recipes, Old-Fashioned Raisin Bread, that Nick Malgieri posted on his blog, here, and that bread totally won me over! So has this Golden Sandwich Bread! This bread was chosen as a casual bake with my baking buddies, Lena and Zoe, and both of them have given this bread thumbs up as well. 

The dough is a pleasure to work with. It is soft and just a wee bit sticky, but a light sprinkling of flour on the work surface and your hands really helps.  The dough has a texture of a brioche dough, I just love the feel of it. This bread has three stages of rising, so plan ahead while making this bread. It has lovely oven spring. The top picture is the final rise in the bread pan, let the dough rise to about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan and bake in an oven which was preheated first at 400C, then reduce to 375C as soon the pan is placed in the oven. At the 20 minute time into baking, I checked the bread and was really surprised how well they have risen further in the oven. So beautiful! I did cover the top with aluminium foil after that as the top of the bread is near to the heat element of my oven ceiling and I do not want an overbaked crust, just a light one for this bread. Continue baking for another 10 minutes and the bread is done. The second picture shows how high it has further risen in the oven during the first 15 minutes or so. 

I made only half a recipe. All that waiting during the 3 stages of rising is definitely worth it! The bread is really soft, fluffy and really tasty, good enough to eat on its own.

It has a soft crust and lovely springy interior. Definitely one of the best white bread I've made.

Just as a white bread should be, soft, fluffy and very tasty. Good, eaten plain on its own and I love it the best, when spread with a generous amount of cold salted butter, accompany with a mug of hot steaming black coffee! 

Yummy, spread with my homemade plum jam!

Great toasted! My kids requested this for their breakfast. Butter the bread, top with a mixture of chopped fresh tomatoes, sandwich ham, some chopped coriander leaves, dash of black pepper, some dried oregano and finish off with a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese. Toast the bread until crispy and cheese melts.  A satisfying breakfast!

Now this is my breakfast (brunch actually!). Nick Malgieri has included some ideas on using the breads that you baked. This sandwich is one that he enjoys with his father, which is just a simple regular sandwich that I do make sometimes, the only difference is, I spread the bread with some butter and usually spread the mayonnaise in between the fillings. Nick Malgieri spreads a generous amount of mayonnaise on the bread and top with the lettuce, sliced tomatoes, freshly cooked bacon slices and top with the second slice of bread, also spread with mayonnaise.  Just toast the bread lightly first, then proceed with the assembling of the sandwich. He uses bacon for this, but here I have used sandwich ham slices.

Then slice it in triangles and enjoy! I sure did! So good!

I'm sharing this with :

Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes

Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage

See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace
BYOB, Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Roxana's Home Baking

Golden Sandwich Bread
(adapted from "BREAD" by Nick Malgieri)
Makes two 9-inch loaves
6 cups / 800gm bread flour (spoon into a dry-measure cup and level off)
2 tablespoons / 30gm sugar
3/4 cup / 170gm room-temperature tap water, about 75degreesF
3 teaspoons / 10gms fine granulated active dry or instant yeast
1 cup / 225gms whole milk, scalded and cooled
3 large eggs at room temperature
4 tablespoons / 60gms butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
1 tablespoon / 18gms fine sea salt
Two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans, buttered and the bottoms lined with parchment paper

1. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Pour the water into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk in the yeast. Wait 5 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in the cooled milk and eggs.
3. Use a large rubber spatula to stir the flour mixture into the liquid a little at a time, stirring to combine between additions.
4. Place the bowl on the mixer with the dough hook and scatter pieces of butter on the surface of the dough; mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
5. Increase the speed to medium, sprinkle in the salt, and beat the dough until it is smooth and elastic, for 2 to 3 minutes longer. Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl and turn it over so that the top is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment until almost doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
6. Invert the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Flatten the dough to a disk. Fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll the top toward you all the way to the end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten, and repeat. Return the dough to the bowl (oil the bowl again if necessary), cover, and let ferment until fully doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
7. Invert the dough to a floured work surface and shape it into a rough square. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 equal rectangles, each about 715 grams. Pull the narrow ends of 1 rectangle of dough outward to widen. From one of the wide ends fold the sides in about 1 inch or so, then roll down from the top as for turning the dough. Drop the roll into one of the pans, seam side down. Repeat with the second loaf and pan.
8. Cover with oiled or sprayed plastic wrap and let the loaves proof until they have risen about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Once they're close to the top of the pan, set a rack a notch below the middle level and preheat the oven to 400F.
9. Place the loaves in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 375F. Bake until well risen and deep golden, with an internal temperature of at least 200F, 30 to 40 minutes.
10. Unmold the loaves and cool on a rack on their sides. Wrap and keep at room temperature, or double wrap and freeze.

