Natural Yeast Banana Walnut Muffin 天然酵母香蕉核桃马芬

This banana walnut muffin differs from my usual muffin in terms of the leavening agent used. I used the natural yeast to take over the job of the baking powder. The former produced an equally golden, soft yet springy crumb as compare to the latter. 

The drawback of using natural yeast, is the exceptionally LONNNNNNG waiting time! 🙄 It took me almost 6 hours, from waiting for the natural yeast to raise after feeding, to end of baking 😅 

You ought to be extremely patient to use this method to prepare muffin 😴 However, I treated this as an alternative option to make good use of my old natural yeast 😁 

Love this recipe, shared by my FB friend Yeo SH, which yielded a not-too-sweet, and not-too-rich, but moist muffin. Furthermore, there's no smell of yeast 😆

Last to mention, this is my natural yeast, cultivated directly from bread flour and water, maiden project 💕

Yield: 5 x 6cm diameter muffins

Ingredients

All ingredients in room temperature 

Using 55g omega 3&6 egg

Using 100% hydration natural yeast

40g natural yeast 天然酵母

50g fresh milk 鲜奶

1 beaten egg 蛋液

40g raw sugar 黄砂糖

35g rice bran/vegetable oil 米糠/植物油

100g all purpose flour 中筋面粉

90g ripen banana 熟香蕉

1/8 tsp baking soda 小苏打粉

20g walnuts 核桃

Direction

1. Feed natural yeast before use. For best result, the natural yeast is recommended to double its volume within 3 hours.

2. Mix natural yeast with milk till smooth.

3. Mix in the beaten egg and raw sugar till well blended.

4. Blend in the rice bran or vegetable oil.

5. Sieve in all purpose flour and fold briefly. It's alright if the batter is a bit lumpy.

6. Cover with cling wrap and wait for about 2 to 3 hours, or till the batter double in volume.

3 hours later

7. Fold in the mashed banana and baking soda.

8. Distribute the batter to 5 paper muffin cups, filling to about 1/2 the cup's height.

Cover and let them stand for about 1 to 2 hours, or till the batter reaches to 4/5 muffin cup's height.

1 hour 15 minutes later, when the batter is reaching the 4/5 cup's height, start to preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes.

9. Break walnuts into smaller chunks.

Drop the walnut chunks onto the top of the muffin cups just before sending into the oven.

10. Bake at 180 degree Celsius for about 23 to 25 minutes at the middle rack of the oven.

Check with a "cake tester" to enure the muffin is thoroughly cooked.

11. Transfer the muffin to a wire rack to cool down.

Enjoy the muffin warm 💕

Recipe adapted from Yeo SH's sharing over Facebook with great appreciation 💕

In case you're interested in seeing the cultivation process of the natural yeast directly from flour and water, you may click the link:

http://mymindpatch.blogspot.sg/2016/08/growing-natural-yeast-using-unbleached.html?spref=pi&m=

I would recommend below listed natural yeast cultivation method which has a higher rate of success 💕

http://mymindpatch.blogspot.sg/2015/11/growing-natural-yeast-using-grapes.html?spref=pi&m=1

Sweet Pandan Bread (Autolyse)

No bread maker, nor strenuous handkneading required. The dough of this bread was done by autolysis and folding. Bread done by this method is known for its soft texture and nice aroma. To be honest, this is my most aromatic loaf of pandan bread 😋 As the dough was not over kneaded, it minimized the chance of oxidation done to the dough. Hence, it is able to preserve the natural aroma of the bread better. The soft crumb of the bread could last for at least 3 days without the need of re-heating up.

If you have the time, this shall be a bread that you would not regret trying 😆💕

Pan Size: 4 mini buns in one 25Lx8Wx6Hcm pan

Bread weight: 488g

Raw dough weight: 525g

Ingredients 
15g warm water

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast 即发干酵母

135g water 水

8~10g pandan leaf 香兰叶

20g condensed milk 炼乳

35g raw sugar 黄砂糖
25g beaten egg 蛋液
1/4 tsp salt 盐

20g coconut/vegetable oil 椰/植物油

235g bread flour 高筋面粉
25g superfine wholegrain flour 中筋面粉

12g milk powder

Some beaten egg

些许蛋液做表面装饰

Direction

1. Sprinkle 3/4 tsp of instant dry yeast over 15g warm water (less than 35 degree Celsius). Cover and let it stands for about 15 minutes to activate the yeast.

2. Blend pandan leaf and 135g water in a good processor to collect 135g of the pandan water.

Collect 135g of pandan mixture.

3. Pour 135g pandan water and condensed milk to become pandan-milk mixture.

4. Mix bread flour, superfine wholegrain flour, milk powder, sugar, and salt in a big mixing bowl.

4. Pour in the beaten egg, coconut oil, yeast-water from (1), and pandan-milk mixture from (3).

5. Stir in one direction until the mixture forms into a lump and pulls away from the wall of the mixing bowl.

2. Cover with a lid and let the mixture autolyse for 20 minutes.

4. After the 1st 20-minute rest, grasp one corner of the dough, pull it up and fold it towards the centre.

Take care not to break the dough while you extend it.

1st pull & fold session.

Continue this pull & fold for about 6 times round the dough.

Cover with a lid and wait for another 15 minutes. To keep track of the folding, it's better to write it down in a post-it-note attached to the lid.

Repeat the pull & fold session for about 4 to 6 sessions, or till the dough can be stretched into a membrane.

Picture showing 6th pull & fold season. The dough will become smoother and smoother.

15 minutes after the 6th pull & fold session, the dough can be stretched to form a thin membrane. So the pull & fold session can stop.

5. Pull down the side of the dough and tug at the bottom to shape the dough into a smooth ball.

Place the dough back to the mixing bowl, cover with a lid, and let it undergo the 1st proofing for about 45 minutes, or till it doubles in size.

45 minutes later the dough has more than doubled.

6. Sprinkle flour over the dough as well as the work top. Invert out the dough.

7. Divide the dough into 4 portions, about 131g each.

Roll up the doughs, and shape them into 4 balls. Cover with a lid and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

8. After the 15-minute rest, flatten the dough with your palm,

fold in the two wings,

Roll it out again

Roll the dough up.

9. Place the roll-up dough into a 25x8x6 cm tin lined with parchment paper. Spray some water over the dough, and place in an oven to undergo 2nd proofing for about 40~45 minutes, or till the dough almost reaching the rim of the cake pan.

The end of second proofing.

10. Apply some egg wash over the surface of the dough.

11. Bake in an preheated oven at 170 degree Celsius for about 20 to 22 minutes. Place the baking pan  at the lowest rack.

End of baking session.

11. The bread is ready when the crust turns golden. Remove the bread from the tin and cool down over a wire rack.

12. Slice the bread after cooling down, and enjoy with butter spread 😄

Nice soft crumb with sweet pandan aroma.