banana nut bread #2

I love my breadmaker machine! It was a wedding gift from my mother in 1998 and it is still in good working order. Ever since I started using it frequently to make bread, Da and I have not been buying bread from the confectioneries / supermarket.

I am constantly surfing the internet to look for bread recipes meant for breadmaker machines. However, I prefer to use the dough cycle in my breadmaker machine and bake the bread in the oven. I find that bread made this way tends to be softer in texture and will not harden as fast as when I make the bread from start to finish in the breadmaker machine. As such, I often adapt the recipes that I find on the internet as most breadmaker recipes are intended for bread that is made and baked in the breadmaker machine.

One of my favourite Gardenia bread is their banana walnut loaf. It is so hearty and it is good enough to be eaten on its own.

When I saw three small extremely overripe bananas at our kitchen counter, I thought of the Gardenia banana walnut loaf. The recipe in this post was adapted from a recipe that I found on the internet. The recipe that I found required the use of "all-purpose flour" but I prefer to use bread flour when I am baking bread. I also made some modifications to the other ingredients. The end result is a loaf of banana nut bread that is not as dense as the Gardenia banana walnut loaf but just as delicious. I could even smell the banana while the dough was being mixed in the breadmaker machine.

If you like your bread lightly toasted, I would recommend that you spread some butter or margarine on the bread before lightly toasting the bread in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup low-fat milk

2 tbsp butter (softened)

3 small ripe bananas (sliced)

2 tbsp castor sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground mixed spice / all-spice

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

3 1/2 cups bread flour

2 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients (except the bread flour and the yeast) in the bucket of the breadmaker machine.

2. Add the bread flour, making sure that the wet ingredients are totally covered.

3. Add the yeast.

4. Place the bucket in the breadmaker machine and set to "dough" cycle. Start the cycle.

5. When the cycle has been completed, remove the bucket from the breadmaker machine and turn the dough onto a floured board. Using floured hands, knead the dough 5 times.

6. Place the dough in a loaf pan that has been greased and lined with baking paper. Spread out the dough in the loaf pan and level the dough.

7. Cover the loaf pan with a damp cloth and leave for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

8. Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 30 minutes.

9. Let the bread cool thoroughly before slicing.

cinnamon fruit teacake

From time to time, one of my colleagues would give me slices of teacakes baked by her retiree father. I found the teacakes delicious and I have been wanting to bake teacakes for some time. Teacakes are different from normal cakes in that they tend to be lighter in texture and are hence perfect to be accompanied by a cup of hot coffee or tea during teatime.

I have not yet obtained from my colleague the recipe for the teacake baked by her father. I shall have to get round to doing this.

In the meantime, here is my recipe for cinnamon fruit teacake. If you do not fancy the cinnamon sugar topping, you can omit it. This recipe is sufficient for two 8" round cake pans, so do feel free to halve the recipe if you only wish to bake one cake.

INGREDIENTS (for the cake)

2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
125g butter (softened)
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2/3 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup dried mixed fruits


INGREDIENTS (for the topping)

butter (softened)
cinnamon sugar

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Soak the dried mixed fruits in a bowl. When the mixed fruits have plumped up, drain off the water. Set aside.

3. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans. Set aside.

4. Sift the self-raising flour and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

5. Using a manual whisk, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well each time an egg is added. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.

6. Add the mixed fruits and milk and mix well.

7. Fold in the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spatula until smooth.

8. Pour into the two cake pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

9. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes before removing the cake from the cake pan and placing the cake on a cooling rack. Brush the top of the cake with the melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

TIP

If you do not like mixed fruits, you can substitute with raisins.

cinnamon loaf

A quick bread is a type of bread which uses raising agents such as baking powder or bicarbonate of soda instead of yeast. Examples of quick bread include banana bread, corn bread, muffins, scones, etc.

Generally, quick breads contain plain flour, baking powder and/or bicarbonate of soda, eggs, butter / margarine / oil and milk / buttermilk.

If you like cinnamon, I would encourage you to try the recipe in this post. The insides of the cinnamon loaf are moist whereas the top of the cinnamon loaf is fragrant and crumbly. For maximum enjoyment of the cinnamon loaf, do slice the loaf thickly (that is, thicker than what you see in the photographs in this post) and spread a generous amount of butter or margarine on a warm slice of the cinnamon loaf. Bon appetit!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla essence
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup low fat milk

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and line a 8" x 5" loaf pan with baking paper. Set aside.

3. Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla essence, lemon zest and milk and mix well.

