Spicy Sardine Wholemeal Buns

Yield about 9 buns

Sardine filling
Ingredients:
1 can Sardines in tomato sauce 230g
1 big onion, finely chopped

Seasonings:
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of seasoning powder
1 tbsp lime juice
The seasoning quantities may adjust according individual taste.

Directions:
1. Pour away the canned sardine tomato sauce leaving about 1/4 of the original quantity.

2. Crush the sardines together with the remaining tomato sauce using a fork. I removed the bone and stomach of the sardine prior to crushing, this is optional.

3. Heat up about 1 tsp of olive oil in a non-stick pot over medium heat. Pour in the chopped onion and stir-fry till the onion turns soft. Try to evaporate most of the water content.

4. Add in the crushed sardines and seasonings and stir fry in medium heat till the sardine filling become partially dry.

5. Scoop out the sardine paste into a clean container. Set aside.

Wholemeal buns
The sponge dough method consists of two stages of proofing. First, prepare the sponge using about 2/3 of the total qantity of flour + yeast + milk. Then, combine the sponge together with the remaining ingredients to form the dough.

A) The Sponge
Ingredients:
200g bread flour
130~150g milk
1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

Direction:
1. Mix all ingredients together, leaving about 30g milk behind.

2. Use a chopstick to mix the ingredients together. Then use your hand to knead the flour mixture into a soft dough. Add in the remaining milk, a little by little, to the dough while kneading.

3. Knead for about 7 to 10 minutes, or till the starter dough becomes smooth and non-sticky.

4. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a bowl coated with a thin layer of oil.
Sprinkle some water onto the dough and cover it.
Let the dough proof for about 80 minutes.

B) The Dough
Ingredients:
Sponge from above
70g bread flour
30g wholemeal flour
30g condensed milk
50g milk
15g fine sugar
1/8 tsp salt
30g salted butter, softened

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients, except leaving 10g milk and butter for later addition, together.

2. Use a chopstick to stir first, then use your hand to knead for about 5 minutes or till all the ingredients formed into one lump.
Slowly add in the remaining milk at this stage.

3. Use an electric mixer fixed with dough hooks to help you do the kneading faster. Knead the dough at medium speed for about 5 minutes.

Before kneading

End of kneading

4. Add in the softened butter to the dough. You may continue to use the electric mixer to knead. However, I prefer to use hand to mix as the electric mixer tends to splatter the butter.
Similarly, use 5 minutes to hand-mix the butter with the dough, or until all the butter is well incorporated to the dough.

5. Continue to use the electric mixer to knead the dough at medium speed for 5 minutes, then follow by low speed for another 5 minutes.

At the end of kneading, the dough becomes
smoother, elastic and non-sticky

6. After the kneading, I prefer to give the dough about 20 minutes of hard throws/slam to the work top or bowl. This helps to make the dough to becomes elastic faster.

Continue this process till you get the window pane membrane when you stretch the dough.

7. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a bowl lightly coated with oil. Sprinkle some water and cover the bowl.
Let the dough proofs for about 50 minutes.


8. At the end of the proofing, insert you finger coated with flour into the middle of the dough, if the hole stays, then the proofing is complete. Otherwise, continue to proof and test again.

9. Sprinkle some flour over the work top and dough surface. Turn out the dough to the work top and deflate the dough with your palm. Fold in the 4 sides and shape into a ball.

10. Divide the dough into 10 even portions, each portion weighs about 55g. Shape each portion into a ball and place in a covered bowl. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.

11. Take a dough out, flatten it lightly and rolls into a thin dough with middle thicker than the edge.

12. Flip the dough skin so the smoother side will face outside after wrapping the filling.


13. Scoop a heap teaspoon of sardine filling (about 25g) to the centre of the dough skin.

14. Lightly brush a thin film of water around the dough edge using your finger.
Wrap up the bun and pinch the seam to seal tight.

15. Use you hand wrap around the bun and lightly roll it into a smooth ball.
Place the bun into a paper cake mould with the sealed end facing down.

16. Arrange all the buns onto a baking sheet leaving about 2 cm in between.
Let the buns do the final proofing in a closed oven for about 25 minutes.

17. Take out the tray of buns and preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius.

18. Brush all the buns with a thin coat of egg wash. Then place 2 thin strips of onion on top to resemble a fish. Finally, place 2 black sesame seeds near the fish head.

Use these onion rinds and black sesame seeds
to decorate the buns onto a fish

19. Bake the buns for about 20 minutes at 170 degree Celsius. Cool the buns in the rack before serving.

At the end of the baking, you'll immerse in the air of nice bread and onion aroma.

