When I get bored, I bake.

As a result, my family had an endless supply of freshly baked goods for the entirety of winter break.

This break, I decided to revisit my roots and make more Asian desserts. This recipe employs an Asian baking technique called the tangzhong method, where you make a roux out of water and flour and add it to your bread dough. The roux retains water and will keep the bread moist during the baking process. The flour in the roux is sealed away and will not develop gluten during the kneading process. As a result, the bread will have a soft, pillowy texture that stays fresh for a longer period of time.

This recipe is perfectly manageable without a bread machine. I’m just lazy.

Few things in life can compare to the sensation of warm, soft bread dough. Ain’t she a beaut?

To test if the dough has properly risen, dip a finger in flour and poke it into the dough. If the hole that your finger made keeps its shape, the dough has risen properly.

 I made the impulsive decision to spice things up with a bit of dark chocolate. Best decision ever.

You know what else would’ve been good? Nutella. Too bad I didn’t have any on hand.

Make sure to grease and line your pans wells so the milk bread slides out easily once it’s baked.

Apply egg wash for a glossy, golden brown finish.

These are best served while they’re still warm.

Ooey, gooey dark chocolate. Divine.

I like to keep my bread in a clean plastic grocery bag with a twist tie so that it doesn’t dry out. Make sure the bread is completely cooled so condensation doesn’t form on the inside of the bag.

Got stale bread after a few days? These make excellent french toast.

 

Dark Chocolate Hokkaido Milk Bread (北海道奶香麵包)

Prep Time: approx. 2.5 hours | Baking Time: 30-35 min | Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients

Tangzhong (36 g flour and 180 g water)

540 g all-purpose flour

54 g milk

2 eggs

108 g melted unsalted butter

86 g white sugar

5 g salt

100 g dark chocolate chips, crushed with food processor (or whatever you fancy – milk, semisweet, bittersweet. If you have mini chocolate chips, you don’t need to use a food processor).

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon milk

Directions

1. To make tangzhong /roux: Whisk together flour and water in a pot or double boiler until thick, glossy and slightly translucent. Transfer into a bowl, cover, and keep in refrigerator until chilled.
2. For the dough:
   1. Bread machine: place all of the ingredients, minus the chocolate, in your device and use whatever “dough” setting it has. My machine kneaded the dough for 20 minutes and let it rise for an hour.
   2. Manual: place all of the ingredients, minus the chocolate, in a bowl. Mix until well combined, then knead for 10-15 minutes or until smooth and slightly elastic. Cover and place in a warm place for an hour or until dough has risen and doubled in size.
3. Uncover and remove the dough from the bowl. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half.
4. Work with one half at a time. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until it’s about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness. Sprinkle on 1/2 of the chocolate, then gently roll up the dough, like a sleeping bag, until it forms a log. Divide each log into 3 portions and twist and knead each portion until the chocolate is well embedded and distributed. You should have 6 balls of dough by the end of this process.
5. Preheat oven to 170 C /338 F.
6. Grease and line the bottom of two loaf pans. Place 3 balls of dough into each loaf pan. Cover each pan with a damp paper towel and leave them in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes.
7.  Whisk together egg yolk and milk to make an egg wash. After the bread has risen, uncover and thoroughly brush each loaf with egg wash.
8. Place the pans in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly on the countertop before unmolding and serving.

S & A

 

 

Let’s take a moment to appreciate how juicy that piece of tenderloin is.

I found this recipe on Foodwishes.com and decided to make it for my mom’s birthday. Tenderloin can be difficult to work with because it’s so lean and dries out easily. The recipe, however, yielded an aromatic and tender roast with little effort.

Note: Chop the rosemary very finely. I thought a food processor would do the trick but the fresh rosemary was too tough for the blades. I tried a mortar and pestle – still didn’t work. I ended up biting into big chunks of rosemary while I was eating and really didn’t enjoy it.

This rub was so fragrant that it made me sneeze.

Trim off any connective tissue or fat from the pork.

Time to get your hands dirty.

Bacon? Yes please.

The fat from the bacon will help keep the tenderloin moist.

Oh! Bonus garlic bread recipe!

But back to the main dish:

So many yes’s.

By the way, that’s baby kale sauteed with 1 clove of crushed garlic, vegetable oil, and salt.

Go make these and impress your friends and family, or impress yourself because you didn’t screw up on an expensive cut of meat.

But seriously, the sage, garlic, rosemary, and hint of lemon with the juicy tenderloin and smoky bacon is a combination worth trying.

