Hokkaido Milk Bread

Here I am, frantically struggling to update all the latest pictures I've taken before school starts. Unfortunately, I feel like a few of my most recent shots haven't had much thought into them. I'm not entirely satisfied with the composition of some of them...but that's okay. The most important thing is that I put them down on this blog, and maybe in the future, I'll correct these photos again.

For the majority of my life, I feel like I've been handed amazing situations and people who have really helped me through life. And for the most part, I am in constant shock at how much I have lucked out by receiving these gifts.

Recently, I've been learning to become a little more impulsive, a little more carefree, a little more free to whatever life throws at me. But sometimes, when something comes along that is almost too good to be true, I hesitate to accept it immediately. It's even after you've closed your eyes and pinched yourself blue to awaken yourself from whatever dream you may be having, when you look up and see that same thing waiting for you as open and accepting as ever, that you should maybe start considering it as reality. Maybe? I don't know...it's still a dangerous concept to let yourself go completely because it puts you in a very vulnerable position. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice in the way I feel...

Cinnamon Rolls

Lately, there's been certain things on my mind that have been frustrating and slightly irritating (for being frustrating). Often, when things like this come up, I like to amuse myself with other distractions that usually prove therapeutic and stress-relieving.

One of these past times has always been baking. I'm really not big on sweets, and the only baked good I will go completely nuts over is bread (which I am desperately trying to tone down now in an effort to be healthier), so I usually don't have many excuses to bake. But this time, I really really wanted to...I just needed a reason to do it and an idea on WHAT to make...

I'm not sure what exactly inspired me to make cinnamon rolls, but I do remember it was a very long and convoluted thought process that I won't go into. As for who I would make these sinfully delicious rolls for...well there was always our Church family group every Wednesday, and I know from experience that that bunch will literally eat anything loaded with sugar and fat.

Overall, judging by people's responses (and the smells wafting out of the kitchen for hours afterward), I think the cinnamon rolls were a success. The only problem is that the first batch came out a little burnt on the bottom because I underestimated how quickly they would bake. Oh, and I guess I could have added a little more glaze if I really wanted to get them right...

In other news, my dad has hinted that he may POSSIBLY MAYBE HOPEFULLY buy me a DSLR????? (OMG!!!!! I WOULD BE FOREVER INDEBTED), so I need to start thinking of the type/model I would want IF such a wondrous event should occur...

I wonder which is better for food photography? Nikon or Canon?? I guess most of it depends on the lens, rather than the actual camera. Here I'm using my house-mate's camera, which is a Canon and has a great lens for close-up shots. The pictures come out super crisp, which is absolutely amazing. Having used a point-and-shoot for more than a year, I'm not used to being spoiled with such rewarding shots. I mean, look at the glaze on those rolls!! Doesn't it make you smell the cinnamon right out of the computer screen??

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Mmm...nothing beats a kitchen scented with the aroma of cinnamon baking in the oven...

It's almost time for me to leave for Philadelphia and medical school (4 days!!!), and I've limited myself to only making foods that use up any leftover ingredients in the pantry. So this morning, I figured Mom's probably not going to find any use in the leftover raisins from my granola, or the small jar of cinnamon from God knows when. Luckily, the two pair together pretty well, and it wasn't long before I narrowed down my options to reach (can you guess it) cinnamon raisin swirl bread! Plus, I had leftover bread flour, and Dad is a sucker for French Toast (back when I used to work at Panera Bread, I used to bring back leftover cinnamon raisin bread loaves home all the time for that alone).

The bread itself is really not hard to make. I think in general I've found that the more fat content is in the baking, the more baker-friendly it usually is. More savory things like sourdough or French baguettes are far harder than your average sweet-tooth quick bread.

Whole Wheat Pita

I went on a bit of a baking binge the other day (evident in this and my next few posts...), but hey, we've run out of dinner rolls, and I had to get my intake of whole wheat. That at least explains this recipe...the others were just for fun.