#7/100

Nick Malgieri's Sandwich
Lightly toast 2 slices of Golden Sandwich Bread, and generously spread with mayonnaise.
Top one slice with a leaf or two of rinsed and dried leaf lettuce or tender outer leaves of iceberg lettuce.
Add 2 to 3, 1/4-inch slices of tomato; salt and pepper lightly.
Top with 3 to 4 slices of freshly cooked bacon, preferably still warm, and the remaining slice of bread, mayonnaise side down.
Cut diagonally and enjoy immediately.

#8/100

Lemon Ginger Bars

This is a lovely ginger bar with a touch of lemon. I made this a couple of months ago, just never got round to post about it. The taste of the ginger is not overpowering, you could definitely taste the ginger, but it is not overly strong. Because it has crystallized and ground ginger, instead of fresh ginger, you would not feel the heat from the ginger, and the ginger goes well with the honey and lemon.

The simple glaze of icing sugar and lemon is nice, the glaze will harden, making it easier to stack the bars as they will not stick to each other.

I love using crystallized ginger in bakes and could not resist popping some in the mouth when I chopped them to pieces!

A lovely bar, with a touch of lemon, both in the bar and the frosting. The frosting will harden when it cools, but it is very nice, and this ginger bar is a good keeper. I kept the sliced bars for almost a week in an air-tight container, leaving it on the table at room temperature (no need to refrigerate), and I nibbled on them, mostly on my own, well not all of it! My kids are not overly fond of ginger, so I packed most of it for my hubby to take for this office colleagues.

This makes quite a big tray, so it will be great to share. Otherwise, halve the recipe. I love the bits of ginger in the bar. The best way to eat this is to cut in small pieces to nibble and enjoy!

Lovely with some warm Chinese Tea.

I'm sharing this with :
Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes
Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Frugal Food Thursday hosted by Frugal Follies
Food on Fridays : Lemon and Limes hosted by Carole's Chatter


Lemon Ginger Bars
(adapted from "bake!" by Nick Malgieri)
Makes 24 bars
325gm plain flour
170gm sugar (I use 130gm)
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking powder
225gm unsalted butter
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons finely chopped crystallised ginger
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Lemon Glaze
225gm icing sugar, sifted after measuring
3 tablespoons lemon juice, strained before measuring

One 23x33x5cm tin lined with buttered foil

1. Set a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 190C/gas mark 5.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, ground ginger and baking powder in a medium bowl.
3. Melt the butter over a medium heat and immediately add to the dry ingredients; use a large rubber spatula to stir to a smooth, shiny dough. Add the egg, crystallised ginger, honey and lemon zest and beat vigorously to make a smooth dough.
4. Scrape the dough into the prepared tin and use the palm of your hand to press it evenly over the bottom of the tin. Don't be concerned if the dough looks greasy, as though some of the butter has separated out.
5. Bake the bars until well risen, firm and lightly golden, 20-25 minutes.
6. While the bars are baking, use a small rubber spatula to beat the icing sugar and lemon juice together. If it's too thick to spread, thin by adding 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until it's right.
7. As soon as the bars are baked, place a chopping board on the tin and use oven mitts to invert the hot bars to the board. Remove the tin and foil. Immediately use a small palette knife to spread the lemon glaze on the bars so that it sets as the bars cool.
8. Use a ruler to mark, then cut into 5mm squares.

Serving : Arrange the bars on a serving plate; the icing is dry, so they can be stacked.

Storage : Keep the bars in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid between sheets of baking paper.

NM's Old-Fashioned Raisin Bread

The first time I've seen this bread was from Hanaa's Kitchen and I knew that I will be making this bread, sooner or later. Hanaa got the recipe from Nick Malgieri's blog here. Nick Malgieri is sharing two recipes, a sneak preview from his latest book "BREAD" which will be out in September 2012. 

This recipe makes two loaves and I'm glad that I did not make half the recipe! It smells really nice while baking in the oven and as soon as they are cool enough, I sliced one loaf and could not stop eating at just one slice! It was so good, especially fresh from the oven! The texture is soft, moist and very tasty! Nick uses two types of raisins, dark and golden. The original recipe uses 3 cups of mixed raisins, which I think is a little too much for me, so I only use 2 cups, and it turned out just right! Nick Malgieri described this bread as "nothing fancy about this bread but a slightly sweetened and enriched white bread loaded with dark and golden raisins, and they'll be gone before you know it"! I couldn't agree more! 

It is a really simple and easy bread to make. If you have a stand mixer, then you are good to go! Here, I've taken some photographs and you can see how easy it is!

