Just in time…

I swear that I wanted to do this long ago. Somehow, I just didn’t get down to doing it. It’s a good thing I made it just in time (at the very last minute!) for Christmas. I soaked my raisins overnight, so they have a really nice flavour. The result was a not too boozy bread.  I didn’t add any citrus peels because I don’t really dig them. I added both black and golden raisins, as well as candied cherries. I reckon some walnuts would be good too. I will be sending this to YeastSpotting! Anyhoos, Merry Christmas again all!!

Christmas Stollen

100g raisins, soaked in rum for at least 5 hours

50g candied cherries

For the dough

40g sugar

250g bread flour

¾ tsp instant yeast

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp rum

½ tsp cinnamon

10g milk powder

65g butter, softened

60g butter, melted

Powdered sugar for topping (optional)

1.       In your mixing bowl, add instant yeast, milk and sugar. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

 2.       Next, add flour, salt, rum, cinnamon and milk powder. With dough hook attachment, mix on low speed and gradually increase to medium speed. When a sticky dough is formed, add in the butter and continue to mix on medium until the dough cleans the bowl.

3.       The dough is ready when it is very smooth and elastic. Revert to low speed and mix in the mixed fruit. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, covering with cling wrap. Let it proof for 80 minutes or until it doubles in size.

 

4.       Divide the dough into 2. Knead lightly and roll them into balls. Let them relax for 15 minutes. With a rolling pin, roll a ball into an oval shape about 9 inch long. Fold into half. Press the fold down lightly to secure. Repeat for the second dough ball.

 

5.       Let the dough proof for another 60 minutes, or until double the size. Bake in greased tray at a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 175C (350F). Brush bread with melted butter. Sprinkle powdered sugar when cooled.  

Sour cream biscuits

Triangles of biscuits before putting in the oven

I have always wanted to make scones. However, I put off the idea for quite some time as I did not manage to find a pastry blender. I know that I can use my fingers and rub in the cold butter but my sweaty and warm palms are my greatest nemesis. Not to mention, the weather here is so darn hot. Neither did I want to throw everything in the food processor as I was too lazy to clean it out. I finally found my pastry blender at CK Tang last week. I was absolutely estatic. I can now make pies, shortbreads, scones and the list goes on. Woohoo!

I chose to start my scone adventure with Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking – From my home to yours. Biscuits in our terms normally meant crunchy baked goods also known as crackers or cookies. According to Wikipedia, biscuits in America is a small baked product that is soft and very similar to a scone. They are normally eaten as a side dish during dinner or breakfast. This time, I added dried apricot and cherries instead of pecans. I followed Dorie’s instructions and chopped up my butter into small cubes so that it was much easier to cut into the flour. It is very important to start everything cold and work the mixture as little as possible. I also chilled my flour and sugar mixture in the freezer for a while before cutting the cold butter in. To be on the safe side, I even chilled my pastry blender. As I was unable to get a cookie cutter, I rolled out my dough in a round shape and cut them into triangles. The result was beautiful and tall biscuits that were flakey and buttery. I gave some of these scones to G’s mom. Hope she likes them as much as I do. ^___^

Sour Cream Biscuits
(Adapted from Baking: From my home to yours)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cup cold whole milk
1/3 cup finely chopped fruit or nut of your preference

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Line the tray with parchment or baking sheet.

2. Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps.

3. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between – and that’s just right.

4. Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you’ve got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick, gentle kneading – 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together.

5. Toss in the nuts / fruit and knead another 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough.

6. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour and pat the dough out with your hands or roll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don’t worry if the dough isn’t completely even – a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy. Cut the dough into the desired shape and size. If using a biscuit cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to the cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of this first round.

7. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Bake the biscuits 15 to 20 minutes (depending on size), or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown.

Dark chocolate, cherry and oatmeal cookies

I was thinking of doing just simple buns this weekend when this cookie from Bake or Break caught my eye. Perhaps it is just that blog owner Jennifer’s photos were mouthwateringly good. It helps that I love cherries too. Been nursing a lousy sore throat for the past 3 days and I wasn’t in the best shape to bake. Still, I wanted to try it. As usual, I started baking around midnight. As my butter was a little too soft (kept forgetting that the weather was so darn hot), I felt that my creaming was not too well done. Thus, after mixing in everything, I dumped the mixture into the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.

It turned out pretty good. The smell of baked oats was fantastic, except I did not use the 3 cups as suggested by Jennifer. I only mixed in 1 1/2 cups. Perhaps it is also because I used old fashion rolled oats. I am guess that she used instant oats. I felt that old fashion oats give it a more wholesome taste and adds lots of flavor too. I doubled baked my cookies because I made a mistake of keeping them before they totally cooled down. That resulted in soft cookies, abit like hard muffins. After shoving the whole lot into the oven for another 10 min at 150 degrees celsius the next day, they turned out perfect. Thank god ^___^

Dark Chocolate, Cherry & Oatmeal Cookies (Adapted from Bake or Break)

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup dried cherries
6oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 175°c

2. Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth.

3. A dd eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture just until combined. Do not overmix.

5. Stir in oats, cherries, and chocolate.

6. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto lined or lightly greased baking sheets.

7. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until bottom edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.