5. Fold in the flour mixture and mix until blended.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

7. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

chocolate bread

When Da and I got married in 1998, my mother gave us a Hitachi bread machine which she bought from an electronics shop at Holland Village. Over the years, I have used the bread machine several times although not as often as I would have liked to. There were two main reasons:-

(a) the bread machine takes 4 hours and 10 minutes to bake a loaf of bread (MIL got a shock when I told her this years ago. I had baked a loaf of bread for her and FIL (when they visited us) and she had asked whether I could bake another loaf of bread for her to bring home that night); and

(b) my bread does not always rise / not rise sufficiently. When you end up with a loaf of bread that is rock hard after you have waited 4 hours and 10 minutes, it can be a little frustrating. I do not know whether the problem is with the bread machine or the ingredients that I have used. The strange thing is that this happens even when I use a pre-mix for bread. I can only conclude that the problem lies with the chef and not the tools.

Interestingly enough, I have noticed that the more often I use the bread machine, the more likely that the bread will be successfully baked. Perhaps it is a case of "practice makes perfect" for my bread machine?

I have also since learned two important aspects of bread-making:-

(a) the yeast has to be fresh as it would otherwise affect the ability of the bread dough to rise; and

(b) varying the recipe can affect whether the bread turns out fine. As such, unless you know how to vary the recipe, it is best to follow the recipe wholesale.

After a disastrous attempt at baking a loaf of peanut butter bread the other day (which failed miserably because I had an attack of "itchy fingers" and I varied the recipe, resulting in the dough not rising), I have mustered up courage to use my bread machine again to bake chocolate bread. This time, although the centre portion of the bread sunk a little, the bread rose (phew!) and was very soft. I could smell the lovely aroma of the chocolate as the bread was being baked.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup low-fat milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
4 tsp cocoa powder
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips
3 cups bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast

METHOD

1. Pour the milk into the breadmaker bucket.

2. Add the vanilla essence, egg, butter, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and chocolate chips.

3. Add 2 cups of bread flour, making sure that the flour covers the liquid.

4. Add the yeast.

5. Add the remaining 1 cup of bread flour.

6. Insert the bucket into the breadmaker and set to basic loaf.

7. When the cycle has completed, remove the bucket from the breadmaker and shake out the bread.

8. Let the bread cool upright on a rack before you slice the bread.

Tips

1. As preservatives have not been added to the bread, you would need to refrigerate the bread if you do not finish consuming it within two days. Once the bread has been refrigerated, you can warm it up in an oven before eating it.

2. I always use Hersheys cocoa powder in my baking, whether it be for bread, cakes or cookies. I have tried other brands but still find that chocolate bread / cakes / cookies made using Hersheys have more "oomph".

3. I did not set the desired colour of the crust (the default is "medium" for my breadmaker) but if you find that the crust of the bread that you see in the photographs in this post is a little too dark, you can select "light" for the crust.

vegetable bun

This is one of my few attempts at baking a bread bun with filling inside. As you can probably tell from the photograph above, I have not yet gotten the hang of how much filling to place inside the bun. Not to worry - practice makes perfect. If you are trying out the recipe in this post, please remember to put more filling than I did. *grin*

INGREDIENTS (bread bun)

1 cup plus 1 tbsp low fat milk

3 tbsp honey

3 tbsp butter (melted)

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups bread flour

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 egg yolk (for glazing)

2 tsp evaporated milk (for glazing)

INGREDIENTS (filling)

1 medium potato (diced)

1 small red onion (sliced)

1 small carrot (diced)

1 stick celery (sliced)

2 dried Chinese mushrooms (sliced)

1/2 pkt enoki mushroom (halved)

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

METHOD

1. Place the milk, honey, butter and salt in the bucket of the breadmaker machine. Add the bread flour, making sure that the liquid is covered totally. Add the yeast.

2. Place the bucket in the breadmaker machine and select "dough" cycle.

3. While the breadmaker machine is preparing the dough, cook the ingredients for the filling in the chicken stock. When the stock has boiled, reduce the heat and simmer until the ingredients have softened. Drain off the stock from the ingredients. (You can save the stock for future use, eg. to make a soup.)

4. When the "dough" cycle has been completed, place the dough on a floured board. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until it covers the entire board. Cut the dough into squares of approximately 3.5" x 3.5". In the middle of each square, place some filling and shape into buns.

5. Place the buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper, well apart to allow spreading. Cover the baking tray with a damp cloth and leave the buns to rise for 1 hour (or until they have doubled in size).

6. Bake the buns in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

7. Beat the egg yolk with the evaporated milk in a small bowl). Set aside.

8. As soon as the buns have been removed from the oven, brush the buns with the egg and milk glaze and leave the buns to cool.

salmon patties

Ever since I started making bergedel, I have been merrily making variations of it. Bergedel is essentially potato patties made using mashed potatoes. Variations can be made by adding otah, salmon, crab meat, etc.