Enjoy :)

Spicy sardine buns

Spicy sardine buns

Spicy sardine buns

You can also place Chinese coriander leaves on the bun surface to decorate.

First, apply a thin coat of egg wash,

Follow by placing a coriander leaf onto the surface,

Finally, apply a second coat of egg wash over the leaves.

Water Roux 汤种 for making fluffy bread



Water roux is used to enhance the fluffiness of bread. It allows the bread to stay fluffy and moist for a longer period of time.


Ingredients:
50g bread flour
250g water
 Bread flour to water ratio = 1:5

1. Mix bread flour with water, until all lumps have been dissolved.

2. Heat the mixture in a non-stick pot in low heat. Stir constantly to prevent charring at the base.


Stir the mixture constantly.

3. When the mixture starts to thicken, and a clear trail follow the spatula, the water roux is ready.


When spatula leaves a clean trail behind,
the water roux is ready.

4. Transfer the water roux to a clean and dry container. Cover the water roux using a food wrap. The food wrap must stay in contact with the surface of the water roux, in order to prevent drying up. When the water roux has cooled to room temperature, cover the container and keep in the fridge. It can be kept for a few days. Discard it when it turns grey.

Return the water roux to room temperature before use :)







Italian bread bowl



Yield: 4 bread bowls

Ingredients:
270g warm water, about 35 degree C
1 tsp raw sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
440g all-purpose flour
Dash of oregano powder
9g or 3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp milk, as milk wash for brushing the bread

Directions:

1. Mix all- purpose flour and dash of oregano together. Set aside.


Add oregano powder to the flour
and mix well.

2. Mix warm water with sugar and yeast. Let it stand for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.


Acitivating the yeast before adding
flour.

3. Pour in olive oil and salt, then follow by 1/2 the quantity of flour. Mix well before adding the next batch of flour. Each addition of flour is half the quantity of the remaining flour.
When most of the flour has became crumbs, stop adding flour and try to gather the crumbs into a big lump. Leave about 2 to 3 tsp of flour to adjust the moisture of the dough.


Stop adding flour, when you see
these small lumps.

Keep behind some flour for adjusting
the moisture of the dough.

To adjust the moisture of the dough:
>If the dough is too sticky, add a teaspoon of flour at a time.
>If the dough is too dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time.

4. When all the ingredients have combined into a lump, use an electric mixer fixed with dough hooks to knead. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes.


Use a pair of dough hooks to knead

5. On a parchment paper, apply some oil. Shape the bread dough into a ball and place on the greased parchment paper. Proof the dough in a rice cooker for 50 minutes. Switch on the 'keep warm' mode of the rice cooker for 5 minutes then switch off.
You may also keep the dough in a big bowl to proof at warm room temperature. Sprinkle some water on the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl and let the dough proof for about 1 hour.



Proofing in a container covered with
a transparent lid or film.

6. To test whether the proofing is done, insert your index finger coated with flour into the middle of the dough. If the hole does not close up after you remove your finger, then the proofing is done. Otherwise, continue to proof for another 10 minutes and test again.

7. Divide the dough into 4 portions and shape into a ball. Place the 4 doughs on a parchment paper applied with a light coat of oil and sprinkled with oatmeal. Keep the doughs in the oven set at 35 degree Celsius to do the second proofing. Place a small cups of hot water in the oven to raise the humidity of the oven. The second proofing will take about 40 minutes.



Divide the dough into 4 portions



After applying a coat of oil,
sprinkle with some oatmeal.

Proofing in the oven, place a small
cup of hot water below.

8. Before baking, remove the dough from the oven, brush the surface with milk wash . Return the bread doughs to oven preheated to 200 degree Celsius. Bake for 15 minutes or till slightly brown.



Baking in the oven.

9. Take the breads out of the oven and re-apply another coat of milk wash. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes. When the oven bell rings, turn off the heat and let the bread stay in the oven for 5 minutes. Then open the oven door slightly for another 5 minutes.


Finish baking!

10. Cool the breads on a wire rack before cutting the top off and scoop the bread center out to serve with soup.


When the bread cools down, cut off the top and
scoop out the centers.

Saving the centers of the bread:
1. Put all the bread centers in a plastic bag.

2. Melt 20g butter, 1 tsp sugar and pinch of salt with 2 minced garlic in a toaster oven.


Adding minced garlic to the
melted butter and sugar.

3. Drizzle the melted garlic butter onto the bread center crumbs and shake the plastic bag to spread evenly.

4. Spread the bread crumbs onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Toast them in high heat in a toaster oven for about 15 minutes.
Serve with soup :)


Drizzle the butter garlic onto the
bread centers.

Garlic butter bread crumbs.