NO KNEAD NATURAL YEAST BASIC RYE BREAD

I was blessed with a big packet of rye flour, and wanted to make something nice from it, but I kept delaying. Until one day, another good friend blessed me with her robust lemon yeast starter, I could not wait any longer! 

Made my own natural yeast using 1:1 ratio (50g yeast starter : 50g bread flour) which required about 3 - 4 days to yield the amount of yeast I wanted. The natural yeast needed to be placed at a cool dry place (not in fridge if you intend to use it straight away) and fed once in the morning and once in the night. A healthy natural yeast would double after each feed a few hours later. I would not screw the lid of jar but tie a piece of paper towel with poked holes for the yeast to breathe.

healthy natural yeast doubles and has lots of bubbles

If you run out of yeast starter, replace with filtered water, but for more assurance, I would add a teaspoon of honey.

NO KNEAD NATURAL YEAST BASIC RYE BREAD

Ingredients

300g rye flour

150g natural yeast

3g salt

200ml filtered water, approx 

some canola oil

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre of the rye flour. Pour in natural yeast and mix well. Next stir in salt. 

2. Add in half amount of water and mix well. Slowly add more water until you get your desired consistency. (The dough will only get messier, not cleaner). 

3. Drop into a lined tin and spread the dough. Lightly coat the top with some oil. Cover the top with a cling wrap and place in a warm place for about 2 - 3 hours, until the dough almost doubled.

4. Preheat oven at 200C and let oven heat for the next 20 minutes. Remove cling wrap and place tine in oven. Lightly spray some water on top of dough. Bake for about 30 minutes.

5. Remove bread from tin and cool completely on cooling rack.

after proofing for about 2.5hrs

100% natural yeast rye bread

SOUFFLE PANCAKE

My eldest sister-in-law is a sweet lady, who dines out in nice restaurants for both work and social pleasures. She said I must try this dessert called souffle pancake in town. I like pancakes, and I have a recipe which I love (I cut out from newspaper a few years ago). Not heard of souffle pancake, let alone tasted any. But I do know that souffle means meringue being folded into batter, so I thought I could create my own. I imagined that it would be like eating a pancake-shaped cloud =) =)

I started to scout for a cooking pan that could be used over cook stove and in oven. As my oven was a counter-top oven, I did not think it could withstand the weight of a cast-iron skillet. It would also be a costly kitchen investment since a reasonable cast-iron pot or pan would cost a few hundred dollars. So it took me a while to hunt and I finally found one that BARELY sat in my oven, costing me just under S$30! I was quite happy!

Thank you, IKEA! I love you! Muacks!!

Pan sits just nicely in oven!

After deciding what I wanted to put into the pancake batter and topping, I rolled up my sleeves and gave a try. I made two versions. Version A had more flour, less egg, stronger butter aroma and crisp edge. Version B had more eggs, less flour, cloud-like texture and more challenging to transfer to plate. I thought as the pancake was supposed to be souffle, Version B should be closer to the requirement. 

Pictures posted here are pancakes from Version A because I had no time to take pictures when attempting Version B. However the steps are the same.

SOUFFLE PANCAKE (Little Mouse's own version)

Elements to prepare first:

Caramel Drizzle

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp milk powder

1/2 cup full cream milk

Pinch of salt

1. Over low heat, melt sugar and water. When it caramelizes (push as far as you can to have a deeper caramel but not burnt)  add milk powder and stir evenly. Slowly pour milk (be careful! Hot! Hot!) and stir at the same time. Add in salt. Turn of heat to cool. (If it gets too sticky, add more milk to dilute a little) 

I aim to obtain a slightly bittersweet caramel to balance the whole dessert.

Whipped Cream

200g cold thickened cream

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp liquor (or vanilla extract)

1. Using a blender, blend everything till cream stiffens. Chill in fridge.

a fool-proof way to get cream whipped everytime

Pancake
3 eggs, separated
95g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
15g melted butter
50g milk
1 tbsp liquor (or vanilla extract)
60g plain flour
30g melted butter, extra

Toppings (washed and pat dry)
Sliced strawberries
Blueberries

1. Using a hand whisk, whisk egg yolks till slightly thickened and cream sugar till light.

2. Add in salt, 15g melted butter, milk and liquor. Whisk well.

3. Add in flour and combine well.

4. In another clean and dry bowl, using an electric beater, beat egg whites till stiff.

5. Gently fold in meringue into batter in 2 batches. The mixture should be light and fluffy.
 

gently fold in meringue using hand whisk

after folding in of meringue

6. Prepare a 24cm pan. I would suggest to line the base with grease-proof paper for easier transfer later on. Pour the extra 30g melted butter onto pan over low-medium heat.

7. When pan is warm, pour batter into pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Do not stir or flip the pancake. As the batter slightly firms up, gently place sliced strawberries and blueberries on top.

8. In a preheated oven at 180C, switch oven mode to top grill. Place pan in middle rack and grill for about a few minutes. Watch closely as the batter might burn.

9. Once the batter turns slightly brown on the edge, switch oven mode to bake and turn the temperature to 160C. Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until top is springy to touch and sides leave pan slightly.

Done!

10. Carefully transfer pancake to a serving plate. Top with more fruits, whipped cream and caramel drizzle.

11. Serve immediately.

Sorry for the bad picture, everyone could not wait and started digging in!