The best bread in my baking history

Initially, thinking of having slices of bread of ordinary square in shape, just to fit in the normal cheddar cheese my sister brought.

Last week, I tried to bake with the loafpan, after so many months left it aside, and baking without it. In my mind, to make the dough grow well entirely, I did it in some special way, which saw from other website, divide the dough into few small pieces, and turn it become rolls, and put together in the loafpan.

The set is nice after an hour, but I'd forgotten the actual baking duration for this suppose to be 40mins. Thus, the bread was wet in the middle part.

Yesterday, just tried to use back the loafpan again. I prepared the biga in the morning before leaving home to office. When i back home around 6pm, roughly after 12 hours, the yeast in biga looks so active. I mix in all the ingredients and start to work with the dough, proving, shaping the dough in rolls, and prove for another one hour.

Biga: 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast + 1 cup flour (i used wholemeal) + 1 cup water

Dough: Biga + 1 cup wholemeal flour + 2 cups white flour (=50% wholemeal bread) + 1 cup water + 1/2 teaspoon salt + 3 tablespoons of olive oil + 3 tablespoons of sugar + 1/4 cup of milk powder

I think the most essential point for this round is the baking temperature and time. I set the oven to 180degree celcius, and baked for 40mins totally, which the first 30mins loafpan with cover, and remaining 10mins with loafpan cover opened, to have some nice colour on the top.

I guess the flour is too much until no more space for the dough to grow during the baking time.

Maybe for next bake i'll try to reduce it to 3 cups of flour.

Anyway, the round shape of each roll still visible on the loaf.

My First Pizza Making

I've made my first pizza!!!

To fill my free time last sunday noon, i just have a try.

With just 2 cups of organic wholemeal flour, one cup water, half teaspoon of yeast, i'd produced quite a lot of the big biscuits for pizza's base. Same ingredient as making the bread-dough.

After the mixing and some folding on the dough, I'd let it be few minutes for little fermentation. Then take out a small piece, rolled over to form some thin layers, according to my ideal size of pizza, that fit into the oven tray too.

The put on top with slides of cheddar cheese, tomatoes, little bit butter, some basil leaves to add in the flavour. Besides, I put on some tuna, that purchased from nearby convenient store in rush.

Here's the result. I love my pizza very much.

* One cup of flour is almost able to produce the pizza base for the serving of three to four persons.

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Cheese Bread

Last week, while shop around with my friend, the bleeding gum, he suggested me the feta cheese. So, according to his suggestion, i just have a try.

This round, i followed his folding method (of mr bertinent) to "exercise" the dough, by the time just mixed in all the ingredient, in friday evening.

I prepared the yeast (half teaspoon) with 1 cup of white flour, plus 1 cup water, put for 3 hours as the first fermentation. Then mixed in the bread-baking remaining ingredients for 2 loaves, and start the workout. Within couple of minutes, the dough is really become smooth and non-sticky to the table.

After that, the dough was left for 2 hours, and re-folding again. By that time, almost mid-night, and i decided to left it until next morning.

After 6 hours, i divided the dough into 2 equal part. One rolled with raisins, while the other with the feta. Put inthe baking tray for another one hour for settling. Surprisingly after one hour, the raisin mixture was growing little bit, not too big as previous white bread, caused by the heavier weight of raisins. Sadly, for the feta dough, not much growing it has. Anyway, I put these 2 tray into the baking oven after preheated it to 230 celcius, with my newly purchased thermometer, sprayed with the mist to create steam within it.

My second surprise in that morning appeared. During the early minutes in the owen, raisin dough grow very little, but feta dough grow much higher than it's neighbor, so a bit curve shape on the top. :)

But as the first time baking with so high initial temperature, i stopped the oven after 30 minutes, and took out the loaves. So, the outer skin won't so much brown.

But the texture of this 2 loaves really great, although the feta cheese not fully melted and integrated into the dough.

Perhaps, the next cheese loaf i will try with other type of cheese. Any recommendation from you? Thanks anyway!

Noon

Who knows this female singer, Noon?

Back to years ago, around 2001 or 2002, thanks to my dear uncle, share with me this CD, "My Fairy Tale" by Noon. After listened to the tracks inside, i can say i found another nice tunes for my life.

I had searched around via internet and found that, noon is the korean lady, but the albums published in japan. even now when googling around with the keywords, some Japan online musical store display the song list as Japanese characters.

Music by noon is kind of oldies, performed in the jazzy mode, and it's very nice, and smooth listening. Especially, the track "Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head", sang by noon in the very light and easy way.

But her album is hardly found in Malaysia, or at least very difficult among the music stores within Kuala Lumpur. Quite sure of my memory now, by that time, my uncle told me he bought it from thailand. thus, seems very hard to get another copy of this. from then, I always hope can get the original copy of this album so much, or any other newer releases, but this seem not to be. when have the chance travel to Philippine and Singapore, still failed to get from the music stores there.

Recently, i visited one of my fav music stores, Victoria, in Sg Wang Plaza. This is the music store that i can find some album of extra-ordinary/non-high-demanding music gene, or any old album, besides the tower record in KL Plaza back in the old days. Most surprisingly, they have it finally! Although not the exact My Fairy Tale, but i'm quite happy to have the album of noon: For you noon's best.

All i have to say, listening to songs by noon, is as kind of relaxing moment as any other jazz tunes in the world. U can get to know more through this link or this link. I think this site contains the most album info of noon.

If any one knowing more info about noon, pls share with me too.

Why clocks in shop always 10:10?

This is the unaware question puzzled me by my sister years ago. By that time, my sister told me, after she searched around from her friends, saying 10 past 10 will exactly showing a smiley-face, which welcomes the customers of the time-piece shop.

Last week, i'd been visited a watch repairing specialist, highly recommended by my colleague. We chat a lot while i'm looking on the best piece to suit my favor and my wallet. And suddenly he asked me if knowing why clocks or watches always showing 10:10. Of course "smiley face" was my answer proudly. But he turned me down... and told me that, 10:10 is the exact time that the first watch in the world to be born.

Of course, there're few more versions as the answer for this query.

I'm not sure how true is this information still. Hope anyone out there can give some comment.

Banana Cake

Just want to share my experience in making the banana cake.

From the previous baking of butter cake, i'd reduced the portion of butter and replaced with mashed banana.

Thus, the combination contains:

1 cup mashed banana

1 + 3/4 cup rising flour

3/4 cup of sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon baking power

quarter of 250g salted butter

2 eggs

By mixing all of these ingredients in one container, mixing by blender of course, i'd enjoy the process a lot. Then put in the flour & greased pan, and baked for almost 60 minutes.

This time, I'm not able to get the unsalted butter from the nearby store, therefore with salted butter, i'd not apply any salt to the mixture. And the taste still good, with rich of banana flavour.

Besides, i wish to tell that the banana will drop to the bottom of the mixture, as stil in liquid form during the early of the baking time in oven. I'd cut some slices of banana and put on top for better outlook. But the slices sinked as the cake rising during the bake. Finally, i found the slices was soften in high temperature environment, as shown in the next picture.

Notice the cake's bottom, there's the soften banana turns to be the some unusual region from the normal cake's texture.

As it taste good although without banana slices stay on top, still a good try.