Spice & Molasses Rye Sourdough

I made dark colered bread. I added Molasses and spices to make it dark. When I finsh to bake it, my kitchen was full of spices aroma. That made me hungry.
Spice and Rye bread, keeps very well. It is better have one after 2 days.  It must be mature!

I used my apple cider instead of active dry yeast for Rye sourdough starter to ferment. It proof very well.
I kneaded the dough at night. Proof it over night. Then shaped and baked in the morning.
I like to have one with honey or marmalade jam. This bread is bit sweet and spicy.

Spice & Molasses Rye Sourdough
Rye sourdough starter
70g Rye Flour
70g Water
Pinch of active dry Yeast
Mix all ingredients into a container, place it in room temperature for 12hour.

300g High grade flour
50g Rye flour
202g water
7g Salt
30g Molasses
Rye sourdough starter
1/2 tea spoon of Ginger powder
1/2 tea spoon of Cinnamon
1/2 tea spoon of Cardamon
1/2 tea spoon of Natmeg

1. Conbine flour and rye flour, spices, salt in a large bowl. Mix rye polish, molasses, water into a bowl with your finger till it becomes hard to mix.
2. Place the dough into the floured counter, then knead till it becomes smooth and elastic.
3.Put the dough into a bowl with cover, place it warm place (35℃) till it becomes double size (about 9 -  12 hours).
4. Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Preshape it into tight balls and let rest, covered, for 20 minutes.

5. Shape the dough into a loaf tin and place it, seam-side-down.
6. Set the dough with cover for 40 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 240℃.
8. Put dough into the oven with steam for 10 minutes at 230℃. Then bake it at 200℃ for 20 minutes without steam. Then turn off the oven and leave the loaves in for another 15 minutes.
9. Cool on a wire rack.

Stecca (No knead Italian bread)

I found such an attractive bread recipe from American bread recipe book.

Looks Italian flag.
No knead bread dough, it becomes flat bread, soft and chewy with a thin crust coated with olive oil and lightly salted. Toppings with tomatoes, olives and garlic.

No knead bread, easy to make, but you need to take your time or organize your time.
Use a litte bit of active Yeast. I made sour dough starter day before, took 12 hours(over night) for proofing the dough, 1.5 hours for second proofing.

Stecca (No knead Italian Bread)

Sour dough starter
100g High grade flour

100g Water
A pinch of active dry Yeast

Final dough300g High grade flour
3g Salt
250g Water
Sour dough starter

Topping
whole Garlic cloves, whole Olives, halved cherry Tomatoes
50g extra virgin Olive oil
Coarse sea salt


1.In a small bowl, mix all the sour dough starter ingredients until just combined. Cover the bowl and let the poolish ferment at room temperature for about 6 hours. The poolish is ready to use when the surface is creased, and pebbled with bubbles.

2.In a large bowl, combine flour,salt. Add the water and sour dough starter, and using a spatula, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 10 to 18 hours (24 hours if temperature is cold.)

3. On the floured counter, fold the dough over itself three times and gently shape it into a flattened ball. Brush the surface of the dough with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt (which will gradually dissolve on the surface).

4. Gently place the dough into a oil-sprayed large bowl, and cover bowl with a towel. Place in a warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 30 minutes.

5. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, pre-heat the oven at 250℃. Oil a 13″ x 18″ x 1″ baking sheet.

6. Cut the dough into quarters. Gently stretch each piece evenly into a long, thin, baguette shape approximately the length of the pan. Place on the pan, leaving about 1 inch between the loaves. Embed the garlic cloves, olives or cherry tomatoes into the loaves.

 Brush olive oil on each loaf. Sprinkle coarse sea salt over each loaf, but dont put too much salt on the olive loaf because the olives are salty.

7. Bake For 15 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on a pan for five minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the baguette to a rack to cool them down.

Chocolate Buns & Custard Buns

Today, I made sweet bread with chocolate and custard cream inside.
Soft and sweet like brioche, contained milk, butter and sugar.
I should have apply egg wash!! I forgot about that!
And, don't bake too much, otherwise cream is comming out.

At first, make custard cream and chocolate cream. Add lots of vanila beans  to custard cream.
Good for coffee and breakfast.
My Sunday breakfast!!

Chocolate Bunss & Custard Buns
Chocolate Cream
100g Dark chocolate(chopped)
100ml Fresh cream
Dark Ram (optional)

1.  Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.
2. When it gets cool down, place it into fridge to make it cooler.

Custard Cream
2 Egg yolks
45g Sugar
3 Table spoon of Cornstarch
200cc Milk
Vanila beans or extract

1. Heat milk in a sauce pan.
2. In a bowl, whiten egg yolks and sugar. Add heated milk in the bowl gradually as stiring.
3. Filter the mixture, put it back to the saoce pan. Add vanila beans (or extract)
4. Cook it over low heat stiring constantly.
5. Remove from fire, add cornstarch, stir until thick constantly.
6. Cool it down.

Sweet bread dough
200g High grade flour
100g Plain flour
5g Instant dry yeast
30g Sugar
5g Salt
40g Unsalted Butter
1 Egg + Water (lukewarm) totaly 120g

Egg wash
Egg + milk

1. In a bowl, dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.


2. In another large bowl, flour, sugar, salt, egg and mixture of water, stir well to combine. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Add softened butter into the dough, knead it untill smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.(Add more flour if it is too sticky.)

3. Put the dough into a bowl with cover, place it warm place (35℃) till it becomes double size, 1-1.5hour.

4. Pour the dough onto the floured counter, then deflate it, knead it briefly, divide it to 50g  pieces. Make them rough ball, and set the dough with cover for 20minutes.

5. Punch the dough, make a roundl shape with a roll pin. Put the custard filling or chocolate filling on the dough. Seal the dough tightly, try not to put air in.

6. Place them into the warm place(40℃) for 30 minutes. Apply the egg wash. Preheat the oven at 200 ℃。
7. Bake them at 190℃ for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

8. Cool them down on a wire lack. Decolate melted chocolate if you need.