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.

Banana Chocolate Sourdough Bites

I like riped Bananas, having black spots. I eat just a banana, make some baking stuff with banana.
Today, I tried make Banana Bread. My one is not banana Cake. See my ingredients, not much butter and sugar.
Yes, it is bread made from Sour dough.
This bread is sweet, because of Banana and Chocolate. It doesn't need lots of sugar.
I made it small bites, for having with tea or coffee.

POINT
You don't need put much water, because banana contains water.
When you knead the dough, at first it is quite stiff, but it is gonna be elastic later.
The final dough doesn't proof as much as other kinds of bread.

Banana Chocolate Sourdough Bites
200g High grade flour
100g Plain flour
30g Sugar
3g Salt
45cc Water
20g Butter (melted)
50g Sourdough starter
120g  Banana (mushed)
50g Chocolate chips



1. In a large bowl, mix final dough flours and sugar, salt. Add sourdough starter and water, mushed banana,  butter. Mix with your finger combine the ingredients till water and flour combined well.

Place the dough onto the floured counter, then knead it for 10 minutes till it becomes smooth and elastic.

2. Spread the dough, put chocolate chips on it, knead it briefly till chocolate chips are just evenly incorporated into the dough.

3. Put the dough into a container with cover, place it warm place (35℃) till it becomes 1.5 size (about 8 - 12hours). I set overnight.

4. Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Make it rough ball, then cover with wet tea towel, set it for 20 minutes.

5. Spread the dough with a roll pin, cut into 2cm x 4cm.

6. Place it into warm place with spray water, rise it for 1 hour.

7. Preheat the oven at 200℃


8. Spray water, bake them at 200C for 15 - 20minutes, till becomes well brown.

Apple filling buns

Which one is apple?
Hehe...you can find it easily, but they look so lovely, don't you think so?

Sour dough with tea leaf crust and apple filling inside.
The core of apple is stick pretzel, and leaf is a biscuit.

At first, make sourdough, and make apple preserve with raisin. OK, get ready, proof the final dough!!

Apple filling buns (make 7)
Sourdough
50g High grade flour
50g Water
1 teaspoon of sourdough starter

Apple preserve
2 apples (peel and cut into dice)
30g raisins
2 tablespoon of Sugar
1 tablespoon of Lemon juice

Final dough
250g High grade flour
50g Plain flour
1 bag of tea leaves
5g salt
2 table spoon of Sugar
195cc Water
20g oil
Sourdough polish

Decoration
Pretzel (stick type)
Biscuits (or something like leaf)
Any type of jam

Prepare
In a small container, combine flour, water and sourdough starter and stir 16-20 hours to ripen at room temperature.


In a small sauce pan, heat apple, raisin, sugar and lemon juice with low heat, and stir  constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Stir in apple and simmer until apples are transparent.

1. In a large bowl, mix final dough flours and sugar, salt, tea leaves. Add sourdough starter and water, oil. Mix with your finger combine the ingredients till water and flour combined well.
Place the dough onto the floured counter, then knead it for 10 minutes till it becomes smooth and elastic.

2. Put the dough into a container with cover, place it warm place (35℃) till it becomes double size (about 8 - 12hours). I set overnight.

3. Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Divide into 7 pieces(70g each). Shape them into balls.
Set the dough with cover for 20 minutes.

4. Punch the dough, make a round shape with a roll pin. Put the apple filling on the dough. Seal the dough tightly, try not to put air in.

5. Place them into the warm place(40℃) for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven at 200 ℃。


6. Bake them at 190℃ for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

7. Decorate leaves. Use any type of jam as glue. Cool them on a wired lack.
Poke cores on the centre of buns.

Castella (Japanese Sponge Cake)

This recipe is really simple to make.

I got some fresh eggs from my friend. She has 4 chickens at home, so she can get 4 eggs everyday!!
Mmmmm.... what shall I make with eggs...

OK, I decided to make Castella!

Castella is a popular Japanese sponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs, and starch syrup, but I used honey instead of syrup. Honey makes better taste.
This cake brought from Portugal to Japan by missionaries in the 16th century. That time we, Japanese didn't use to have milk and butter. I think Castella is the first cake in Japan!

It is simple ingredients, but it is not just a sponge cake. Sweet, fluffy, but moist...Color is so nice. Brown outside, Golden inside. \
The main ingredients are eggs and sugar and flour, so I can taste fresh eggs!!

POINT
Use fresh eggs,  that makes different taste.
Use high grade flour and sift it. That makes it elasticity.
Sugar makes it caramelize Brown and Golden. You can smell it from the oven!
Honey makes it moist sponge, and extra flavor.
Let it mature after bake, 3 days later is the best time to serve if you can WAIT!!

Castella (20cm x 20cm square)

5 Eggs

150g Sugar

150g High grade flour (sifted)
30g Honey
30g Milk

1. Put baking paper on the 20cm x 20cm square tin.  Reheat the oven at 170C.
Combine honey and milk in a small bowl, heat it up at medium power for 1 minutes. Mix well.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar. Then whip them with a electronic mixer at high speed for 6 minutes or till whiten. Add mixture of honey and milk, combine well.

