Quick Flat Bread

Today, i made this quick flat bread as family's breakfast. Do not be deceived by its outlook, it tasted good. It took only 20 minutes to bake, no fuss no mess and no need to keep any leftover. The recipe easily double up for more portions.

(Made 1 or 2 portion)
Ingredients :
1/2 cup filtered water
1 cup flour (i used 70% organic self raising flour, 15% organic tapioca flour, 15% organic buckwheat flour)
1 tsp natural baking powder
1/4tsp himalayan pink salt
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Dash of garlic powder and red cayenne pepper
Some dried thyme (sprinkle prior to baking)

1. Mix everything in a bowl except thyme.
2. Preheat oven to 190c/200c (adjust according to your oven).
3. Spread the mixture over parchment paper on a baking pan, about 1/2 thick. It may be runny, but the shape should be intact.
4. Bake for 10minutes on each side (Total 20 minutes)
5. Enjoy with jam or nut butter !

Verdict : We woke up rushing as i was preparing my daughter to school. This was the best bet ever after focaccia came into my mind. A must keep recipe during rushing time. We had it with organic strawberry jam and organic peanut butter, it was so good ! My next target is to try a different kind of flour blend and possibly gluten free.

Buckwheat Coconut Bread

I baked this lovely grain-free buckwheat coconut bread, it has a strong buckwheat flavour and surprisingly my 2yrs 10mths daughter loves it ! The texture is soft, the only thing is it uses a lot of eggs. I adapted from here - the link has no picture or whatsoever but i was attracted to the list of ingredients and was glad i tried.

Recipe:
150g cup organic buckwheat flour
50g organic coconut flour
50g natural psyllium husk
1 tsp natural baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
5 kampung eggs
1 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp raw honey
125ml fresh coconut milk

(1) Using a large mixing bowl, beat in eggs and whisk till all mix.

(2) Add in all the wet ingredients and mix well.

(3) Add in all the dry ingredients and mix well.

(4) Pour the batter into a small baking tray lined with parchment paper.

(5) Bake in preheated oven at 180c. Let it cool before serving.


We had it with homemade mayonnaise, recipe can be found here

Simple Yogurt Bread

Recipe using Tesco Breadmaker (In sequence) :
2 antibiotic free eggs
1 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 1/3 cup + 1/2 cup organic high protein flour
1/2 cup organic millet flour
1 tsp pink himalayan salt
1 Tbsp organic molasses sugar
1 3/4 tsp organic yeast for baking

I set to French Bread mode. The texture is similar to light crunchy french toasted bread as i used light mode for the crust.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I received this breadmaker as a replacement to our out-of-order Tesco Breadmaker from my mother-in-law a few weeks ago, which i have not been free to explore it. I finally find time to try it for the first time. A little bit introduction of this breadmaker -


This is a Sanyo Breadmaker and you may not find it in the market anymore as it has been kept by my mother-in-law waiting to be passed down at the right time and this it is now ! :D

It comprises all the basic programme selection modes, and only come with simple START and STOP button to make bread. There is a simple display time screen as well as timer setting (if needed).

After browsing the recipe book that comes along, i decided to make cinnamon raisin bread as it looks more nutritious and i have the ingredients ready. Besides, i know my daughter will like it too !

Recipe (in sequence)
3/4 cup filtered water
2 1/4 cup organic high protein flour
1 Tbsp grass-fed butter
1 Tbsp organic molasses sugar
1 tsp himalayan pink salt
1/3 cup organic green raisin
1/3 cup organic cashew nut (roughly chopped)
1 tsp organic active dried yeast

MODE : 7 (sweet)

One thing i realised about this breadmaker is that it doesnt come with different loaf sizes setting, thus recipe adjustment for the loaf size is needed (which included in the recipe book). As the first time user, i made the smallest loaf based on the recipe given. Compared with my previous Tesco Breadmaker, this breadmaker also did not come with crust (dark/medium/light) setting. On another hand, i dont have to wait for the right time to dump in extra nuts and seeds as the recipe instruction shows i just need to put in 'all ingredients' even the extra ones from the beginning (it may not be that bad huh !).

