HOMEMADE GARLIC BREAD USING APPLE NATURAL YEAST

Two days ago, a friend gave me an apple yeast starter which she made on her own. She was very pleased with the robust behaviour of the apple yeast and offered me to make my own natural yeast with her starter. I was like, 赚到了!

Started to feed the yeast with bread flour and wild starter , ratio being 1:1. Indeed, this yeast is super! I only needed to feed 2 times to get the required amount to make one bread. And the fragrance was really nice!

 Look at the airy holes !

As I did not want to let the yeast wait too long for me, I ran through my mind and internet to see what I could do with this wonderful yeast. I decided to make my own garlic spread.

Homemade garlic spread recipe:
150g salted butter, softened
1.5 tsp dried herb (I used dried oregano)
4 cloves garlic (finely grated)
1.5 tsp olive oil
Just stir everything and set aside.

Then I had to come up with my own concoction of bread. I wanted the bread to be slightly hard, and round at top, as I wanted the bread to look special after I complete my masterpiece. So, I came up with this mixture and hoped for the best.

Bread recipe:
125g apple natural yeast (I scooped out all I had)
350g bread flour
1 tsp salt
20g sugar
about 150g water (estimation only, as I slowly added in the water until I thought was enough)
2 tbsp oil
some egg mixed with water for eggwash

Mix flour, salt and sugar thoroughly. Form a well in the centre and put natural yeast in the well. Slowly pour water and bring in the flour from the inner wall. By mixing flour and water at the same time, stop adding water when the flour starts to feel very wet. Knead into a dough and add oil. Continue kneading, pulling, folding, and slamming until a thin film can be seen.

Place a little oil in a container and grease the inside. Drop the dough into the container and flip over (so that a thin layer of oil is coated on the dough). Cover top with a wet cloth or plastic to avoid drying out. Place the container in the oven, which I also placed a cup of hot water to assist proofing.

proofing in switched off oven

before proofing

2 hours later

Punch out the air and knead gently. Shape the bread (you may add your flavours now, such as cheese, raisins, chocolate, nuts and herbs). Place in baking pan and proof for another 40-60min until double.

 Egg wash dough, bake at 200C for about 30 min.

Done!

 
I wanted to make my bread look different, so I attempted to slice the bread into criss-cross. But without a good bread knife, I found slicing the bread to perfection was impossible (I used kitchen knife). So I stopped with only slicing one direction. Then I slapped all my garlic spread onto the exposed slices and sent the bread into oven again. 180C for 10 mins (I wanted to make sure the garlic would be cooked) and up 220C for about 3-5min to obtain a darker shade.

 Urghh!! So ugly! Not to my expectation at all!  :(

 

this was what I hoped to achieve.  aiyo, cannot make it!!

 looks like this after re-bake

Verdict:
Crispy and oh-so-nice! We almost finished the whole bread while it was still warm. My mother-in-law had to stop my kids from attacking the bread further. After I came back from work 3 hours later, I stole a bite and it was still omph! My mother-in-law glanced at me and told me to leave for the kids' breakfast the next day. OK, just nice I left 3 pieces for each of them. (then, my hubby took one piece. Opps, there will be war tomorrow)

BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-BA-NA-NA BANANA CAKE

Mmmmm.... I used to love banana cakes, and I could eat soooo much! But sadly, after my second pregnancy, my tongue became allergic to bananas. After that I could not eat my favourite fruit anymore.

Recently at a gathering with my secondary school friends (mostly seniors), I promised a friend I would bake her favourite banana cake for herself. For so many years I have not tried my hand on this cake, so I was a little jittery how the cake would turn out.

There was extra batter, so I baked in a cup. Jamiel (my 4 year old boy) scooped it all. It was the first time I saw him finish one cupcake on his own, so it must be good for him.  :)

Recipe (adapted from Kathrine Kwa)
(A)
250g ripe banana, mashed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-2 drops of banana essence (optional)

Mix above and set aside.

(B)
280g plain flour (I mixed 100g plain flour + 180g cake flour)
1 tsp baking powder

Mix above and sieve once. Set aside

(C)
200g butter at room temperature
80g fine sugar
70g brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3 whole eggs

(D)
50ml fresh full cream milk
50g chocolate rice

(E) - for decoration
A few pieces of roundly sliced banana
some extra chocolate rice

Method:

Preheat oven at 175C.Grease 12x4 loaf tin or lay non-stick baking paper for easy removal.

1. At high speed, cream butter, sugars and salt until pale and creamy. Takes about 5 minutes. During the process, scrape down the sides of the batter repeatedly to ensure consistency.
2. Place one tbsp of (B) into 1. Crack one egg into 1. At slow speed, beat till egg is fully incorporated.
3. Repeat step 2 until all eggs are added. Add in (A).
4. Scrape down the sides of batter. Using medium speed, beat for about 1 min.
5. Using low speed, add half the remaining flour and beat for about 30 seconds. Immediately pour in milk and beat for 30 seconds. Add in balance flour and beat for another 30 seconds. Lastly add in chocolate rice.
Scrape down the sides when necessary to ensure consistency, but do not overmix.
6. Pour batter into prepared loaf tin and smooth the top. Knock a few times gently.
7. Decorate batter on top with (E)
8. Place in oven for about 45min or until skewer comes out clean when picked.

Verdict (I risked my tongue and stole a few bites)
Very soft with nice fragrance, and the sweetness is just right. Best consumed within 2 days. May re-heat at 150C for 5-8 min to enjoy the warm cake.