I've actually been making whole wheat pitas for a long time, but I never got around to posting them on my blog before. I first got the recipe from WildYeastBlog (awesome site), and what surprises me is that, despite being delicious and fairly easy to make, they are completely 100% whole wheat! That means every time you eat one of them, you get nothing but the good stuff. Most recipes that make their claim to whole wheat baked goods are usually 50:50 with white flour (if not more), and the ones that actually are all whole grain usually require the addition of fat like butter, which just makes me feel bad for eating it anyway. But this recipe is an exception - it only requires a bit of olive oil (still healthy) but also manages to stand alone without that evil white flour!

Sesame Scallion Bread (Zhi Ma Da Bing)

So yesterday, just as we were about to leave for a hike at San Antonio Ranch, our neighbor came over and invited us to an impromptu Barbecue kickback (apparently two of the invitees were supposed to be set up during the occasion, which was why it was held in the first place). Mom immediately started brainstorming on what to bring and initially thought of her Chinese-Korean hybrid Japchae, but Dad told her it didn't exactly fit in with the theme of a Barbecue. So after much speculation, she settled on her no-fail recipe for Chinese sesame scallion bread or Zhi Ma Da Bing.

I actually got pretty excited at this because I've wanted to post a photo for the longest time. I'd honestly have to say that this is one of Mom's best masterpieces of all time. The food item itself is fairly simple, but this is one of those food items that depends more on skill than anything else.

Anyway, I'll honestly have to say that this recipe deserves 5 stars in difficulty. It is HARD, and chances are that anyone who attempts it will mess up the first few times (or more, as in my case heh heh...). But once you get it down, the results are well worth the effort. Plus, it's kind of cool when Mom brings it to parties, and people around her ask what restaurant she ordered from :)

Saffron Challah

Okay, well, I admit that lately I may be over-doing the baking thing...just a little. Heh Heh. Okay, a lot. But baking is so addictive. Once you start, it's so hard not to get started on something else (even when the first thing isn't quite finished yet). I don't know...maybe that's just me.

Anyway, I came across this recipe in WildYeastBlog (yes, I know, again...what can I say? I love that site), and as we still have a very VERY old stash of saffron tucked away in our pantry, I thought it would be a nice way to use it (I'm one of those people who get really OCD about old, unused ingredients in the pantry). Plus the saffron gives the bread a really rich golden hue and adds an interesting flavor as well.
The recipe itself is surprisingly simple by bread-making standards, and I'd have to say that the hardest step by far is the braiding - which is not very necessary, just good for aesthetics. Unfortunately, I messed up on timing and popped the thing in the oven before it had risen to full capacity, so my loaf turned out a little too dense. But the fault was entirely mine and has no reflection on the recipe, which is absolutely fantastic. I mean, look at the sheen on that loaf! Doesn't it just make you want to tear into it? Or at least touch it.

Whole Wheat Buns

[Edit] Mom liked them so much that I decided to make another batch of these. We ran out of sesame seeds this time, so I just applied an egg wash without any topping. I also had the chance to improve my props and background too :)

As a continuation of my healthy whole-wheat obsession phase, I decided to try out a recipe from WildYeastBlog for Whole Wheat Sandwich Rolls/Burger Buns. Okay, to be honest, they came out a little small for burger buns, so I'll settle for them as cute little dinner rolls. Hush. They came close.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited because this was one of the few and very VERY rare times when Mom actually seemed genuinely pleased with the end product. Usually, whenever she seems me in the kitchen, all hell breaks loose and the entire day consists of angry mutterings and sullen glares. So like I've said, when Mom actually gives her nod of approval, I know that I've definitely hit the jackpot.

The recipe is pretty time-consuming, I have to admit, but like most breads, if you are planning to spend the day at home, the dough is pretty easy to handle, and if you make one big batch from the start, they can last you a very long time. Plus, now you don't have to buy those mega-packs of dinner rolls from Costco anymore!

Rye Whole Wheat Sourdough

It's actually pretty amazing, but I've finished a Costco megasized 2-in-1 pack of Special K cereal within about a week. It kind of scares me because after reading Food Matters by Mark Bittman, I'm a little bit wary of pre-packaged foods. In fact, when I read the side of the now-empty box, I found that Special K, which I had always assumed to be very healthy, contains only 3 grams of fiber. That's still decent, but any less and it wouldn't be. Plus the addition of high fructose corn syrup...I don't know. Maybe I should be getting my whole grains through a more natural source.