Tenderloin Porchetta

From Foodwishes.com “‘New Year’s Baby’ Porchetta”

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook time: 20-25 minutes | Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 boneless pork tenderloin roast, about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds

about 8 strips bacon or enough to wrap

For the spice rub:

1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

3 cloves sliced garlic

1 tablespoon finely sliced sage leaves

2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste

1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

zest from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Add fennel seeds, garlic, sage leaves, and rosemary to a food processor or mortar and pestle. Process until fine. Add black pepper, salt, lemon zest, and olive oil and continue to process until well incorporated. The mixture should look like a rough paste. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth.
2. Trim pork tenderloin if needed. Cut a pocket along the length of the tenderloin, starting and ending an inch from the tips and not cutting completely through the meat. Spread 1/3 of the spice rub evenly in the pocket. Close the pocket and spread the remaining rub on the outside of the tenderloin.
3. Place the tenderloin seam side down. Starting from the end, wrap a single layer of bacon around the tenderloin. Try to start and end each strip of bacon at the bottom of the tenderloin, where the seam is. That way the weight of the tenderloin will keep the bacon wrapped when it cooks. For more information, watch the video on Foodwishes.com.
4. Wrap and chill the pork in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until serving.
5. When ready to serve, unwrap the pork and place it on a foil-lined baking sheet that has been lightly oiled. Roast at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 134 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. This helps to keep the juices in the meat.
7. Place the porchetta on a cutting board, slice and serve. You can spoon the pan drippings onto the porchetta slices for extra moisture and flavor.

For the garlic bread: 

1 loaf of french bread (not baguette), about 1-1 1/2 feet

4 tablespoon of softened unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cloves of garlic, minced.

1. Slice the bread horizontally along the length. Place both halves cut side up on a foil lined baking sheet.
2. Add salt and minced garlic to softened butter and mix until well combined. Spread evenly on the bread.
3. Set oven to “broil” and place the bread on the upper-middle rack of the oven for 3-4 minutes. The bread burns easily so keep a constant eye on it.
4. Remove from oven, slice up and serve.

Honestly though, just put as much garlic and salt as you want in some unsalted butter, spread over some bread, toast, and BAM you get garlic bread. No recipe needed.

Enjoy!  

S & A

These little bites have a flaky, buttery shell and a soft, sweet center filled with red bean. They only require a few simple ingredients are are perfect for potlucks or parties.

Mix together butter, cream cheese, flour, and a touch of salt and you get something that resembles a pie crust or tart shell. Flaky, crumbly and delicious.

When I made these in elementary school, I used to mash together the butter, cream cheese and flour with just my fingers and end up with globs of dough stuck all over my hands. They were such a pain to clean. Now, I use a food processor and gloves to make the dough. Using a food processor to cut together the flour and cold butter prevents the butter from melting due to the heat from your hands. Keeping the butter cold will lead to a flakier pastry.

When a dough ball forms, stop kneading. It’s not bread dough. Stop it.

Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Divide into 30 equal portions. If the pastries are the same sizes, they will bake more evenly.

Flatten each disk with your palm and fingers. Make sure that the edges of the disk are thinner than the center so when we go to pinch it close, you don’t end up with too much dough at the seal.

 

Line them up on a parchment lined baking sheet and coat with egg wash.

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, middle rack for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Let them cool for a few minutes before eating. Don’t be like me and be impatient and burn myself.

Red Bean Pastries

Prep Time:  1 hr 40 min | Baking Time: 25 min | Makes 30

Ingredients:

4 oz. unsalted, cold butter

2 cups all purpose flour

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 canned sweetened red bean. I used Shirakiku Ogura Sweetened Red Bean purchased at my local Asian supermarket.

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon milk or heavy cream.

Directions

1. Blend flour, cold butter, and salt in food processor until they resemble a coarse meal. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and add the cream cheese in chunks. Use a silicone spatula, then your hands (gloves recommended) to mix in the cream cheese until well incorporated and a smooth dough forms. The bowl should look clean. Do not over-knead the dough.
2. Cover the bowl with cling film and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3.  Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Open the canned red bean. In a small dish, whisk together the egg yolk and cream/milk to make an egg wash. Set aside.
4. After 30 minutes, remove dough from refrigerator. Split the dough in half. Roll each half into a rod and cut 15 equal pieces from each rod. As if by magic, you now have 30 equal pieces.
5. Flatten each piece into a disk. Press down on the edges more to make them thinner than the center. Use a spoon or butter knife to deposit 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of sweetened red bean onto the center of the disk. Pinch close the opening. I start by bringing the top and bottom of the dough over the red bean and pinching shut at the center point, then I bring in the left and right “flaps” to the center and pinch shut. With the remaining corners, I pinch, pull and smooth until the seams disappear. Be careful not to tear the dough.
6. Place pastries seam-side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between each pastry. With a pastry brush (alternatively, use a piece of paper towel pinched between chopsticks), brush egg wash on each pastry.
7. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, middle rack for 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

 S