Vegetarian Pita Bread 口袋面包

Also known as 口袋面包 as indicated from the recipe book I am currently using by 周淑玲 titled 周老师的美食教室 "天然手作面包101道路". 

The beauty of this bread is the ease of making with minimal ingredients and lesser baking time. All it takes is 5mins of baking time once it have completed the 2 cycles of proofing. 

Initially I was rather skeptical wondering how would 5 mins be sufficient to bake the proof dough and once its in the oven you will be amazed by how it puffs up almost instantly hence producing a hollow core. The hollow core is like an empty pocket which allows you to fill it with anothing to go along with it. Yes, it is very versatile as the skin is thin and the hollow core is huge to accomodate lots of fillings to keep one seriously full to the brim. 

Personally I prefer to fill it with the home made Vegetarian Lentils which I coincidentally made few days ago. My husband also likes to use it as a burger wrap packed with lettuce, egg, chicken or ham. 

VEGETARIAN PITA BREAD

Ingredients 

240g Lukewarm water (less than 35C degrees)
4g Istant Yeast
300g Bread Flour
100g Low Protein Flour15g Castor sugar
4g Salt
15g Rice Bran Oil or any oil of preference

Directions :

• In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine all  ingredients (except salt and oil) together and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes for mixture to rise and  make a loose sponge. 

• Add oil and salt into sponge and continue mixing at low speed, using a dough hook attachment, until dough is soft, supple, and slightly sticky. If  dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add up to  1/4 cup more flour, a little at a time.

• Knead dough with mixer on low speed until slightly springy and still soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and form into a ball.

• Transfer the dough / ball to another bowl coated  with 1/4 tsp of cooking oil (any oil will do) and cover the bowl with clingwrap and let sit for 30mins.

• Remove dough from bowl and place onto a floured work surface. Lightly pat into a flat shape about 1 inch thick. Use a knife to cut dough into  8 pieces. 

• Form each piece into a small round ball with a smooth top, pulling dough from the sides and tucking the ends underneath the bottom. Cover dough balls with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. 

• Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a work surface and top of a dough ball, gently pat dough ball flat with your fingers or using a rolling pin to form a flat round disc about 1/4 inch thick or 16cm circles. 

• Arrange the flat disc on baking paper / mats and allow to proof for another 30 mins. Repeat with remaining dough balls. 

• Preheat the oven to 250C degrees together with an empty baking pan / tray into the oven and heat it until it is burning hot. Remove the preheated baking tray / pan from oven and place a sheet of the baking mat with the proofed doughs over the tray. Immediately transfer the baking tray back into the hot oven (middle lower rack) and bake for 5 mins. Pita bread will begin to puff up and fill with hot air. 

• Stack cooked breads on a plate; when cool enough to handle, break breads in half and open the pocket inside for stuffing.

Vegetarian Lentils / Dhal

Ever since turning vegan, I started experimenting with different ways of cooking vegetables to replace the occasional food cravings for certain food which I used to take. With onions, garlic, chives, eggs, dairy, honey and any meat off my food list, I found myself constrain when it comes to cooking  for myself alone. My husband and family members albeit accept vegetable meals but weren't ready to dive into the vegan bandwagon like me.

And usually after cooking food for them, I do not feel incline to prepare another set of food solely for myself. Despite all the eggs and dairy laden pastries I have posted, I do not actually consume them other than my partake in the baking and photography. I have been frequently asked by people how would I know if the non vegan food I have prepared have reached the required taste without sampling, well, I guess it all boils down to gut feeling which have not failed me so far. 

My first encounter with eating dhal was through roti canai and I love it!  Now, every time I cook curry chicken for the family I would start to crave for curry dishes.  Apart from cooking vegetarian potato curry,  Dhal is the next closest alternative for me.  This is a relative easy to cook recipe which I find satisfying and fulfilling.

Apart from eating it with roti canai (indian pancake), I also plan to use it to fill the Pita Bread next on my baking list.

Ingredients

(A) 240g Yellow / red lentils (wash and rinse well)

      3 cm Fresh ginger, sliced

      2 Bay leaves (optional)

      1 Cinnamon Stick

(B) 2 Tomatoes (cubed)

      2 small potatoes (cubed)

     50g Cauliflower (cut in small pieces)

(C) 40g Rice Bran Oil

      50g Vegetarian Curry Powder

      1 tbsp Vegetarian Tom Yum Powder

      1 tsp Cumin ( i didn't use any)

      1/2 tsp Garam Masala

      2 tsp Lemongrass powder

      1 Tbsp Mixed Herbs

      1 Cup Tomato Ketchup

      1 tbsp Vegetarian Chilli Sauce

      100ml water and salt to taste

      

• Place (A) with 1.75 liters of water in a pan and bring to boil, skimming surface to remove scum. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer vigorously for 40 mins or until lentils have softened.

