No Knead Bread - Cranberry Walnut Wheat Bread

Kneading dough is a labor-intense task that doesn't always guarantee 100% satisfactory results.  When I first discovered the no knead bread making method, it was such a great surprise to me.


I was skeptical at first, but this recipe has never failed to produce delicious results.  All you need is a casserole dish and the following ingredients:

1.      330 g bread flour

2.      60 g whole wheat flour

3.      ¼ teaspoon salt

4.      1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

5.      10 sugar

6.      330 g ice-cold water

7.      30 g dried cranberry

8.      60 g chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Combine the bread flour, wheat flour, salt, yeast, and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add in water and mix with hand or a dough whisk.  Very wet dough is formed when dry ingredients are completely incorporated with water.
2. Add dried cranberry and chopped walnut, and fold in with a rubber spatula.
3. Cover the mixing bowl with a plastic bag and seal the opening.  Let it sit in room temperature for 12-16 hours (no more than 20 hours).  At the end of the rising period, the dough is filled with big bubbles and great sweet fragrance.
4. Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface, dust some more bread flour on the dough, pat the dough or roll with a rolling pin to make flat oblong dough (about 1 cm thick).
5. Fold the dough at one-third to center from both sides of the long end, and fold it in half, dust some more whole wheat flour on the dough, cover loosely with a saran wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
6. Shape the dough into a round dough and transfer to a well floured (whole wheat flour) cloth (or into a well floured mixing bowl).  Cover with towel and let rise about 1-1/2 hours.
7. When the dough has risen for 1 hour, preheat oven with covered casserole dish in it to Fahrenheit 430 degrees.
8. Transfer the risen dough into the casserole dish, and bake with lid covered for 30 minutes.
9. Remove cover; bake for another 8-10 minutes.
10. Let cool completely on rack.

The bread comes out with crispy crust, soft and tasty inside.  I love it and plan to make more.




Reference - No Knead Bread Making: Breadtopia

Fried Bun with Sesame and Green Onion

This is an easy making bun which requires limited ingredients and simple procedures to follow, almost impossible to fail.  This bun is pan-fried with some oil at medium low heat, so the outside of the bun tastes crispy.  However, the inside of the bun is slowly cooked though during that time (like baking procedure), it tastes soft and fluffy. With sesame and green onion in every bite, it comes with unbelievable fragrance and flavor.  You can have it go with a meal, eat as a snack or as breakfast.

 
Dough Ingredients:
1. 600 g all-purpose flour
2. 315 g milk
3. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4. 2 tablespoons sugar
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
7. 1 cup white sesame


Bun filling ingredients:
1. 3 cups chopped green onions
2. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. ½ teaspoon ground pepper


Directions:
1. Have all dough ingredients (Tip 1, except white sesame) mixed in the mixing bowl, mix them well and knead into a round and smooth dough (or using Stand Mixer dough hook to knead for about 15 minutes).  Leave the dough in the mixing bowl covered with a damp cloth, and let it raise for 30 minutes.


2. Mix all filling ingredients in a small mixing bowl.

3. Cut the dough into small pieces, about 65 g to 70 g each. With a rolling pin, roll out the smaller dough to a oblong flat dough (about 6”x 7”), place one tablespoon green onion filling at one-third of the long side near your body (crossing the short side), brush the dough surface with some of the filling juice  (leave the edge dry), start wrapping up the filling and rolling the dough from your body toward outside.  Round the wrapped dough into a snail-like shape or gently tuck one end under another one.  Place the snail-like dough on a surface generously dusted with flour or lined with parchment paper to raise for 30 minutes.

4. Heat up 2 tablespoons oil to medium low temperature in a frying pan.  Place white sesame in a plate, pick up the raised dough while holding both ends together, dip in the sesame to have both sides covered with sesame, then place it in the frying pan.  Fried until one side is turning golden brown, flip over to another side and continue frying at medium low.  When second side is turning golden brown, gently press the bun with a spatula to see if the inside is still soft.  If both sides are brown but the inside is still not firm enough, lower the heat to let it stay in pan for another few minutes to make sure the dough inside is thoroughly cooked. You can also pick up the bun with a pair of tongs and roll the bun vertically at bottom of the pan to have siding slightly browned as well.  Remove and place it on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.  Do 3 or 4 buns each batch, add oil if needed.

See the layers inside the bun!

Tip 1: Keep 20-30 g milk and add in gradually while kneading.  Various brands of flour may need different quantity of liquid.  Adjust flour and milk quantities until you can have a soft and smooth dough.

Sweet Potato Muffin with Walnuts

 

Sweet potato, this sweet vegetable loaded with many good nutrients, is in season now.  Last weekend, we went to a Sweet Potato Festival in the adjacent town, of cause we have to bring home some freshly picked sweet potatoes.  After having roasted and boiled sweet potatoes, I decide to make some muffins out of it, for a change.

Ingredients for Sweet Potato Muffin with Walnuts:
1. 1/2 cup cake flour
2. 1/2 cup self-rising flour
3. 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5. 1/8 teaspoon salt
6. 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
7. 2 eggs
8. 3/4 cup sugar
9. 3/4 cup cooking oil
9. 1-1/2 cups meshed sweet potato
10. 2 tablespoons honey
11. 1/2 cup raisin
12. 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Combine item 1 through 6 in a bowl, sift and set aside.
2. Beat eggs and sugar, until the egg mixture becomes creamy white.
3. Alternate adding in the cooking oil and the sifted dry ingredients.  Mix well after each addition.
4. Mix meshed sweet potato and honey well with a pastry blender.  Add the sweet potato in to the batter and mix well.

5. Add raisin and ½ cup walnut, mix well.  Using a big scoop to fill the batter into the muffin pan lined with cupcake liners.  Add more pieces of walnut on each muffin batter.

6. Bake in the preheated oven at 350 degree for 25 minutes, or when the muffins turn light brown and the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy the yummy Sweet Potato Muffins!