Goodbye, Fatty…..

My hamster Fatty passed away a couple of weeks back. The picture above was taken when he was snoozing at his favourite spot, the exercise wheel. Fatty was given to me by Elvis as a belated birthday present. He came to our home on 1st Jan 2008. He was a very gentle hamster, and won’t venture out of his cage even when we accidentally left it open the whole day. He wasn’t called Fatty for nothing. His size and good appetite eventually earned him the name. He was definitely my mom’s favourite hamster, who will feed him several times a day with little snacks. We will always remember how he would run to the side of his cage to greet us whenever we are close by. How he will innocently dig sand and act busy when he too full to take another bite. How he will run miles on his exercise wheel and create a ruckus in the middle of the night. He is always game for any snack we give him and usually have second or third helpings. He is probably one of the fattest hamster I ever had. Despite his short life here in our home, I am sure he was happy. The other two remaining hamsters were a little moody the couple of days after he passed away. They knew…. 

The cookie recipe I have today is another winner from Smitten Kitchen. I bookmarked it a thousand years ago and wanted to try it after numerous rave reviews. I used my best Valrhona white chocolate discs. The weather was so hot when I was making this that my creaming of sugars resulted in a runny batter. My butter has melted!! I quickly froze it in the fridge for 15 minutes before continuing. My cookie spread quite a bit and turned out a little flat. Still, they were delicious. Though I would probably lessen the butter to 12 tablespoon next time for a firmer dough. Fatty would have loved it. You are sadly missed, Fatty.

Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped (not “white chocolate” chips; they’re almost always artificial. I am adamant about this.)

1/2 teapoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.

 

2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

 

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about ¾-inch thickness.

 

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie

 

5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

 

Sunday = Bread Day

Nowadays, I usually make bread on sunday, so that I get to have a light snack during lunch on monday. Also, homemade bread are usually best eaten on the day itself or within 2 – 3 days. Therefore, making it on friday night or saturday isn’t exactly the most ideal situation.

Today’s bread is slightly healthier, with the addition of quick cooking oats. Let’s hush about that dollop of butter I added  I made them into these big pull apart buns so that it is much easier to eat. Love the addition of cranberries which sweetened the whole deal. This recipe is super simple and uses minimal time. Do try it. I am sure you will love it as much as I do.

Oatmeal Cranberry Bread

(Adapted from 100 bread recipes by Teacher Meng)

 

For the oatmeal paste

15g instant oats

¼ cup milk

1 tsp bread flour

 

For the dough

220g bread flour

20g sugar

¼ tsp salt

¾ tsp instant yeast

130ml milk

50g dried cranberries  

20g butter, softened

 

1 lightly beaten egg (for eggwash)

1 tbsp instant oats (for topping)

 

1.     Add all the ingredients for the paste into a saucepan. Over a low flame, whisk the mixture continuously until it forms a paste. Leave the oatmeal paste aside to cool.

 

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

 

3.     Next, add flour, salt 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.

 

4.     The dough is ready when it is smooth and elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, covering with cling wrap. Let it proof for 80 minutes or until it doubles in size.

 

5.     Knead the dough lightly and roll it into a ball and let it rest for 15 minutes. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 20 by 18 cm rectangle. Sprinkle the cranberries evenly and press them lightly into the dough. Roll the dough up, jelly roll fashion. Make sure it is snug, so that it will not loosen after the second proof. Slice the dough into 3 even pieces and place them into a 9×5inch loaf pan. Let it proof for another 60 minutes.   

 

6.     Lightly brush the surface of the dough with eggwash. Sprinkle the oatmeal over the top. Bake in a preheated oven for 190C (375F) for 35 minutes. Check after 20 minutes, if the bread is too brown, tent it with aluminum foil. Makes 1 loaf.

Honey Oatmeal Sandwich Loaf

After slogging over the cheesecake on friday, I decided to take it easy and do up a simple loaf of bread. I found this recipe on King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking and tweaked it abit. After leaving it to proof, I realised that I forgot to add milk powder. Argh. Still, it turned out pretty yummy. The bread is dense, and the honey lent a fragrant sweetness to it. The oats softened after being soaked in the boiling water and breaks up after kneading. Thus, the oats will not be visible in the bread. It would be good to have it toasted and eaten with some Nutella or peanut butter. However, I just used it to mop up some of my mom’s curry chicken and they were just as wonderful.

Honey Oatmeal Sandwich Loaf
(Loosely adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking)

1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cup wholemeal flour
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (I forgot to add)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
handful of roasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

1. Place the boiling water, oats, butter, salt and honey into a medium bowl, stir, and let the mixture cool to lukewarm.

2. Mix the remaining dough ingredients with the oat mixture, and knead -by hand, mixer or bread machine – until you’ve made a soft, smooth dough. Place the dough in a lighly greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise for 1 hour; the dough should be doubled in bulk.

3. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough – it’ll be sticky, so oil your hands – and shape it into a 9 inch log. Place it in the prepared pan, Cover it gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover. Allow it to rise till it’s crowned 1 1/2 inches over the rim of the pan, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Near the end of the bread’s rising time, preheat the over to 175 degrees C.

4. Uncover and sprinkle a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds on the surface of the bread. Bake for about 45 minutes, tenting it with foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. The bread is done when it’s golden brown and gives a hollow sound when tapped.

5. Remove from oven and after a minute or so, turn it out onto a rack. Cool the bread completely before cutting it.