Cream Pan (Custard Cream Buns)

Cream Pan is one of Japanese pastry bread, filled with custard cream. It is very popular in Japan. Rich sweet  dough and vanilla custard cream.

Its shape is something like glove traditionally. I arranged it, Dose it look better?

Custard cream sold at super market is too soft for filling. I made custard cream by myself. I added more flour and corn starch. When cream gets cold, it is easy to handle and fill in the dough.
The dough contains milk powder, egg and butter. Brush egg wash, make it golden color. But don't bake it too long. Otherwise it becomes over baked and cream is coming out.

Cream Pan (make 8)
Custard cream filling
2 Egg yolks
50g Sugar
200ml Milk
1 tea spoon of Vanilla beans
25g Butter
25g Flour
10g Cornstarch

1. Heat milk in a sauce pan.

2. In a bowl, whiten egg yolks, then  add sugar and flour, cornstarch. Add heated milk in the bowl gradually as string.
3. Filter the mixture, put it back to the sauce pan. Add vanilla beans (or extract)
4. Cook it over low heat string constantly.
5.Stir until thick constantly. Remove from fire,
6. Pour into another container, cool it down. Place it into the fridge.

Dough
250g High grade flour
3g Active dried yeast
50g Sugar
3g Salt
10g Milk powder
25g Egg
130cc Water
25g Butter

Egg + Milk = Egg wash

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


2. In another large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and milk powder. Stir well to combine with mixture of yeast water. 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 until 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, 1.5 - 2 hours.

4. Pour the dough onto the floured counter, then deflate it, knead it briefly, divide it into 8 pieces (60g). Make them rough ball, and set the dough with cover for 20minutes.

5. Punch the dough, make a round shape with a roll pin.

①Make a 14cm x 10cm oval with the rolling pin.
②Put 30g of ball preshaped custard cream on the dough. (about 1/3 upside) Cut the bottom side into 8 - 9 lines.

③Cover the filling and seal tightly. (Make sure to seal tight enough. Otherwise cream comes out when it is baking. )
④Then cover the other side nicely.

6. Place them into the warm place(35℃) for 45 - 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 210 ℃。Before bake, apply egg wash.

7. Bake them at 200℃ for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

8. Cool them down on a wire rack.

Avocado Oil Ciabatta

Today, I made Ciabatta with Avocado oil.

Avocado oil is made in New Zealand. It is quite strong flavor and green color.
I use it for salad, dipping and bread! I love slices of bread with avocado oil.

Ciabatta is No-knead bread, that is simple to make. Just stir all ingredients with spatula in a bowl.
At first, the dough is very sticky. Proofing 1hour and 2 hours later, fold the dough for couple of times.  It is difficult to handle the dough, because it contains 70% of water. I set the dough on the baking sheet during the second proofing. I can transfer the dough with the baking sheet as keeping the nice shape and air bubble.
It took 2 days to make it. Making polish, proofing final dough... I set it overnight. Time makes gluten development well.
Crispy crust and chewy crumble. Ideal for sandwich and panini.

Ciabatta (make 1 loaf)

Polish
200g High grade flour
200g Water
1 tea spoon of sourdough starter
(or pinch of active dried yeast)

Final dough
300g High grade flour
10g Salt
20g Avocado oil(or olive oil)
210cc Water
All of Polish

1. In a container, combine flour, water and sourdough starter and stir. Set it 6-10 hours to ripen at room temperature.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add sourdough starter and water, avocado oil. Mix with a spatula, combine the ingredients till water and flour combined well.

3. Put the dough into a oil sprayed container with cover, place it room temperature. 1 hour and 2 hours later. fold the dough on the floured counter. Put it back to the container, then set it  till it becomes double size (about 8 - 12hours). I set overnight.

4. Turn the dough out onto a very well floured counter.

5. Shaping from the center towards the edges, very gently stretch the dough into a rectangle about 2 cm in height. Try not to degas the dough. Keep the air bubble in.
Gently, put the dough onto a well floured baking sheet. Put the boxes on both side to keep the shape.

6. Proof the dough with plastic cover for 1.5 - 2 hours at the room temperature until the dough is very light and full of gas.

7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven and a baking pan at 240℃ with steam.

8. Take the baking pan out, transfer the dough with baking paper on it. Bake it 230℃ with steam for 8 minutes, then 20 minutes without steam or crust becomes well golden brown. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and keep it inside for another 5 minutes.

9. Cool it down on the wired rack.

Seaweed rolls

Do you know about Japanese style bread?
French, German, Italian, American...these are famous style of bread. Everyone knows that.
We, Japanese, eat rice with meal traditionally, but eat lots of bread for breakfast, lunch and for tea.
We create own Japanese style bread and pastry.

Today, I made seaweed rolls. It is real Japanese taste. Because it is created by me... I am Japanese.

It contain 80% of white flour and 20% of rice flour. Rice flour make bread resilience texture. And we like to eat seaweed with rice.
I added soy sauce and butter, sesame seeds for flavor. I recommend soy sauce and butter combination. It is so savory taste and aroma. I didn't add salt, because say sauce contains salt.
Ops, yes, of cause I added seaweed. It makes it dark green color.

What do you think about this bread??

Seaweed Rolls
240g High grade flour
60g Rice flour
10g Sugar
20g Sesame seeds
3g Instant dry yeast
3 Sheets of Seaweed sheet
180cc lukewarm Water
10g Soy sauce
30g Butter( melted )


1. In a small bowl, tear seaweed sheet to pieces and add 180cc lukewater. Leave it about 15minutes. It becomes paste. Then add soy sauce and mix together.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour and rice flour, sugar, sesame seeds, dried yeast.  Add seaweed mixture, then mix together with your finger till it becomes hard to mix.

3. Place the dough onto the floured counter, then knead it for 10minutes till it becomes smooth and uniform. It might be stiff at first kneading. Add melted butter, and knead it for another 5minutes till it becomes elastic.


4. Put the bowl with cover into the warm place (35℃) till it becomes double size (about 1-1.5 hours )

5. Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Divide into 8 pieces, make them balls roughly.  Set the dough with cover for 20 minutes.

6. Reshape them into final balls.


7. Place it into warm place with spray water, rise them for 40 minutes.

8.Meanwhile preheat the oven at 190℃.

9. Score lines on the dough with sharp knife.

10. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 190℃ or till color becomes golden.