Wheel-Shaped Bread 車輪包

A recent trip to Hong Kong has brought back many memories....the place where I was born and raised has changed tremendously since my last visit there many many years ago.  The most noted change is the overwhelming dominance of jewelry, drug and cosmetic stores on major roads throughout the tiny city. It is reported that there are more than 37 jewelry stores in one segment on Nathan Road. It certainly reflects what drives the economy of Hong Kong.

Amid all these changes, I managed to find some familiar places in the neighborhood where I grew up--the old apartment and the kindergarten where I spent my childhood.

Kee Fat Kindergarten

Besides physical memorabilia, food can also create nostalgia. Among the many different foods I have missed, street foods are the ones that I miss the most--stinky fried tofu, roasted chestnut (not from the oven), curried fish balls....etc.

stinky tofu

chestnuts are "roasted" in hot black coarse sand

Even though I cannot bring these foods back home to America, I can bring back some tools that enable me to reproduce them at home. One of the kitchen and baking tools that I bought was a baking mold to make a wheel-shaped raisin bread that I used to have when I was a child. I am glad that I can now recreate this bread!

Ingredients to make one 9.5 inch long x 3 inch high "wheel":

52g Tong Zhong (9g bread flour + 44g water)
158g bread flour
13g sugar
3g instant yeast
52g water
1/8 tsp salt
13g unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup raisins or other dried fruits, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained

1)  Make Tong Zhong by combining 44g water with 9g flour. Heat in a small pot until it thickens into a paste. Cool to room temperature.
2)  Mix all the ingredients, except salt and butter, until it forms a ball of dough. Add salt and knead for about 10 minutes. Then add butter and continue kneading until it incorporates into the dough.
3)  Oil a bowl and put the dough in and cover with a plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature until it doubles in volume.
4)  Roll out the dough and evenly sprinkle raisins on top. Roll up the dough and seal the seam tight.

5)  Put in an oiled mold and let it rise until almost doubles or it rises above the rim of the mold.

6)  Cover with another half of the mold and use metal clips to close tightly.

7)  Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 20 minutes.
8)  Remove the bread from the mold and let it cool completely before serving.

闊別香港超過四份一世紀,最近有機會再踏進這個我生長的地方,實在勾起了很多回憶。當我再次走過童年的居所,少時入讀的幼稚園、小學,從前的種種生活片段又重現眼前,縱使香港發展快速,城市的面貌變化很快,但我也能在當中找到昔日的足跡,實屬難能可貴。除此之外,多種的街頭特色小食,如咖哩魚蛋、臭豆腐、炒栗子、缽仔糕、雞蛋仔、龍鬚糖等等,也特別能使我重拾童年回憶。

另一方面,香港城市變化很多,街上店鋪充斥著五光十色的金鋪,奶粉林立的藥房及應有盡有的化妝品店。有報道指出單在彌敦道便有三十七間珠寶金行! 香冮昔日的漁港風貎已不復存在了。

雖然我不能將各種食物帶回來,但我可以將一些製造這些食物的工具帶回來。記得車輪包是我小時常食的一種甜包,它是用一個特別的模具做成車輪的形狀,鬆軟的包內有甜甜的葡萄乾,食後有種滿足的感覺。很高興能夠重溫這感覺 !

材料：
52g 湯種 (9g 高筋麵粉及44g水)
158g 高筋麵粉
13g 糖
3g 即溶酵母
52g 水
1/8 茶匙鹽
13g 無鹽牛油,室温

1/4 杯葡萄乾,用水浸泡十分鐘,瀝乾

1)  先做湯種:放粉及水於小鍋內加熱至糊狀,熄火待涼。
2)  將其他材料,除了鹽及牛油,攪拌成麵團,加鹽再搓約十分鐘起筋,再加牛油搓勻。
3)  放入已塗油之容器內蓋上保鮮紙，發酵至兩倍大。
4)  將麵團搟開,鋪上葡萄乾後卷起,放入已塗油之模具內,待發酵。
5)  蓋上另一半之模,用夾子夾緊,放入已預熱至375度之焗爐內焗廿十分鐘便成。