This is so far my findings and there may be more to come. I am missing my Tesco Breadmaker and i still cannot believe it has stop making my proven breads. I came to realised after a few unsuccessful breads even using my failed proof recipes - i found out that the Tesco Breadmaker was not properly heated up when i was using it, thus bread unable to rise or bread turned out to be really hard as rock.

One thing about using breadmaker i realised is that each recipe may or usually customize for that specific bread machine. Thus my previous Tesco Breadmaker's recipes may not be usable for this Sanyo Breadmaker anymore !! It is a big thing for me, though not difficult as i had spent so much time creating the right 'gluten-free' recipe to fit that Tesco Breadmaker usage. For now, i only hope that this breadmaker could take over as to make basic breads for us, which it just did ! Gradually, i may explore or customize various recipes. I would say im satisfied with the cinnamon raisin bread i just made though i still need to make adjustment to the ingredient quantity esp sugary part. I try to do it low / no sugar even with the previous breadmaker and i would do the same and hopefully it turns out well. Keeping my fingers crossed !



UPDATE : I am back using my Tesco breadmaker because this old machine officially gave way when i tried baking it the second time !! :(

Homemade Bread with avocado spread

Recipe:
1 1/2 cup strawberry water (i mashed 7 strawberries and filled with filtered water)
2 Tbsp vco
1 tsp organic raw honey
1 cup organic unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup organic mix grain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1.5 tsp active dried yeast

In a breadmaker, put the ingredients as according to the list above.
Mode: Wholemeal
Crust: Light
Weight: 1.5lb or 700g setting
Bread machine: Tesco breadmaker


Results: I adapted this from a very old recipe of mine - http://beejeegrace.blogspot.com/2014/10/wholemeal-raisin-bread.html
The 21mth old toddler had it with avocado spread, basically just some mashed avocado and spread onto the bread, with organic sugar free soy milk. We do the avocado spread very often, it is nutritious and such a quick effort to make.

Raisin and Oat bread

Ingredients (in sequence):
1 cup warm water
2/3 cup mixture of 1 egg, milk kefir and natural greek yogurt
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 cup bread flour
1 tsp molasses sugar
1 tsp active instant yeast

After the first beep, i added raisins to mix with the dough.

Right before it started baking, i sprinkled rolled oat and wheat germ generously on top for extra fibre.

Bread machine: Tesco Breadmaker
Crust: Light
Size: 1.5lb

Wholemeal bread with avocado and egg

Recipe for avocado egg spread:
1 hardboiled egg (mashed)
1 small ripen avocado (mashed)

Mix all ingredients and use as bread spread.


Recipe for bread (in sequence):

1 cup warm water
2/3 cup mixture of 1 egg, milk kefir and natural greek yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp himalaya pink salt
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 cup bread flour
1 tsp molasses sugar
1.5 tsp active instant yeast

Before it starts baking, i sprinkled wheat germ generously on top for extra fibre.

Bread machine: Tesco Breadmaker
Crust: Medium
Size: 2.0lb

Results: I tried adding sugar and salt for the first time since introducing bread to my baby, now toddler. It didnt give much difference to me - probably tastier, but hard to distinguish. My toddler had the bread with avocado egg spread, complete with homemade milk kefir and some diced mango.

Bread with orange medjool spread

[16.02.2015]

Breakfast for the 17M 4D lo: Bread with orange medjool spread. I noticed our lately favourite is orange, lo loves it very much.

Recipe:
1 orange
2 medjool dates (pitted and cut small)

Step: Blend it fresh in a food processor till it it smooth and spreadable.

Additional:
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

I added the additional for lo for extra fat and taste. It tasted superb ! I had a few which i only dipped with oil and vinegar, it tasted the same like when you eat at Italian restaurant.