1.  First, whisk the water and yeast together, then whisk in the cooled scalded milk.
2. Flour, sugar, salt are added in.
3. Stir with spatula to a rough dough.
4. Distribute pieces of butter all over top of rough dough.
5. Using the mixer fitted with dough hook, mix on lowest speed until butter is absorbed, about 2 minutes, and increase speed to low/medium and mix until dough is smooth and elastic, another 3 minutes, (mine took about 8-10 minutes). Decrease speed to lowest and add in raisins a little at a time, until the raisins are evenly distributed in the dough.

Scrape dough onto a work surface and knead briefly to ensure that the raisins are evenly distributed in the dough. Place dough in into a buttered or greased bowl, turn it over so the top is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until doubles in size, about an hour. 

Invert risen dough to a lightly floured work surface and cut into 2 equal pieces. Gently pat each piece into a rough square and roll it from the top down., into a tight cylinder. Pinch the sides and place in greased loaf pans, seam side down. Cover with greased plastic wrap and leave to rise until dough has risen about an inch above the edge of the pans. Remove plastic and bake in a preheated oven (refer nstruction for the temperature in the recipe below).

Freshly baked Old-Fashioned Raisin Bread

Nice, plump moist raisins, with soft, moist and fluffy bread. This bread is a winner!

Good eaten on its own!

I'm looking forward to Nick Malgieri's new book!

I'm sharing this with :
BYOB, Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Girlichef
Bake with Bizzy hosted by Bizzy Bakes


Old-Fashioned Raisin Bread
(source from : Nick Malgieri)

1 cup/225gm room temperature tap water, about 75F

3 teaspoon/10gm fine granulated active dry or instant yeast

1 cup/225gm whole milk, scalded and cooled

5 cups/675gm unbleached bread flour

1/3 cup/70gm sugar

1-1/2 teaspoon/10gm fine sea salt

4 tablespoons/55gm unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces and softened

1-1/2 cups/150gm dark raisins or currants (I use 1 cup)

1-1/2 cups/150gm golden raisins (I use 1 cup)

Two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-3/4-inch loaf pans brushed with soft butter or coated with vegetable cooking spray

1. Whisk the water and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer; whisk in the cooled milk.
2. Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt, and add to the mixer bowl. Use a large rubber spatula to stir the ingredients to a rough dough. Distribute the pieces of butter all over the top of the dough.
3. Place on the mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on lowest speed until the butter is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to low/medium and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, an additional 3 minutes.
4. Decrease the speed to lowest and add the raisins a little at a time, continuing to mix until they are fairly evenly absorbed by the dough.
5. Scrape the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly to ensure that the raisins are evenly distributed in the dough.
6. Drop the dough into a buttered or sprayed bowl and turn it over so that the top is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough ferment until it doubles in bulk, about an hour or longer if it's cool in the kitchen.
7. Invert the risen dough into a lightly floured work surface and cut it into 2 equal pieces, each about 715 grams. Gently pat one of the pieces to a rough square and roll it from the top down, jellyroll style, into a tight cylinder. Pinch the edge in place and drop into one of the pans, seam side down. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
8. Cover the loaves with butter or sprayed plastic wrap and let them proof until the dough comes about an inch above the edge of the pan.
9. Once the loaves are almost proofed, set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
10. Place the pans in the oven and decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake the raisin bread until it is well risen and has an internal temperature of 200 degrees, about 45 to 55 minutes.
11. Unmold and cool the loaves on rack on their sides. Let cool several hours before wrapping.

Potato & Cheddar Focaccia

Focaccia has been on my mind lately, even before I bought my new book, bake! by Nick Malgieri. And ever since I've seen this focaccia with potatoes and gruyere cheese from this book, it has been bugging me everyday! Yup, everyday! So instead of staring at the photo and kept reading the recipe from the book almost everyday, I went right ahead to make this  over the weekend.  

Soft and very tasty!

Just like most focaccia, no kneading is required. This is fairly easy. The yeast and water are mixed together, add in the olive oil, flour (I use bread flour) and salt. I used my stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, to beat the dough for 15 seconds. The recipe says to beat vigorously for 15 seconds by using a spatula, I don't think I can do that, as the dough is soft but really thick, and to beat vigorously gonna take much effort, even if it is only 15 seconds! Hehe! So, that's where my stand mixer comes in handy. Cover the bowl and leave to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

I use the pan size of 30cmx30cm, it is a little bit smaller that what is required, it's OK, the focaccia will be a little bit higher that's all. Coat the pan with olive oil, I only used 45ml (3 tablespoon) instead of the original 60ml (4 tablespoons) as the pan size is smaller and the oil seems quite a lot to me! Very carefully scrape the very soft dough into the pan, taking care not to overlap the dough. 

