Simpliest hard crust bread

I wonder how I can bake French bread with a hard crust, I tried different methods, at the end I found the answer, it is so simple - very very hot oven. 

However, it is impossible to have 300°c-400°c environment in domestic oven... so... you can either buy a stone board or an iron-cast Dutch oven!

This recipe requires a 6-8quarts iron-cast Dutch oven. I only have one which is close to 6 quarts, it works too.

Ingredients
6 cups bread flour - I used multi-cereal flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant or active-dry yeast*
2 2/3 cups water at room temperature

*1/4 tsp yeast needs 16hours rise, 1/2 tsp yeast needs 12hours rise

Instructions
Previous evening prepare your dough

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour & salt, mix well.

a/ If you use active-dry yeast-
mix it with 1/3 cup warm water (maximum 37°c), set aside for 10mins to activate the yeast

Then pour the yeast mixture to flour mixture, mix with water until it is well combined

b/ If you use instant yeast
Add it in flour & salt mixture and add in water, mix well until combined

2. After forming a dough, it is wet and sticky, cover plastic wrap and leave it rise during the night
When it rises double the size, it is ready

The next day
1. Prepare for the 2nd rise: place a towel, sprinkle some flour. Then place 2 baking sheets (long enough to cover the whole dough) forming a cross, sprinkle some flour

2. Flour the working surface, fold the dough - from right to left, left to right, top to bottom, top to bottom

3. Place the dough on the baking sheet with the seam faces the bottom, cover the dough with baking sheets and then the towel
If the towel can't wrap completely the dough, place one more towel on the top

Leave it rise for 1-2hours or until the size is doubled

4. 30mins before you put the dough to the oven to bake, place a cast-iron Dutch oven with lid into the oven, then turn on the oven to preheat at 250°c

5. After 30mins, take out the Dutch oven, open the lid, slide the dough in it
If the dough stick on the baking sheet, then flip the dough in the Dutch oven, remove the baking sheet

Do not worry if the shape doesn't look good. It will be nicely formed in the oven

6. Cover the Dutch oven with the lid, put it back to the oven
Turn down the temperature to 230°c and bake for 40mins

7. After 40mins, remove the lid and bake for another 10mins
The crust should be harden during this time

8. Remove the bread and cool it on a wire rack before serving

Enjoy!

Raspberry (chocolate chips) muffins

I just discover that muffins are relatively healthier than cupcakes haha, I thought it was the other way round before today I tried this recipe. In some fastfood restaurant or chain café, these muffins look so oily and fatty, that gave me this false impression that muffins are very fatty! :(

After looking into internet, I found something interesting to share:
1. Muffin can be breakfast from time to time because it is at the end not the healthiest option compare to oatmeal, bread... cupcake is rather served as dessert

2. Muffin doesn't have frosting or icing while cupcake does! 

3. We can use oil or butter in muffin but we rather use butter in cupcake

4. Beating/ mixing time is longer when making cupcake to achieve better batter consistency => muffin firmer than cupcake

5. You fill the batter to the top of the muffin mould, but you fill the batter to 70% of the cupcake mould

So... Now I have to bake more muffins than cakes!!

You can add some chocolate chips, it matches raspberry well :D

Ingredients (about 12-13)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar*
2tsp baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract

300g frozen raspberries (no need to defrost it at room temperature)

optional: chocolate chips

*If you want to be healthier - use half quantity of sugar & oil, but muffin will be less moist and less sweet of course :)

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven at 180°c, put paper cases in muffin tray

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar & baking powder
Add in oil, milk, egg & vanilla extract. Mix until combined

3. Fold in frozen raspberries until the mixture become well blended
The batter should not be runny/liquid, it should be firm not fluffy

4. Fill mixture to the top of each muffin case

If you want to add chocolate chips, sprinkle some on the top

5. Bake in the oven for 30mins or until the top becomes golden color

Note: if you do not use paper cases, do not remove the muffins from the muffin tray immediately, wait for 10mins so that the muffins become fixed, then run a toothpick around the tray to remove each muffin carefully


Enjoy!

British scone

I have good memory of scone from a restaurant, it is always served warm with strawberry jam. It is only for breakfast time though...

Now I found this recipe, you can eat it for breakfast or tea time or both haha :)

Ingredients (about 45 scones)
6 1/4 cup flour*
pinch of salt
1/4 cup & 2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder

170g cold butter, diced

4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups whole milk

0.5 egg - beaten
Granulated sugar

*healthy version: 1/2 all purpose flour, 1/2 whole wheat flour

Serve with
heavy cream/ butter
strawberry/ raspberry jam


Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 220°c
Line 2 baking sheets on the trays and set aside

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder. 
Make a well in the center, add in butter and rub in with your finger tips, blend the pieces as small as possible.

3. Add the egg & milk into the flour mixture

Note: You may not need 1 3/4cup milk, it depends on the flour you use. You can add 1 cup first, let it mix, then add the rest little by little

4. Place the dough on a lightly floured working surface
Knead lightly and shape the dough into a ball, roll and flatten the dough until it's 1.5" thick
Use a 2" biscuit cutter to cut out the scones, transfer to tray

5. A small bow of 0.5 egg - brush it on the top of each scone
Sprinkle each scone with granulated sugar

Note: be careful not to cover the egg mixture on the edges, which will hinder the rise of scones

6. Bake the scones for 15mins or until the scones become golden brown
When it's done, cool the scones down on a wire rack

Serve warm with heavy cream/butter and strawberry/raspberry jam!

Enjoy!

Indian lentil dish - Tadka Dal

I am so happy to find this recipe, I like lentil so much :) It is very nutritive, which is widely used in Indian cuisine.