So I went back to WildYeastBlog again and found a way to put my good ol' sourdough starter to use. This bread is a recipe that incorporates 3 kinds of flour - predominantly rye and whole wheat, with a small fraction of white bread flour. Talk about healthy. And surprisingly good, too, though I would prefer to add some caraway seeds next time for some texture. Oh, well, okay, you won't get anything near the delicious fluffiness of artisan white sourdough, but then again, with so much whole wheat and fiber packed in, you're going to have to expect a denser, coarser grain in your bread.

Tangzhong Loaf with Green Tea Custard

Okay, seriously, I surrender. I'll admit it: I'm bored. I need to go back to school, even if it means the hell of finals and stress and week-long, exercise-deprived library visits.  It's horrible! And the worst thing is that we've sort of hit a heat wave here in NorCal, and even I'm not bored or crazy enough to go running in this heat. Plus, Dad is still in Vegas for his convention, so I don't have anyone to cook for (Mom won't eat my food, unless it's to humor me)! So I'm here stuck at home, doing some occasional cooking for no one, and occasionally watching some of Mom's korean dramas (ugh, what have I resorted to!).

The other day I tried making more Tangzhong Starter because Mom has this thing against crusty breads (she says it makes her teeth feel like they're going to fall out), and Tangzhong is supposed to yield a softer crumb. I found a recipe on Do What I Like for a soft bread loaf and thought it would be fun to make some buns with them. Since I had leftover frozen matcha custard filling from my dorayaki pancakes, I decided to fill them up with it. However, I read somewhere (I lost the link) that you can also fill it with pork floss or Rou Song, so I've posted the recipe below. However, in general, this bread is very versatile and can be filled with anything from red bean paste to hot dogs or curry.

Curry Bread

Okay, I'll admit it. This entire loaf - all 16 ounces of flour - was a failure. It wasn't the recipe, or the baking, or even the yeast; in fact, the yeast had performed a little TOO well. No, ironically enough, it was the fact that my loaf had risen too MUCH in the oven, and as a result, the inside remained raw by the time the crust had turned a nice golden brown. I tried cutting the loaf in half to increase the surface area, but I knew better than that. Once the crust is done, you just can't bake it any longer (I can verify from more than one experience in the past). So by the time it came out of the oven the second time, it felt literally like a rock. Mom tapped on the surface and joked that the thing could bash someone's brains out. Dad took one bite and complained that his gums felt like they were bleeding. Epic fail.

Mantou (Steamed buns)

Man, I have to admit. This was a very very epic trial that actually amazingly succeeded, thanks to the help of my dear mother and my wonderful friend Priscilla. Not only did they do the hard work of cooking and working the dough, but they also tolerated my random runs to the window so I could take the thousand food photos throughout the process.

So Priscilla (who I rarely see, as we go to different colleges) found out about my cooking craze and decided to visit and join me in the kitchen for the day. We decided to tackle wheat mantou (or Chinese steamed buns) interspersed with red and black quinoa for an added kick of health. Surprisingly, Mom got involved as well and even contributed to the rising and cooking parts of the process. She taught us one interesting trick - when rising yeasted dough, you can heat up a microwave oven, then turn it off and place the dough (wrapped in saran wrap and laid on foil) on top. The warmth of the preheated oven is just enough to give the yeast a cozy, comfy place to expel their carbon dioxide.

Chocolate-filled Brioche

So I just came back from San Diego...and I'm officially a member of the UCSD Alumni and the owner of a Bachelor of Science degree! Woohoo! Of course, the excitement is much tempered by the fact that I still have 4 years of medical school and God knows how many years of internship waiting ahead of me. Sigh...like my friend Moonjung's dad said, "sounds more like slave labor than education". Agreed.

Sourdough Grissini (Italian Breadsticks)

Remember my old sourdough starter that I started ages and ages ago? Well it's making a come back once more.