Gently reach under the dough with both hands and flip dough over, so that the surface that is coated with oil is now the top. Using the palms of your hands, slowly stretch dough to cover the pan completely. There was some resistance, so I left the dough to rest for 10 minutes, before I continue on with the stretching. Dough will be oily so it would not stick to your fingers. I did thought that it was a little oily and was kinda worried how it would turn out. But not to worry, once it is baked, it would not be greasy at all, and the oil actually makes the release of the focaccia from the pan a breeze!

Once it has been stretched to cover the pan completely, cover with cling film and leave to rise for about 30 minutes until puffy. Using your index finger, make indentations or dimples on the surface.

While the dough is rising, prepare the potatoes as per instructions below. I sliced the potatoes manually using a sharp knife. According to the recipe, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible, but I sliced them just a wee bit thicker than that. Arrange potatoes slices over dough, sprinkle some salt and pepper all over.

I use Cheddar Cheese as I do not have Gruyere Cheese. Sprinkle some grated Cheddar Cheese (or Gruyere) all over, drizzled with 1 tablespoons (original recipe uses 2 tablespoons) all over and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, mine was done at about 35 minutes, as my pan is smaller resulting in a higher focaccia.

 

According to the recipe, check the bottom of focaccia at halfway baking time to see whether is the bottom browning too fast, if it is, slot a baking pan under the focaccia pan to insulate it. I checked mine, and the colour was still very light, so I just let it be.

Once the focaccia has completed baking, loosen the sides of focaccia with a spatula, invert it onto a wire rack, remove the pan (really easy!) and re-invert it back again to another wire rack to cool. 

I was waiting impatiently to bite into one, I let it cool for about 20 minutes, then slice, and quickly devour one slice! These are so good! The best focaccia I've eaten! The topping of potatoes,  cheddar cheese and the black pepper are just so delicious, along with the fluffy bread, is fantastic!

At first, I did thought of making half the recipe, but am really glad I did not!

This makes quite a lot, so the next morning, I wrapped it in aluminium foil, pop it in the oven for 10 minutes and it tastes just as soft and delicious! I've found my new favourite focaccia!

I'm linking this to :
BYOB, Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Girlichef
Cookbook Sunday hosted by Couscous & Consciousness
Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Bake with Bizzy hosted by Bizzy Bakes


Focaccia Dough
(adapted from baked! by Nick Malgieri)
(Makes about 1kg, enough for 1 large thick-crusted focaccia or 2 smaller ones)
585gm unbleached plain flour or bread flour (I use bread flour)
2 teaspoons salt
7gm sachet fast action dried yeast
420ml warm tap water, about 43C
60ml olive oil

1. Stir the flour and salt together and set aside
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yeast into the water. Wait 2 minutes and whisk again to make sure the yeast is completely dissolved. Whisk in the oil.
3. Use a large rubber spatula to smoothly stir half the flour mixture into the liquid. Stir in the remaining flour mixture, using the spatula to dig up any unmoistened flour from the bottom of the bowl.
4. After all the flour is moistened, scrape any dry bits from the side of the bowl and incorporate them into the dough. Use the spatula to beat the dough vigorously for about 15 seconds. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Potato & Gruyere Focaccia

(Makes one 30x 46cm focaccia, 12 aproximately 10cm squares)

1 batch Focaccia Dough (above), completely risen

2 medium waxy potatoes, about 340gm

salt and freshly ground black pepper

55gm coarsely grated Swiss Gruyere cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil (I use 1 tbsp)

One 28x43cm or 30x46cm swiss roll tin, greased with 60ml olive oil (I use 45ml olive oil)

1. Scrape the dough into the tin, being careful not to fold the dough over on itself. Reach under it and flip it over - now the top is coated with oil. Use the palms of your hands to press the dough into the tin. If it resists, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes, then press again to cover the entire base of the tin. Cover with clingfilm and let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
2. Set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 230C/gas mark 8.
3. Peel the potatoes and cut them as thinly as you can; I use the little slicing blade on the side of a box grater. Slide into a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Drain, rinse and set aside in a colander.
4. Once the focaccia is risen, use your index finger to dimple the top all over at 2.5cm intervals. Cover with the potato slices, slightly overlapping them. Season with a little salt and pepper and evenly scatter on the cheese. Drizzle with the olive oil.
5. Place the focaccia in the oven and reduce the temperature to 220C/gas mark 7. Bake until the dough is firm and the topping is golden, about 30 minutes. About halfway through the baking time, use a wide palette knife to lift the corner of the focaccia to check that the base is starting to colour. If it is colouring too quickly, slide another tin under the tin the focaccia is in to insulate it.
6. Slide the baked focaccia to a rack to cool so that the base doesn't become damp.