Ingredients
250g yellow lentil* - washed & drained
1.2 litres water
1 tsp turmeric powder

3 tbsp vegetable oil
Pinch of asafoetida (replace by 1/2 diced onion)
2 green chillies slit lengthwise
1tsp cumin seeds
10-12 curry leaves
4 cloves of garlic - sliced or roughly crushed

2 tomatoes roughly chopped
Salt to taste
pinch of sugar
juice of half a lemon

Chopped coriander for garnish


*Can use red lentil


Instructions
1. In a medium sauce pan, add yellow lentil with the water and turmeric powder. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to a medium, partially cover with lid and cook for 35-40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Stir a few times through the cooking process. Add a little more water if the mix is too thick. Cool slightly and roughly mash with a potato masher or a hand blender and set aside.

Note: If you use red lentil, you just need about 15mins to cook throughly the lentil

2. In a heavy bottom sauce pan heat the oil at medium heat, add the asafoetida (onion), slit green chillies and cumin seeds; fry for a few seconds. Now add the curry leaves and garlic continue to fry for 5 seconds.

3. Put in the tomatoes and fry for 5 minutes. At this stage, tip in the cooked lentil and stir well. Season to taste, add a pinch of sugar, simmer gently for 2-3 minutes on a low heat stirring halfway through. Turn the heat off and add lemon juice and garnish with coriander. 

Serve hot with your choice of bread or plain rice.

Note: If you’d like the dal to be thicker simmer for an additional 2 minutes without a lid making sure to stir well.

Italian genuine lasagna

Italian loves simple food, with fresh ingredients. They do not like adding too many seasoning so that they can taste the original flavor of the food.

My friend who stayed in Italy learnt the traditional way to make lasagna, I am surprised how simple it can be (I have seen many complicated recipes....)! It is genuine family dish for everyday life.

This is vegetarian version - 

I replaced beef by mushroom and spinach

Ingredients
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (just remove skin, cut each clove half)
500g minced beef
1L tomato juice
2 tomatoes, diced
2tbsp cottage cheese (remove water)
50g mozzarella (for pizza - the package has NO water)

400g cottage cheese (remove water)
400g mozzarella, diced (for pizza - the package has NO water)
salt & pepper

12-14 Lasagna sheets

Instructions
1. In a pot, put olive oil and garlic, fry it until you smell the flavor

2. Add in minced beef, fry it until it becomes golden color

3. Add in tomato juice, tomatoes, cottage cheese, mozzarella, salt & pepper, mix well and let it cook until boil
Turn off the heat after the mixture boils for another 10 mins

4. To assemble the lasagne, on a rectangular pan:
Pour olive oil to grease the pan

Preheat the oven at 180°c

5. Lay lasagne sheets to cover the bottom, add the tomato beef mixture to cover the sheets, with a table spoon - add some cottage cheese without mixing it, you'll find white spots on the sauce, then sprinkle mozzarella over the pan

6. Repeat step 5 for 2 times

7. Put the pan into the oven and bake for 30mins or until the surface become golden color

Enjoy!

Chocolate chips/ walnut & cranberry scone

I love making these buttery scones, they taste so so so delicious, I could finish them up fast!
This time I made chocolate chips & cranberry scones, just love it.

Ingredients

170g butter
4g salt
85g sugar
405g flour
1tsp baking powder

1 egg
55g 30% fat cream

70g cranberry
70g chocolate chips OR walnuts

Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix butter, salt, sugar, mix well
Add in flour & baking powder, mix well

2. Add in egg and cream, mix well
Add in cranberry and chocolate chips OR walnuts, mix it briefly

3. Place the dough on the working surface, knead the dough with your hands
Roll the dough into ball, and squeeze it flat
Wrap the dough by plastic wrap, put the dough into fridge for 30mins

4. After 30mins, preheat the oven at 190°c

5. Divide the dough into 2, which is easier to work with half
Roll one portion out to about 1.5cm
Use cookie cutter to to cut the dough

6. Line the baking tray with baking sheet
Place the dough on the baking tray, put the tray into the oven and bake for 25mins

Serve hot
Enjoy!

Niangao for celebrating Chinese New Year

Niangao is traditional cake, it is actually from glutinous flour. We only need few ingredients to make this delicious cake, with correct techniques, it can be chewy and soft.

We like serving hot with coated egg

Ingredients (8" found pan)
450g cane sugar
3 1/4cup water

600g glutinous flour
38g rice flour

Serve:
2-3 eggs

Instructions
1. In a pot, cook sugar and water, until sugar completely dissolved into water
Turn off the heat, let it cool down
Set aside

2. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, add in syrup several times,  little by little, until it can form a ball
Knead the dough until the surface becomes shiny

3. Add in the rest of the syrup, mix carefully
It will become liquid

4. In a wok or a deep pot for steaming, pour water and boil it

Note 1: Pour enough water to steam the cake for 2 hours
Note 2: Use lid with curved shape, not flat shape, so that water won't drop onto the cake surface while steaming

5. Grease the pan, pour the mixture into the pan
Wrap the surface by plastic wrap

6. When water boils, put the pan to steam for 2 hours at medium high heat or until the cake is completely cook
To test the cake, insert a chopstick, if it comes out clean = ready

Note 2: Do not open the lid all the time, the cake won't cook well

7. Let the cake cool down
When it is cool, store it in the fridge overnight to let the cake fix, the next morning you can serve it!

To serve:
1. In a small bowl, beat eggs

2. Slice the cake into 0.5cm (less than 1cm) pieces, coat the cake with eggs

3. On a frying pan, fry the slices of cake until golden brown color, flip it over and fry another side until golden brown color also

Serve hot!

Enjoy!