• In a separate pot, place ingredients (B) with 1 liter of water and boil under medium heat for 20 mins until potatoes and cauliflowers have softened and the tomatoes turns mushy. Drain and set aside for later use.

• Heat oil in a non stick wok / pot over medium heat. Add the cooked ingredients from (B) and continue to stir fry for 2 minutes. Add curry powder and tom yum powder and continue stir frying until fragrant. Stir in cumin, lemon grass powder, mixed herbs and garam masala and continue to cook for a further minute until fragrant.

• Add tomato ketchup and chili sauce.

• Add lentils (A) and water and continue to cook for flavors to develop. Then season with salt.

• Add more water if necessary.

Vegan Cranberry & Raisins Dinner Rolls

Made this batch for my vegan brother and sisters in KL. Gotta freeze it and bring over next weekend. 

Recipe adapted from a book 周老師的美食教室-天然手作面包 listed under 'Food Literature' Album.

This book specialize in recipes on taiwanese soft or sweet bread. And it also comes with a tutorial DVD. I have modified the ingredients to vegan ones and still produce a relatively soft fluffy bread.

Ingredients:-

~ 200g Non dairy soy milk

~ 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

~ 5g Instant dry yeast

~ 330g High Protein Flour

~ 70g Low Protein Flour

~ 40g Soft Brown Sugar

~ 40g Castor Sugar

~ 4g Salt

~ 10g Organic Flaxseeds

~ 15g of dried cranberries

~ 15g of golden raisins

~ 20g of corn oil

~ 20g of non dairy margarine / butter

• In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, instant yeast, sugar and corn oil into a mixing bowl.

• Gradually add in lukewarm soy milk to form into a slightly sticky soft dough. Add in apple cider vinegar, salt and continue to knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). I prefer to use vinegar and reduce usage of yeast as I don't really fancy the yeasty smell or after taste of the bread.

• Add in non dairy margarine / butter and continue to knead until fully incorporated.  Lastly, add in organic seeds, cranberries and raisins and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and shiny. It should be able to stretched to form a thin membrane before it breaks.

• Remove dough from the mixer and place it in a greased stainless steel bowl. Cover with a cling film and leave in a warm place until the dough doubled in size. [To test if the dough has risen properly, dip a finger into bread flour and poke into the centre of the dough. When you pull your finger out, the hole should remain. If the dough springs back, then it should be proved further.]

• Punch down the dough to knock the air out. Rest for 10 min

• Divide and cut the dough into 8 portions and roll into smaller balls. 

• Place the buns onto a greased baking tray. Sprinkle a thin layer of water over the buns and leave them to proof (i kept mine in the oven)  until the buns nearly doubled in sizes.

• Preheat oven to 170C degrees for 10 mins.

• Lightly brush the top of the buns with non dairy soya milk.

• Bake the buns at 170C degrees (lower / 2nd lowest rack) or 160C degrees (middle rack) of the oven for 12 mins. Reduce the heat by another 10C degrees and continue baking for another 5-8 mins until golden brown. 

• Remove from oven and immediately brush a thin layer of olive oil over the top of the buns. This process helps to retain the moisture of the bread and keeping it soft.

• You may store the unfinished buns in the freezer for later consumption.

Tri Colour Ogura Cupcake 三色相思蛋糕

三色相思蛋糕

Tri Colour Ogura Cupcake 

Last week I came across this recipe from Sze Min's Blog which pique my interest so I went about trying it out the following day.

The process preparation process is almost similar to that of making chiffon cake. The cake turned out with the same texture and fluffiness of chiffon, or maybe finer I reckon. It is a relatively easy to make cake and I have adapted it to cupcakes version to lessen the baking time. Generally I prefer to bake the cake with smaller muffin / cupcake moulds since I don't fancy doing the preparation and lining of the typical cake mould. The added plus point of making it into cupcake version helps to save baking time and the trouble of slicing the cake later (lazy me!). 