When I made the salmon patties that you see in the photographs in this post, I marinated the salmon patties with the balsamic vinegar that WC and SC gave Da and me. Thanks, guys, for the balsamic vinegar. It helped to remove the "fishy" taste of the salmon. Delicious!

Bergedels are traditionally fried in hot oil. However, I prefer to bake them so that they are not as oily but just as tasty.

INGREDIENTS

500g salmon fillet (frozen)
vegetables of your choice (cut into small pieces)
2 large potatoes (boiled and mashed with some butter)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Bisquick pancake and baking mix
1 cup crunchy breadcrumbs
2 eggs (beaten)
balsamic vinegar

METHOD

1. Microwave the frozen salmon on HIGH for 3 minutes. Remove any remaining bones and skin. Add some balsamic vinegar and mashed up the salmon.

2. Place the cut vegetables in a microwaveable container. Add enough water to cover the vegetables. Replace the lid of the container and microwave on HIGH for 10 minutes. Drain off the water.

3. In a large bowl, mix the salmon, vegetables and mashed potatoes until evenly mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the beaten egg, Bisquick pancake and baking mix and the crunchy breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly.

4. Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop out the patties and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Press on the patties to flatten them slightly.

5. Place the baking trays in the freezer until the patties have firmed up.

6. Bake at 220 degrees celsius for 7 1/2 minutes on each side of the patties.

green tea cookies

When I baked some green tea cookies just to finish up the matcha that we had at home, I was not expecting anything too fantastic. To my surprise, the end result was a batch of very aromatic cookies. It is likely due to the fact that I added ground almond and almond flakes to the cookie dough. Almond cookies are always very flavourful. It helped too that I used butter instead of margarine.

Patience is required when baking these cookies. Not only do you need to refrigerate the dough to firm up the dough, you would need to slice the cookies into the desired shape when the dough has firmed up.

INGREDIENTS

520g plain flour
30g corn flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground almond
350g butter (softened)
1 cup castor sugar
1 egg (lightly beaten)
100g almond flakes

METHOD

1. Sift the plain flour, corn flour, baking powder and ground almond in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg and almond flakes and mix well.

3. Fold in the flour mixture and mix until a dough is formed.

4. Press the dough into a 11" x 9" baking tray that has been lined with baking paper. Chill the dough in the refrigerator till it hardens.

5. Remove the dough from the baking tray and slice into desired thickness (about 1/4" thick).

6. Bake in an oven preheated to 175 degrees celsius for about 18 minutes.

7. Let the cookies cool thoroughly before storing them in an air-tight container.

green tea pandan cake

This is actually a birthday cake that I baked for Da's birthday this year. If you prefer, you can eat the cake on its own (that is, without the nuts, fruits and the cream cheese frosting).

INGREDIENTS (for the cake)

2 cups self-raising flour

2 tbsp matcha

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125 butter (softened)

1 cup castor sugar

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

1/2 tsp pandan paste

1 1/2 tsp pandan essence
1/3 cup low fat milk

INGREDIENTS (cream cheese frosting)

1/2 cup butter (softened)

250g cream cheese (softened)

3 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

INGREDIENTS (decorations)

mixture of chopped nuts (I used walnuts, pecans and pumpkin seeds)

sliced fruits of your choice (I used grapes, mangoes and kiwi fruits)

METHOD (for the cake)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans. Set aside.

3. Sift the self-raising flour, matcha and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Using a hand whisk, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs (1 at a time), beating well each time a beaten egg is added. Add the pandan paste and pandan essence and mix well.

5. Fold in the flour and add the milk, stirring with a wooden spatula until smooth.

6. Pour the batter into the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool before you frost the cake.

METHOD (for the frosting)

1. Using a hand whisk, beat all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

2. Spread the frosting on top of one of the cakes and sandwich the frosting with the other cake.

3. Spread the remaining frosting on the outer layer of the sandwiched cake.

METHOD (for the decorations)

1. Sprinkle the sides of the frosted cake with the mixed nuts.

2. Arrange the sliced fruits on top of the frosted cake.

3. Place the cake in the refrigerator and let the frosting set before serving the cake.

spiced pumpkin soup

There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup to cheer one up. It is also excellent as "comfort food" when one is down with a cold.

The next time that you come across a can of pumpkin, do not pass it by. Not only can it be used to make a pumpkin pie, it can also be used to cook spiced pumpkin soup. Save yourself the hassle of cooking a raw pumpkin and then mashing the cooked pumpkin.