Bread Recipe: Valentine's day special <here>

Garlic toasted bread and pan fried heart-shaped egg

[14.02.2015]

Breakfast for the Valentine's morning

Garlic toasted bread and pan fried heart-shaped egg. Sunny side up for daddy and mummy. For lo's bread, i added some chopped organic cherry tomatoes and organic spinach smile emoticon

For the bread, it is a typical white bread and not gluten-free as i am using it to do garlic bread, i didnt want the bread to be too heavy. My lo had 1/2 slice, i didnt want to give more!

Recipe for bread:
2/3 cup warm water
2/3 cup mixture of 1 egg, cream cheese and organic plain yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp molasses sugar
1.5 tsp organic instant active yeast

For the garlic spread:
1/2 stick unsalted anchor butter (melted)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 knob shredded cheddar cheese
3 cloves garlic (minced)

Mix all in a bowl and spread on bread. Toast in preheated oven at 180c for 8-10 minutes.

Buckwheat Bread

Recipe (in sequence, using Tesco breadmaker):

BUCKWHEAT BREAD

1 cup hot water
3 free-range eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 cup buckwheat flour (gluten-free)
2/3 cup glutinous rice flour (gluten-free)
1/2 cup tapiaco starch / tapiaco flour (gluten-free)
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1 tsp molasses sugar
1/2 Tbsp instant active yeast

Step 1:
Set to dough mode and let it knead for 5 minutes, scrape the sides down necessarily. Once done, mix well and smooth the top using a silicone spatula.

Step 2:
Set to bake mode and set timer to bake 30 minutes later for the batter to proof. The baking time should take 55 minutes or 1 hour maximum. Once done, remove from the baking pan, let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Optional - After 30 minutes of proofing, you may add some topping.

Yeast Free Soda Bread

I got the inspiration to bake this bread as i research into a 'yeast-free' bread. This is an easy and straightforward bread that do not required any proofing, thus it saves much time. It is also a suitable bread for people with yeast intolerance. For a start, i tried using wholemeal flour, which if it success, i may substitute with wheat-free or gluten-free flour.

Recipe:
450g wholemeal flour
50g rolled oat (soaked overnight)
500ml buttermilk
(i combined: 250ml almond buckwheat milk (here) + 1 Tbsp lemon juice,
 & 250ml fresh coconut milk + 1 Tbsp lemon juice)
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

(1) Mix everything in a mixing bowl, roughly knead into a soft and round dough. You may feel a little spongy as you knead, it means the ingredients are working well.

(2) Using tesco breadmaker, transfer the dough into the breadmaker pan in the breadmaker machine. (without paddle)

(3) Score the top of the dough about an inch deep to a 'X' shape. This is to help the heat to get into the centre of the dough as it bakes.

(4) Set to 'bake' mode and bake for 1 hour.


SOURCE:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/feb/05/how-to-bake-perfect-soda-bread

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_soda_bread/

Sorghum bread (Gluten-free)

It has been an adventurous journey in the making of gluten-free bread. I was motivated to do so after reading a lot of health benefits on gluten-free and wheat-free baking, and that i really determined to explore it further. However, there were several times (around 3-4 times in my experience) that these did not turn out well. Most of the time is due to the failure to rise, tough bread after bake and due to the fact that i did not follow exact ingredients from recipes i referred. I am one that strongly against xanthan gum, which is one typical ingredient you may find in gluten-free baking. This ingredient is important to bind the flour together because gluten-free flour usually fall apart easily. In my best endeavour, i would be heading towards a direction where there would be no xanthan gum in my making of gluten-free bread, for better or for worst.

As for this time, i would say it is by far the most successful attempt of making gluten-free bread along with many failures previously. The failures have made me noted on few key points that i must not miss out in the making of gluten-free bread.

(1) Try to follow your chosen recipe as close as possible. If you decide not to follow, you have to confidently find a suitable substitute, however, this would not guarantee a success and very often would need a lot of research and reading before you could actually proceed.

