It was Friday, which means it was time for me to prepare something nicer for my girl to snack on. She is not a picky eater but she has her preferences, sometimes. Nowadays she is getting smarter and smarter. Whenever we give her raisin or hotdog breads, she will pick and eat all the raisins and hotdog. Then give us or our dog the bread. 

So I thought maybe I could try chocolate bread with some cranberries. I shaped a few into a bear as well hoping my girl will find them cute and appetizing. She did find them cute and ate one side of the ear. Not sure where were the rest T____T

Nevertheless, the bread is really soft and fluffy when it is fresh from the oven. I took one with my girl and it was so good. Initially I thought it will be a little sweet looking at the amount of sugar but no, it is not. Not a hint of sweetness at all. This recipes had been getting many good reviews. Originally it is from mamafami who is no stranger. So I'm pretty confident this is a good recipe.

However, I think this bread or any other breads should be kept in an air tight container as soon as they are cooled. For instance, once this babies are done with their photoshoot session, they turned a little hard. So I would suggest to keep a few just for photoshoot and hide the rest to enjoy later.

Chocolate and Cranberry Buns

Adapted from Hana's Family and MamaFami's Spice and Splendour

Yield: 12 buns (about 35g-38g each)

Ingredients:

• 200g bread flour
• 50g plain flour
• 50g granulated sugar
• 5g yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 40g margarine
• 125ml fresh milk
• 1/2 egg 
• 1 tbsp chocolate powder
• 1/4 cup cranberries

• Egg wash with the remaining 1/2 egg

Methods:

1. Put all ingredients into bread maker in the sequence of fresh milk, salt, egg, bread flour, plain flour, chocolate powder, sugar and yeast.
2. Select Dough setting. Once the dough comes together, add in margarine. Let the bread maker to continue kneading and proofing until it is done. Usually it takes 1 hour 30 mins.
3. Once the bread maker is done, take the dough out and punch out the air.
4. Divide into 12 equal sizes and shape it.
5. Cover the shaped dough with cling wrap and let it proof until double its size.
6. Preheat oven at 180C.
7. For bear shape, use circle chocolate rice as eyes. Cut chocolate chips into half to get the triangle shape for the bear's nose. 
8. Brush egg wash over buns and bake for 20-25 mins or until it is cooked. 

Don't judge the book by its cover. Well, in this case.. don't judge the bread by its beautiful crust. 

I have been looking at no knead bread recipes for days and secretly salivating looking at all the crusty breads. There are so many varieties, all with different flavours and calling out for me "Make me, eat me!!". Whats more they are no knead!!?? What are you waiting for?? Oh.. I need a pot, yeah that's why. 

So I had chosen this recipe from Simply So Good and it requires some sort of an oven proof pot/ dutch oven/ etc. in order to bake this bread. And all I have is the normal baking tins, which I don't think is suitable because there is no lid and I'm not sure how to cover it with foil so that the steam stays within. 

Then I found this cheap and oven proof enamelled cast iron pot. Immediately I grabbed it although the size is pretty small, not 5 quarts for sure (which is required by the recipe). And I'm also not sure what the knob made of, whether it will be oven proof. 

To be safe, I removed the knob and stuck the hole with aluminium foil so that the steam won't come out. Everything went well, the bread rise beautifully. Yeast had done its job (pat on yeast back). 

Happily put the pot into the oven to reheat. To my horror, the pot couldn't fit in!!! Are you kidding me? This is already a very small pot and still, the lid is hitting the top heating rod. Can't even go in. 

The show baking must go on. So I smartly place the pot to the lowest rack and let it reheat for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, I placed the bread into the pot, covered the lid and let it baked for 30 minutes. 30 minutes later, opened the lid, placed the pot to middle rack for the crust to brown. 

It looks so beautiful when it is done as you can see. 

Here comes the don't judge the bread by its crust part. When I sliced the bread, the inside was undercooked! Sigh. I was so disappointed. How can it be??

Then I remember my lousy oven, the culprit. Seriously, invest in a good and reputable brands if you can afford. Otherwise, you may have to deal with many of this heartbreaking moments. I forgot that my oven only has a maximum temperature of 180C, although the dial is showing 250C. The temperature required for this recipe is 450F. So logically, I should bake longer. No wonder my bread is undercooked.

I believe if I got the time and temperature right, the bread will turn out fantastic. See all the holes? And the gluten is well developed. I will try this again soon, for sure! 

Nevertheless, it's good for photography. Hubby said the bread is good, very chewy. He finished half of the loaf I think. Weird taste he has. 

 

I'm trying to keep my momentum in posting an entry at least once a week. So far so good huh? haha.. This was a request from my 'boss' at home. He wanted something with cranberries and strawberry preserves. I added toasted almonds as well for some crunch and texture. Instead of the usual stuffed bread, I turned it into a braided bread. My first attempt, I think it looked acceptable la.  

Source: No Sweat Recipes (bread dough adapted from The Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls)

Filling ingredients:

• 1 cup cranberries (blended)
• Strawberry preserves
• Sugar
• Egg wash

Method:

1. Flour the working surface and roll the dough into a rectangle. Cut the dough on both side into strips, leaving the center 1/3 for fillings. 
2. Put a layer of strawberry preserves at the center. Sprinkle cranberries and gently press on it so that it sticks to the bread. Sprinkle some sugar on top.
3. Braid the bread and tuck the ends to the back. 
4. Apply a layer of egg wash and bake at preheated oven at 180C for 20 minutes.

Note:
* If the dough is chilled, bring the dough to room temperature before working on it.