Honey Spelt Bread

 

I have been baking quite a number of breads using spelt flour recently. The reason was simple - the flour is expiring soon, and do not wish to waste such a good flour 😉

Serving: 1 loaf

Raw dough weight: 611g

Pan size: 21x13x10cm, 1.5L

Baking temperature: Preheat oven to 190℃, bake at second lowest rack, at 180℃ for 15 minutes, 170℃ for 20 minutes, or till golden.

 

Ingredients 

250g bread flour 

30g spelt flour/bread flour/plain flour

20g raw sugar

2g instant dry yeast 

10g honey 

50g natural yeast, 100% hydration +

15g beaten egg

25g multigrain soy pulp * 

150g milk, cold

25g water, cold, to be added depending on dough condition

4g salt

30g unsalted butter, softened 

+ natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water, plus 1/8 tsp instant dry yeast

* multigrain soy pulp can be replaced by about 10g milk

Some milk as milk wash before baking

Honey butter wash (apply after baking)

2g unsalted butter, melted

a little honey

pinch of salt

Direction

1. Mix bread flour, spelt flour, raw sugar, instant dry yeast, and honey in a mixing bowl.

2.  Add natural yeast, beaten egg, multigrain soy pulp, milk and water to the dry ingredients. Mix into a ball, cover and let it rest for about 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Use a good hand mixer (450W and above preferred) fitted with dough hooks to knead the dough for about 2 to 3 minutes before adding the salt.

Knead in the softened butter till the dough becomes less sticky.

Wear a glove to perform about 300 ~ 500 sets of "slap and fold" till reaching window pane. 

Click the video below to view the "slap and fold" process. The video link is only visible in Web version.

4. Shape the dough into a ball. 

Store the dough into double plastic bags. Coat the interior of the first plastic bag with a little oil before storing the dough. Refrigerate the dough for about 17 to 20 hours or overnight.

5. Remove the first plastic bag, invert the dough, and let it thaw for about 60 to 75 minutes before shaping.

6. Turn out the dough onto a floured work top. Deflate the dough, shape into a ball, cover and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

7. Roll out the dough to about 1cm thick.


Fold in the two wings towards the middle.


Roll flat slightly, and roll up, pinch to seal the end.

Place the shaped dough into a loaf pan lightly coated with butter. Spray some water, cover with a tea cloth, and let it undergo second proofing for about 60 to 75 minutes, or till the dough rises to almost the rim of the pan.

7. Start to preheat the oven to 190℃ for about  10 minutes. While waiting, apply a thin coat of milk over the top of the dough.

8. Bake at lower rack of a preheated oven at 180℃ for 15 minutes, lower to 170℃ for 15 - 20 minutes.

While the bread is baking, prepare the honey butter wash.

9. Remove from oven, 

transfer the hot bread to a wire rack.

Apply the honey butter wash over the hot bread crust. Dry the wet butter coat of the bread in the warm oven for about 5 minutes.

Tiny grains of salt on the glossy crust

Cut after the bread has completely cooled down. Enjoy 😋

Rose Milk Cream Cheese Bun (National Day edition)

My first bread baked with our Singapore National Day theme - red bun with crescent moon and 5 stars dusted over the crust using bread flour. As red and white are the main colours of the Singapore National Day celebration , I created the bread based on these two main colours. Using the popular bandung drink flavour, which is a sweet beverage concocted using rose syrup and milk, the red milk buns carry a light  rose flavour. Sweet cheese filling with dried cranberries complement the light rose flavour well😋

Happy 55th Birthday, Singapore 

These are the main ingredients.

Yield: 9 buns in a 20cm square pan

Raw dough weight: 466g

Baking temperature: Preheat oven to 190℃, bake at second lowest rack, start baking at 180℃ for 10 minutes, decrease to 170℃ for 5 minutes, and 150℃ for 5 minutes.

Dough Ingredients

180g bread flour

25g spelt flour/plain flour

35g raw cane sugar

2g instant dry yeast

50g natural yeast/sourdough, 100% hydration*

10g beaten egg

10g condensed milk

120g milk, cold

1/4 tsp rose flavour

2 drops red food gel

10g water, added as necessary

2g salt

20g unsalted butter, softened

* 50g natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water, plus 1/8 tsp of instant dry yeast.

Cheese Filling Ingredients

60g Laughing Cow cheese

40g cream cheese spread

15g condensed milk

10g icing sugar

20g dried cranberries, cut into bit size

Directions

1. Knead the dough till window pane using your preferred method. Keep the dough in a big plastic bag coated with a light film of oil. Tie a loose knot, place in a covered bowl, and refrigerate overnight for 15 to 20 hours.

2. Remove the cold dough from the fridge, invert the dough, and let it thaw in room temperature for about 60 to 90 minutes before shaping.

3. Turn the dough onto a well-floured work top, deflate the dough, and divide into 9 portions.

4. Shape the dough into 9 balls, covered with a lid, and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

5. While waiting for the dough, mix the cheese filling ingredients together. 

6. Flatten a dough and scoop about 15g of cheese filling to the flatten dough.

Wrap up and shape into a ball.

Place the shaped dough in a 20cm square pan lined with parchment paper. Spray some water mist over the shaped dough, cover with a tea cloth, and let it undergo second proofing for about 40 to 45 minutes.

7. While waiting for the dough to proof, make a stencil. This step is optional.

Put the stencil over the the shape dough, and dust some bread flour over it.

8. Preheat oven to 190℃, bake at second lowest rack, start baking at 180℃ for 10 minutes, decrease to 170℃ for 5 minutes, and 150℃ for 5 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven, and lift out from the pan.

Cool the buns over a wire rack. Enjoy it warm 😋

Keep the unconsumed buns in the fridge, and warm in an oven toaster before serving 😊