Since its creation, this starter has been refrigerated, thawed, used, carried 8 hours in a car, dried and stored for over a month, and rehydrated. It has also been christened by its two other parents. Moonjung actually looked up names and decided on "Aiden", which is supposed to mean something deep but I don't remember anymore. Gordon preferred the name "Spicy" - typical Gordon move.

Anyway, Aiden Spicy Chia has been used once more to make Grissini, or Italian Breadsticks. Except this isn't any ordinary grissini...it's a sourdough one! I actually got the recipe from Wild Yeast Blog, and I figured that since I'm leaving for Southern Cali at the end of this week for Graduation, I might as well use up the remaining active starter and just rehydrate my dried pieces when I come back.

Coconut cocktail buns (and Tangzhong Starter)

So I mentioned in my last post that we visited Chinatown in SF the other day and bought a lot of delicious edibles. One of them included a giant pink box (mm always a good sign) of Cantonese bakery items. Most of it consisted of my dad's favorite, Coconut cocktail buns or GaiMeiBao.

I actually tried making them last week but didn't post because I didn't get a good picture of it. I tried making them again today using Angie's recipe but ran into a few complications. For one thing, my buns did not rise as much as I would have liked...maybe my yeast was too old? And for another, my topping melted off and pooled around the buns during the baking process. Now that I understand; I didn't have shortening (ugh, scary stuff) so I substituted with extra butter. Butter unfortunately has a higher water content (thus the lower calories), which means that it melts much more easily and becomes much more runny in heat.

Oh well. It still didn't come out too bad.

Tomato Basil Fougasse

I'm trying out my Dad's Blackberry camera now to see if it gives better results on my food photography. Today, Mom left to meet up with her Church friends, so I had the kitchen all to my self (evil laugh). I recently dug up the box containing my books from undergrad (when I moved out I packed everything up and left it buried in the garage) and found The New Bread Book by Ursula Ferrigno. It had been given as a Christmas present by my roommate a few years ago, and as Dad and I riffled through the pages, one recipe caught my eye....

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

At last, an excuse to use my sourdough starter. I admit, I'm truly a Carb Fiend...give me a loaf of bread and I'll melt in your arms. Unfortunately, I know that eating so much white flour has negative health consequences (my mom reminds me every time I go home), so I usually try to balance my bread intake with whole wheat.

Sourdough Starter

I've always wanted to make a sourdough starter. Ever since I learned that it was

possible to recreate that infamous sourdough taste at home (I'm from the Bay Area, so I grew up on San Francisco culture), I've been on a mission to perfect my yeast. I've actually tried a few times before...but trust me, they weren't pretty. The main problem was that I was using regular white and whole-wheat flour, which just doesn't give enough sour to the taste. I got pretty far at one point, but when I put it in the fridge, the wrapping on top got moved, and the exposed dough actually developed mold....bye bye to a month's worth of time, effort, and flour. That just ain't coo.

It wasn't until I went to Philly for a medical school interview and got stuck an extra day from a giant snowstorm that led to my wandering through the neighborhood of downtown Philly that I chanced upon...GOLD! Actually a bag of rye flour, but in the West Coast, that's as rare as gold (and expensive too!). So I carried that precious bag of valuables home with me (it cost me a security check at the airport because I supposed a bag of unknown powder looks a bit suspicious under the X-ray) and immediately set about making a brand new batch of sourdough starter. And here is the log of my journey...

CARB FIEND ON THE PROWL

Bagels are my guilty pleasure. Especially when they're just out of the oven with that heady aroma and that golden brown skin. Mmm...you should watch me when I first pull them out. I know I'm going to get burned, but I can't help just digging into one as soon as I can get my hands on them safely (or even before). So for the first five minutes I'm spending half the time with this look of epic joy on my face and the other half swearing as my fingers get scorched. Ah, the joys of life.

Continue for the recipe...

Hello World! (Heart-Shaped Doughnuts)

This is my first blog post ever! Very exciting.


Anyway, I would like to honor my new blog with a recipe that I made for Valentine's Day weekend. I'd been wanting to make doughnuts for the longest time, but never got around to doing it because I didn't know if I could get rid of them all -_-!!


It wasn't until I got reassurances from Gordon (later followed by a whole slew of guys) that they would be eaten that I finally decided to take the leap!