INGREDIENTS

230g mushrooms (sliced) - I use a mixture of fresh mushrooms and dried Chinese mushrooms
2 sticks celery (sliced)
1 carrot (sliced)
1 medium red onion (chopped)
olive oil (for frying)
2 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp curry powder - I use meat curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (425g) pumpkin
1 tbsp honey
dash of ground nutmeg
grated sea salt
freshly ground black peppercorn
freshly ground white peppercorn
1 cup evaporated milk
parsley flakes (for topping)
plain yoghurt (for topping)

METHOD

1. Saute the mushrooms, onion, celery and carrot with olive oil in a soup pot. Cover the pot with the lid and let the ingredients cook until softened.

2. Add the corn flour and curry powder and stir.

3. Add the chicken broth.

4. Add the pumpkin, honey, ground nutmeg, grated sea salt, ground black peppercorn and ground white peppercorn.

5. When the soup has boiled, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes while constantly stirring.

6. Add the evaporated milk and cook until the soup is simmering.

7. When you have ladled the soup into a bowl, top the soup with plain yoghurt and parsley flakes before serving.

pork rib in char siew sauce

I am not much of a pork eater. It is not a question about me being health-conscious. There is something about the taste of pork that does not quite agree with my palate. As a result, the pork that I do eat is limited to:-

(a) char siew

(b) bak kwa

(c) barbequed pork ribs (like those you can find at Tony Roma's)

If you have noticed that items (a) to (c) seem to have something in common, you are right. It has occurred to me that I prefer pork that is barbequed. Beyond this, I do not fancy eating pork.

Several years ago, Da and I bought a 1/2 set of AMC pots and pans. Even though it was a 1/2 set, it comprised about 6 pots and pans with lids, steamer, etc. The beauty of AMC cookware is that it uses the concept of convection / condensation and cooking is a breeze. It is especially useful for braising food. To my regret, more often than not, I use it like conventional cookware. There are many types of food that can be cooked using AMC cookware. I heard from SY that one can even make cheesecake using AMC cookware. My friend SC uses AMC cookware to make her own pizza. This brand of cookware is certainly very versatile.

When I first bought my set of AMC cookware, my AMC supplier came to my home to demonstrate how to use the cookware. One can make delicious char siew or pork ribs using AMC cookware. Do not fret if you do not have any AMC cookware - you can bake the char siew or pork ribs in a conventional oven as well.

Ingredients

500 g pork ribs

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)

2 tbsp cooking sherry

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)

1 1/2 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp sesame oil
pinch of five spice powder

2 cloves of garlic (peeled but not crushed)

2 bay leaves

salt

pepper

Method

1. Wash the pork ribs thoroughly. Remove the fat if you prefer; otherwise, leave the fat on.

2. Mix all the other ingredients together. Add the pork ribs and let the ribs marinate overnight.

3. Cook the marinated ribs in a pot. When the dish is boiling, reduce the heat and leave to simmer until the ribs are soft, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, bake in a preheated oven at 190 degrees celsius for 25 minutes and thereafter, turn the ribs over and bake for another 25 minutes.

Tips

1. Instead of using pork ribs, you can substitute with pork loin, thereby making char siew. Cut the pork loin into strips and add the marinade.

2. The pork ribs / char siew is best eaten with steamed white rice.

coffee bread

Have you ever bought instant coffee powder that some in very large sachets and are too much for one cup of coffee? I have a suggestion for you - use some of the instant coffee powder to bake a loaf of coffee bread and add hot water to the rest of the instant coffee powder to make a nice cup of coffee.

If you want the bread to have a very strong flavour of coffee, I would recommend that you double the proportion of instant coffee powder that I have provided in this recipe. Otherwise, do stick to the recipe if you just want a hint of the coffee flavour.

This bread complements a cup of hot coffee. Ooh-la-la....

INGREDIENTS

150 ml low fat milk
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 egg (lightly beaten)
3/4 tsp salt
4 tsp instant coffee powder - I use hazelnut flavoured 3-in-1 white coffee
2 tsp milk powder
50g butter (softened)
6 tbsp chopped walnuts
2 cups bread flour
2 tsp instant dry yeast

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients (except the bread flour and the yeast) in the bucket of the breadmaker machine.

2. Add the bread flour, making sure that all the wet ingredients are totally covered.

3. Add the yeast.

4. Place the bucket in the breadmaker machine and set to "dough" cycle. Start the cycle.

5. When the "dough" cycle has been completed, turn the dough onto a floured board. Using floured hands, knead the dough 5 times.

6. Place the dough in a loaf pan that has been greased and lined with baking paper.

7. Cover the loaf pan with a damp cloth and leave for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

8. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees celsius for 30 minutes.