White Toast --100th post 冰種方包

One hundred is a good number. This is my blog's 100th post. I have been thinking what I should post to celebrate the event....since I started with making bread, I should do it with bread.

I am not a cookbook reviewer nor a sales person, but when I use a recipe that I like, sharing with others is natural for me. I usually will check out the local library for cookbooks before buying it from a bookstore to keep in my personal library. Even though my local library has a large collection of cookbooks, Chinese cookbooks constitute a very small percentage.  Recently I purchased some Chinese cookbooks from Hong Kong (thanks to my friend Jennifer who also got me a few other goodies from Hong Kong). Besides the book about making beautiful hand painted cake rolls, this is another one.

This book is about making bread from a cold 5°C pre-frement. A little bit of the dough is made and put in the refrigerator overnight to let the enzymes and microorganisms ample time to work on the molecules in the dough and develop more flavor, resulting in more aromatic and tasty bread.

I read recently that the bread you buy from supermarket often contain a dough conditioner that is made from human hair or duck feather !!! (click here to read more) Another good reason to make homemade bread ! 

The texture of this white toast made from a pre-frement is very silky. It also gives a very good mouthfeel. To my surprise, it remained soft after four days at room temperature just like the tong zhong bread. It has a long shelf life, without any preservative or added dough conditioner!

Ingredients for a 13x4x4 inch pan

Dough for pre-fermenting:
150g unbleached bread flour
150g water
1g/ ⅛ tsp instant yeast

Mix up all the ingredients until blended, no need to knead. It should look soupy. Cover and refrigerate for 16-24 hours, or overnight. 

Main Dough:
all the pre-ferment dough
350g unbleached bread flour
50g sugar
10g salt
5g instant yeast
125g lukewarm water
15g milk powder
50g unsalted butter, room temperature

1)  Mix all the ingredients, except the butter. Use a stand mixer to knead for about 7 minutes or 15 minutes using human power. Add butter and continue kneading until incorporated, 1-2 minutes.

2)  Oil a big bowl and put the dough in. Cover with a wrap. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume.

3)  Divide the dough into 3 parts. Round it up and let it rest for 10 mins. Cover with a wrap.

4)  Roll each ball out and roll it up. Let it rest for another 10 mins. Repeat. Put it in an oiled pan and let it rise until it is about half an inch below the rim. Slide the oiled lid over the pan to close.

before

after

5)  Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 35 mins. Carefully remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Notes:

1)  Rolling up the doughs twice before putting them in the pan helps to develop a silkier texture.

2)  If you're using a lidless pan, lower the baking temperature to 350F and the baking time to 35-40 mins.

3)  It takes longer to rise than regular dough because the percentage of yeast is lower and the pre-ferment period is cold. This long rise helps the dough to develop more flavor. Your patience will be rewarded.

冰種方包

一百是一個原整的數字,這是我第一百篇文章/食譜,想了很久應該寫什麼呢?...我是從做麵包開始的,很自然地也應該是做麵包吧!

我不是食譜書評家或是推銷員,但當我試過好的食譜後,我便很自然地想與別人分享。雖然圖書館也有很多食譜書,但中文的很有限。我最近就買了幾本中文食譜(多謝我的朋友Jennifer替我從香港帶貨回來)。除了那本彩繪蛋糕卷之外,我又買了一本關於用冰種來做麵包的書。湯種麵包做得多了,試試用不同的方法做也不錯。冰種的原理是讓麵種放入雪柜長時間(過夜),讓酵素及其他微生物有足夠時間去醞釀出小麥的味道及香氣。特點是麵包質地幼細,口感特佳,香氣十足 !

剛剛讀到一則報導,指出在超市到處可買到的麵包,內裏的添加劑是用頭髮或鴨羽毛製做的,真令人毛骨悚然 !! 還是食自己做的健康及放心! 

重要發現:這冰種與湯種麵包一樣,不須要添加任何防腐或添加劑,室溫包好放上四日也能夠保持鬆軟!! 試試這個冰種啦 !!

做一條13x4x4寸大,有蓋焗盤的材料

冷藏冰種:

150g 高筋麵粉

150g 水

1g/⅛ 茶匙 即溶酵母

將以上材料攪勻,不用搓,包上保鮮紙放雪柜過夜。

主麵團:

以上冰種

350g 高筋麵粉

50g 糖

10g 鹽

5g 即溶酵母

125g 微溫水

15g 奶粉

50g 無鹽牛油,室温

1)  將所有材料(牛油後加)放入攪拌器(Stand Mixer)內攪約七分鐘,或用手搓十五分鐘,再加牛油,攪至完全混和。

2)  大碗塗油,放入麵團,蓋上保鮮紙,放溫暖處發酵至二倍大。

3)  分割麵團成為三等份,滾圓,靜待十分鐘。

4)  將麵團捍平,捲起,靜待十分鐘。重覆捍平及捲起,放入已塗油之焗盤內,放溫暖處繼續發酵至約八分滿,上蓋,放入已預熱至400F焗爐焗三十五分鐘。

注意事項:

1)  將麵團捍二次可以焗出一絲絲的麵包質地。

2)  如用無蓋的焗盤,請用350F,焗35分鐘。

3)  因酵母的份量少及冰種溫度低,所以這麵團須要較長時間發酵,時間越長,造出來的麵包會更好味,要有耐性啊!