3. Add 1/2 of sifted flour, mix with spatula gently well.  Add left all of flour, and mix as well.
4. Pour it into the cake tin,  smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Drop the cake tin from 5cm high to let air out 3 or 4 times.

5. Bake it at 170C, once the top gets brown, cover with tin foil, heat down at 150C, then bake it another 50 minutes.
Poke the middle of the cake with thin stick, check it baked or not.

6. Wrap it up with plastic wrap as soon as finish to bake. Let it mature at least 1 day. (I think 3 day is the best)
7. Cut it half and cut the edge off, then make it slice, go for it!!!

Hot Cross Buns

It is first time to make Hot Cross Buns for Easter.
I am Japanese, we dont celebrate Easter in Japan. I experienced the first Easter in Whakatane, NZ. I was helping a bakery there at the time. I made Easter cookies, chocolates and Hot cross buns!!!
I still remember how we were busy at the bakery. We made lots, lots, lots of sweets. It was interesting for me, to make rabbit, egg shaped cookies with decoration.
And I like Hot cross Buns. Spiced, rich taste with dried fruits.

I used cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, ginger and extra spice, Cocoa powder to make it dark color and extra aroma. You can smell when it is in the oven!!
Egg, Milk, Butter and Sugar make it rich.

Rebake them, put butter on, then eat in the Easter morning!!

Hot Cross Buns(makes 12)
Sourdough starter
70g High grade flour
70g Water
Pinch of active dried Yeast

Final dough
400g Flour
1/2 tea S. ground Allspice

1 tea S. ground Cinnamon
1/2 tea S. ground Nutmeg
1/2 tea S. ground Ginger

1 tea S. Cocoa powder
60g Sugar
60g Unsalted Butter (melted)
1 whole Egg + lukewarm Milk = 200g
100g dried Raisins
60g dried Orange peel (chopped)

Cross lines pastry
100 g pastry flour
100 g water

Glaze Ingredients

50g Icing sugar
50g Water

1.The day before, in a small bowl, mix all the sour dough starter ingredients until just combined. Cover the bowl and let the polish ferment at room temperature for about 6 hours or more. The polish is ready to use when the surface is creased, and pebbled with bubbles. Keep it in the fridge till use.

2. In a large bowl, mix final dough flour and spices, sugar. Add sourdough starter,butter, and mixture of milk and egg.  Mix with your finger combine the ingredients till water and flour combined well.

3. Place the dough onto the floured counter, then knead it for 15 minutes till it becomes smooth and elastic.


4. Spread the dough, put raisins and orange peel on it, knead it briefly till dried fruits are just evenly incorporated into the dough.

5. Put the dough into a container with cover, place it warm place (35℃) till it becomes double size (about 8 - 12hours). I set overnight.

6. Pour the dough onto floured counter, then deflate it, knead briefly. Divide into 12 pieces. Shape them into rough balls.

7.Set the dough with cover for 20 minutes.

8.Reshape them into final balls.


9. Place it into warm place with spray water, rise them for 1 hour.

10. Meanwhile make the paste, sift the pastry flour and combine it with water, stirring well, until the mixture reaches the consistency of very thick glue. Don’t make it so thin that it runs, but if it is too thick it will be difficult to pipe.
Preheat the oven at 220℃.

11. When the buns are finished proofing, pipe the crosses onto them.

12. Bake the buns at 220℃ until the tops are browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 200 ℃ and continue baking until browned all over, about another 8 minutes.
While the baking, make the glaze. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring often. Remove from the heat and set aside.

13. While the buns are still hot, brush glaze lightly. Then cool them down on a wired lack.

Multi Seeds Loaf

This bread contains 5 seeds and 2 grains.
Seeds... Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Flax seeds, Sesame seeds, Poppy seeds.
Grains...Whole meal, Millet.
Make extra multi seeds mix, so you can use them next baking.

When I finish to bake it, I drop lots of decorated seeds on bread. I pick up and use them to sprinkle salad. Roasted seeds on salad!!

This bread is ideal for sandwich and meals. I like to put butter on it.

Multi Seeds Loaf

Sourdough polish
100g High grade flour
100g Water
Pinch of Active dry yeast

Final dough
140g High grade flour
160g Wholemeal flour
195g Water
7g Salt

30g Pumpkin seeds
30g Sunflower seeds
 20g Flax seeds
10g Sesame seeds
10g Poppy seeds

30g Millet
(use them half of amount)
 
1. Combine flour and wholemeal flour, seeds mix(remain some of them for decoration), salt in a large bowl. Mix sourdough polish, 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 rise, covered, for 20 minutes.

5. Shape the dough into a loaf tin and place it, seam-side-down. spray water, sprinkle seeds mix to decorate on the top.

6. Set the dough with cover for 60 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.