(2) Do not attempt to modify the quantity of the ingredients if you are not sure if it is necessary. For example, i like to cut down on certain ingredients quantity eg. egg, yeast.

(3) Gluten-free bread cannot over-knead. Over-knead may cause the bread to collapse or fail to rise. The best is to let the machine run for only 5 minutes, while manually scraping the side. Once done, mix well and flat the top nicely using a silicone spatula. You may remove the paddle at this point.

(4) The outlook appearance for gluten-free need not to be compared with non gluten-free bread. It could look like a short bread and that it would be heavy. That is just the way gluten-free bread is made to be, nevertheless the texture could be soft and chewy - not necessary hard to bite.


For this bread, it is the first time i use sorghum flour and after referring to few websites - this is my version -

Recipe (in sequence, using Tesco breadmaker):

SORGHUM BREAD

1 cup hot water
4 free-range eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 cup sorghum flour (gluten-free)
2/3 cup sweet rice flour (gluten-free)
1 cup tapiaco starch / tapiaco flour (gluten-free)
2 tsp organic psyllium husk (gluten-free)
1 tsp molasses sugar
1 Tbsp instant active yeast

Step 1:
Set to dough mode and let it knead for 5 minutes, scrape the sides down necessarily. Once done, mix well and smooth the top using a silicone spatula.

Step 2:
Set to bake mode and set timer to bake 30 minutes later for the batter to proof. The baking time should take 55 minutes or 1 hour maximum. Once done, remove from the baking pan, let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Optional - After 30 minutes of proofing, you may add some topping. For this bread i combine and mix the followings and sprinkle on the batter right before start baking.
1 tsp organic psyllium husk
1 tsp organic rolled oat
1 tsp oat bran


SOURCE:
http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/sorghum-bread-again/

http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/gluten-free-foods/ingredients/ingredients-index/

http://glutenfreeeasily.com/bountiful-bread-basket-top-20-gluten-free-bread-recipes/

Whole loaf sunflower seeds and dried fruits bread

Recipe:

Ingredients in sequence (using Tesco Breadmaker):
1 cup pandan water
2/3 cup liquid (1 kampung egg and homemade natural yoghurt)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp raw honey
1.5 cup bread flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1.5 tsp instant active yeast

Mode : Basic
Crust : Light
Size : 700g or 1.5lb

At 2.13 - add in 1/4 sunflower seeds, 1 Tbsp organic dried cranberries, 1 Tbsp organic raisins (all to be heavily coated with bread flour)

At 1:20 - Top the bread with 1.8 cup sunflower seeds, 1 Tbsp blended and toasted black sesame seeds (all coated with enough oat bran)

Note - Presoaked sunflower seeds (hulled) for 30 minutes and dry over a sieve, and put in freezer till usage time.

Results : I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this bread. It is very fragrant and soft. The spelt flour has a special nutty taste and buckwheat flour too has its own tangy flavour. I like that the combination of 50-50 wheat-free flour that is able to still made the bread rise nicely (note: I have tried bread flour with potato starch and rice flour previously, it didnt rise as good as this). I concluded that spelt flour is good to replace bread flour, the only thing would be the colour is not white.

Pumpkin flax seeds bread with homemade kaya

Recipe:

Bread -
1 cup natural yogurt
2/3 cup steamed and mashed pumpkin
1/4 cup raw flax seeds (soak in water for 10 minutes and drain off water)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp pure maple syrup
2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup arrowroot flour
1.5 tsp instant active yeast

Mode: basic, stop the machine after second kneading, remove paddle. Set to 'bake' and on timer to bake 2:00 hr later for proofing purpose.
Crust : light
Size : 1.5 lb or 700g

Kaya -
1 cup freshly grated coconut flesh
1 cup filtered water
4 pandan leaves (chopped)
4 kampung egg (beaten)
1/2 cup brown sugar

(1) Blend coconut with water and pandan leaves.
(2) Sieve it over a strainer with cheese clooth to remove pulps. Reserve pandan coconut mixture.
(3) Transfer all ingredients to breadmaker in sequence:
a - pandan coconut liquid
b - beaten egg
c - sugar
(4) Set to 'jam' mode and let the machine finish its course. Once done, dish out the kaya and drain off excess water.
(5) Blend the jam till smooth or according to preferred texture. Keep in air-tight glass jar.