Ingredients (A)

50g Corn Oil

1/8 tsp Salt

60g Milk

5 Grade A Egg Yolks

1 Grade A Egg

70g Cake Flour

• Pour 2-1/2 cups water into baking tray and place baking rack on / over the tray and preheat oven at 160C degrees.

• Combine corn oil, milk, salt, egg yolks and egg into a mixing bowl and beat until frothy.

• Sift in cake flour and mix well. Set aside.

Ingredients (B)

5 Egg Whites (Grade A)

70g Castor Sugar

1 tsp Lemon Juice 

• Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the egg whites, lemon juice and castor sugar until soft peak is formed. 

• Fold in half of meringue (B) mixture into the egg yolk mixture (A) until well mixed. Fold in the balance of the egg white meringue (B) into the mixture until fully blended.

Ingredients (C)

1 Tbsp Espresso / Any instant coffee powder (Mix with 1-2 Tbsp hot water and set aside)

1-2 Drops of Pandan Extract (I use the store bought ones with rich color)

• Divide the cake batter into 3 equal portions. 1st portion to be left as it is. 2nd portion to be mixed with Pandan extract and the last portion to be mixed with 10ml of the coffee mixture.

• Pour the batter alternately by different color into the cupcake mould. Place the mould directly onto of the baking rack.

• Steam bake at 160C degrees for 25 mins (depending on the size of the cupcake mould).

• Invert the cupcake after baking and let cool before serving. 

Steam Chocolate Cake ......my sweet indulgence

I love chocolates! But.....not chocolate flavored food nor desserts. Hence, I hardly incorporate chocolate into my baking and seldom would I opt to bake anything chocolaty. My only interest is to pop the chocolate into my mouth to savor the rich, creamy and melting sensation, plus the sweet aromatic after taste, which I don't get from cakes or pastries. The closest I recall doing was to scoop spoonfuls of milo powder and consume it directly.


After living in Jakarta for some time, I have confirmed through observation that the most widely preferred flavored cakes or dessert are either chocolate or cheese based. Should you want to buy or make a cake for someone here, I strongly suggest to consider chocolate or cheese cake since it will be well accepted.

Today I found a huge block of cooking chocolate while rummaging through my baking supplies. Seeing the product expiry looming near, I decided to use it for baking a cake.  To my surprise, the steam cake turns out moist and fluffy, unlike most of the chocolate cakes I baked

Steam Chocolate Cake

Ingredients (A)
180g butter
120g Castor sugar
200g Evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp Grand Marnier Cognac (optional)

Ingredients (B)
2 Eggs, Slightly Beaten

Ingredients (C)
100g Cake Flour
50g Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp baking soda


Directions 

• Heat up steamer. Lined a 7 inch round baking pan with baking paper.

• Combine (A) in a saucepan and cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved and butter melted.  Remove saucepan from stove and set aside to cool.

• With a hand whisk, add (B) into the above mixture and mix well.

•  Sift (C) into a mixing bowl, pour the (A) & (B) mixture over the flour and stir until combined. (Note : The batter should be runny)

• Pour the batter into the baking pan. Lightly cover the top with aluminum foil. Transfer the pan into the steamer and set over medium heat for 45 mins.

• Cool the cake completely before turning out

For the Glaze / Finishing

221g cooking chocolate

143g butter, coarsely chopped

1-1/4 tsp corn syrup

40g white cooking chocolate (for marbling)

Directions :  

• Double boil the chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a  heatproof bowl until almost melted. Remove the glaze from the heat and set aside to allow to melt completely. Stir once or twice until smooth. Leave aside to cool until it reached spreadable consistency.

• Transfer 1/4 of the above glaze to another bowl. Use an icing spatula to spread the glaze over the cake. Crumb coat a thin layer over the cake. Refrigerate the crumb coated cake for 5-8 mins.

• In another heat proof bowl, heat the white chocolate over double boiler. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside for later use.

• Reheat the remaining cooking chocolate from earlier until 32 degrees C. Pour / Sieve the warm chocolate through a fine strainer.

• Place the cake on a turntable ( I opted direct method to save time). Pour all the glaze over the cake. Work quickly while turning the turntable and using several strokes, spread the glaze over the cake so that it runs down the sides.

• Drizzle the white chocolate over the top of the cake. Drag through the glaze with a  toothpick or fine art brush to create patterns / designs. I didn't do well on this part as the chocolate glaze dried up to soon before I could complete the pattern.

• Allow the glaze of the cake to set at room temperature. Store at room temperature.