Christmas holiday bread

Christmas is coming soon. I cant believe it will be 6 months since my baby is born. 

My year 2017 was so excited. I got the first baby, I move to Tauranga....my life got new start on 2017. 

This bread's idea is come from Panettone, Italian type of Christmas sweet bread.  It is fermented by wild yeast like sourdough. It is rich and sweet flavor, contained eggs, butter, milk and sugar like fluffy brioche. Added dried  fruit and nuts. 

I made braided shape, and put it into the loaf tin.  You can make it without the tin. It becomes flat braided shape without it. 

I use sourdough starter to proof slowly. It makes strong gluten and more fluffy texture. 

Christmas holiday bread

Make 2

Sourdough starter

200g bread flour

200g water

300g bread flour

50g white sugar

10g salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ginger powder

2 egg yolk

150cc milk

100g butter (cold and cut into pieces)

100g raisin

100g cranberry

50g orange peel

80g mixed nuts (chopped)

Egg wash

1 egg (beaten)

Prepare
Make sourdough starter.

1. Combine milk and egg yolk, sourdough starter well in the bowl.
In the stand mixer, combine flour and sugar, salt,spices well. Add the liquid ingredient in the stand mixer. Knead it for 10 minutes with dough hook until it gets smooth and elastic. Add cold butter, knead it until all butter combine into the dough. Add dried fruit and chopped nuts, knead it until it gets combined.

2. Transfer the dough in the large bowl. Ferment it with the plastic cover in the fridge for 10 hours or overnight until it gets double-sized.

3. Take the bowl out from the fridge, leave it on the room temperature for 2-3 hours. On the floured surface bench top, deflate the dough briefly. Dived it into 6 pieces, make it rough ball. Leave them for 20 - 30 minutes with the cover to avoid drying out.

4. Make them 30 cm cylinders.

Braid them. Fold over the edges.

 

Transfer it into the loaf tin. Or you can leave it on the baking tray without the tin.

5. Proof it at room temperature with the cover for 1-2 hours until it gets bigger.
Preheat oven at 180 degrees.

6. Brush egg wash on it.
Bake it at 180 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes until it gets golden brown.

7. Cool it down on the wire rack.  Take it out from the tin once it gets cool down.

Matcha green tea cookie

I am just come back from holiday in Japan. I visited my family with my 5 months daughter. I stayed in Japan for only 1 week. I had good time with my family.

I brought back ‘‘matcha‘‘ powder from Japan.

 

Matcha is kind of green tea, it is finely ground powder. We use it in traditional tea ceremony.  And nowadays,  we use it to flavor and dye foods such as ice cream, chocolate, cookies, buns .....any kind of  food.

It is easy to use in the baking stuff.  You need to shift it. It is crumbly like cocoa powder. 

Matcha cookie

100g unsalted butter (cold and cut into pieces)

200g  Plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

100g white sugar

2 tsp matcha powder

1 egg (beaten)

1.Shift match powder first.  In the food processor, combine plain flour and baking soda, sugar, matcha powder. Add cold pieces of butter, process until it becomes crumbly.
2. Transfer it into a bowl. Add beaten egg, make it until it becomes cookie dough. Knead it roughly.
3. Wrap it with the plastic wrap, place it into the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes.
4. Take it out from fridge.
Preheat oven at 180C. Put baking paper on the baking tray.
Roll the dough out 5mm thick. If it is too hard to roll out, leave it at room temperature for a while.
Use your favorite cookie mold to make the shape.

5. Bake it at 180C for 10 - 15 minutes until it becomes lightly brown.
6. Cool down on the wire rack.