Made about a cup of kaya

Black Sesame Bread , 1/3 part gluten free flour

Recipe (in sequence):
2/3 cup warm water
2/3 cup liquid (mixture of 1 egg and natural yogurt)
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp agave nectar
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup tapiaco flour
1/2 cup potato flour
2 Tbsp grounded black sesame
1.5 tsp instant active yeast

Mode: Dough, knead for 10 minutes. Change to baking mode, set timer to bake 1 hour later - for proofing purpose. Bake for 1 hour and done.

Results: This bread turned hard the next day. Is a recipe that i need to modify and experiment further next time.

I am trying to incorporate gluten free flour into bread making - slowly. Tried fully replacing and failed terribly twice, this time, i replaced with lesser ingredients. I read that xanthan gum is crucial in making gluten free bread, i have tried replacing it with chia seed (1 tsp + 2 Tbsp of water) without success. I am still discovering a recipe that works for me.

Sweet Potato Rice Flour Swirl Bread

Recipe (in sequence):
2/3 cup warm water
2/3 cup farm fresh natural yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp organic agave nectar
1 cup rice flour
2 cup bread flour
1.4 tsp dried active yeast
1 small piece purple sweet potato (steamed and mashed, water removed)
handful of cheddar cheese.
1/2 egg for bread washing

Breadmaker type: Tesco Breadmaker
Mode: Basic (for kneading stage only), Bake (for baking stage)
Crust: N/A
Size: N/A
Duration of Baking: 1 hour

(1) Put all the ingredients according to the sequence in your breadmaker.

(2) I used Basic Mode, it kneaded for 3 times. Before the last proofing, i coated my hands with some olive oil and removed the dough from the breadmaker pan.

(3) Divide the dough into 2 portions, 1 portion slightly more. Using the smaller portion, add in mashed sweet potato and hand knead till all the potato totally mixed in and mixed well.

(4) Put the white dough and purple dough side by side. Divide both into 2 portions for easy shaping. Keep one set into breadmaker pan, in breadmachine so that it doesnt dry out.

(5) Flatten the plain dough into thick square shape. Flatten the purple dough into the same shape and size. Put the purple dough on top of the plain dough. Lightly press to flatten both doughs. Cut and divide both into 3 portions, long vertically. Start to form into a braid pattern. Once done, fold it up and put into one side of the breadmaker pan. Remove the other set kept earlier and repeat the same method in no. 5.

(6) Once the 2 sets put side by side in the breadmaker pan, leave aside to proof for 1 hour before baking. I simply set into baking mode and use delay timer for easy monitoring. Right before baking, brush with some egg wash and top with some shredded cheese.

Note: This recipe is for adding in purple sweet potato. If is going to omit the sweet potato, the liquid quantity will be 1 cup of warm water and 2/3 cup natural yogurt.

Results: The bread is very soft, but i find that it is overly moistured due to the addition of purple sweet potato - probably i should bake 15 minutes more. However, after sliced, i toasted the bread and it tasted great nevertheless. On the other hand, i improvised the shaping from Tesco Breadmaking Group and after shaping i realised i missed one step - which is rolling up the dough after flatten before forming the braid. Thankfully the pattern looks satisfying though missed up the steps. I could used back the same method if rushing for time in the future, it works just fine !

Wholemeal cheese bread

Recipe (in sequence):

1 cup warm water
2/3 cup mixture of 1 egg, cream cheese and 2 Tbsp natural greek yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 cup bread flour
1.5 tsp active instant yeast

Bread machine: Tesco Breadmaker
Crust: Light
Size: 700g or 1.5lb

Results: This is a variation from the previous bread's recipe and it proves to be soft with light crunchy skin.