Banana Bread - My Go-to Recipe now

Photo credit to my friend CP

If you've been following my blog, you may know I've been silent for a while. There was a particular day when I couldn't hold back my enthusiasm and did reveal I had something up my sleeve. Well, I really can't wait to tell you more. My new business idea has kept me very busy the past 2 months. I feel like starting an Extra Virgin Entrepreneur page as I have so much to share!

Anyway, so many of you asked about my banana bread post on my facebook page and I'm so sorry I took so long to get back to you but here it is finally! I have tested this simple recipe numerous times now and it is definitely my go-to recipe for moist, fluffy banana bread. My sister who is fussy about how she likes her banana bread, said, Finally, you got it right!

Recipe
Adapted from my new friend CP

Ingredients
220g all-purpose flour
110g castor sugar (original 150g)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
115g, unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 overripe large bananas, mashed (original 3 bananas. The more overripe, the sweeter - which is why I could cut down the sugar)
1 vanilla pod (or you can use 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
1 cup of Nuts, assorted and toasted (almond flakes, pine, whatever you fancy, even raisins and cranberry and chocolate chips!)

Garnish: a few slices of banana on top of batter

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160C (you have to test your own oven performance. If you find the top browning or burning too quickly while the rest is still uncooked, reduce the temperature)
2. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9x3 inch loaf pan. (Mine didn't exactly measure up but it's fine. I've since tried different shapes and sizes for variety and it's been fun!)
3. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Set aside.

4. In a medium size bowl, combine the wet ingredients - mashed bananas, lightly beaten eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula, lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. Don't overmix or you will lose the fluffiness. 

5. Scrape the batter into prepared pan and place slices of banana on top for garnish (optional). 

6. Bake till golden brown and a stick inserted into the bread comes out clean, about 60 minutes. 

7. Place on a wire rack to cool, then remove bread from the pan. 

8. It's lovely served warm. If you intend to serve it on another day, let it cool completely then double cling-wrap tightly to preserve moisture. 

Very simple - so please do try it. Your family members will certainly benefit from your effort! Have fun monkeying around.

See my very first attempt at banana bread some 2 years back.

Celery Bread - More Fibre can only be good for you

My first attempt at celery bread recipe by Alex Goh Magic Bread. I like the idea of having vegetables in your bread. A big plus is this is the only way to get my kids to eat the green, fibrous celery. Just blend till fine and add to the dough before the first proof. Yes, they ate 200g of celery and asked for more.

Instead of ham, I added the herbed pancetta that I bought from Tuscany. It gave off a smoky aroma and herby taste to the bread.

It's the bread for you if you like a soft inside.

I did not follow the original method on moulding. Instead, I just shaped the dough into whatever pans I have at home and really pretty much just to my own fancy and whims.

Here, I cling-wrapped each loaf after completely cooling off to maintain freshness.

Check out my other bread attempts
Ciabatta
Focaccia

Private Dining - Behind-the-Scene

Here are some behind-the-scene photos I took from the recent private dining event.

Lamb bones just out of the oven...

And into a pot of sweated mirepoix, with chicken stock and beef stock made from the previous day.

One slab of pork belly stringed and cut into half before going into the pot above.

Heating sugar to make syrup and pralines.

Almond pralines. One of the rare occasions I'm prepared to put that much sugar into my mouth.

Yiyi also prepared home made ice cream. Here, he taught me how to know when heating cream and milk in a pot is ready. With your finger, draw a line across the wooden spoon. When the cream mixture does not drip into the dividing line, that's when it's at 84 degrees Celsius and ready.

He invested in an Epicurean bread making board and swears by it.

A Southern France bread - Fougasse (which means Focus) with sundried tomatoes and kalamata olives.

The starter dough was prepared the night before, and the process which needs 3 proofs took almost all day.

Fougasse is distinguished by its slashed holes, traditionally cut in a ladder or tree shape.

And yes, unfortunately, our young friend got over-enthusiastic and sliced off some of himself on a mandolin. We can now certify him a real chef who has said his farewell to the good life of a doctor, lawyer or engineer.

Next up: Recipe of Slow Braised Pork Belly - because you asked for it!

Authentic, inspiring, home-cooked Israeli dinner for Sabbath

Today is Israel's Independence Day and an opportune time for me to share these pictures with you. Eli, my classmate from the culinary school, invited us over for an Israeli dinner and educated us on some of the Jewish Sabbath practices. See my last post on Eli when he gave us a basic introduction to Middle Eastern cuisine. The last time, I also shared Eli's chocolate cake recipe. I really do like that recipe - it's my go-to recipe for choc cakes now.

I arrived early to help Eli with some prep work and to take pictures before the dinner proper began so I wouldn't appear rude to the other guests as well. I have to be discreet about being a culinary paparazzi at the dinner table!

We were greeted by the aroma of these beautiful Callah bread, traditionally baked every Friday in time for Sabbath. Under Jewish practices, milk is not a permitted ingredient if you are baking Callah for Sabbath. It's unethical to serve lamb and milk at the same table, according to Eli's grandfather.

Look at Eli's overloaded fridge, the mark of a real home cook. This is only half of his fridge.

Beautifully roasted assorted peppers. Sweet on their own when caramelized and added so much colour to the table.

Aubergines roasted and burnt directly over open stove fire....

...resulting in this smoky, oaky, flavourful eggplant dip.

Humuus, a traditional Middle Eastern dip, with good quality EVOO, toasted pine nuts and torn parsley.

Of course, there's freshly baked pita bread at every Sabbath.

Eli and his baking stone lugged from Tel Aviv.

Green and brown olives from Damascus.

Cucumber yoghurt dip.

Beets, another powerful anti-oxidant.

Hyssop, or Za'ata, one of my past Word of the Week.

Pickled cucumber from Tel Aviv.

Ah, the Israeli sambal, I forget the actual name. So cute that he would use a Chinese bowl. So Eli.

Spread on pita dough before baking.

It was such a lovely evening getting to know and experience another cuisine, another culture, and to experience Sabbath over some good wine with new buddies from Israel, Morocco, France and Vladivostok.

Bamboo Charcoal Bread - My Black Beauty. Almost a success. Almost a disaster.

My Black Beauty baked on Black Friday

Ta-da! My virgin bamboo charcoal bread. What a coincidence that I made this on Black Friday. Yes, the universe conspires with your passion. I remember making guacamole on the last National Guacamole Day, completely by chance. 

I first wrote about bamboo charcoal here. I also ate bamboo charcoal crepe at the Culinary Institute of America in Singapore. After researching several sites on this interesting ingredient, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to give it a go on a basic soft butter loaf recipe. 

It has detox and many other health benefits.

I added 2 tsp of charcoal powder to my regular mix 

Have you seen grey flour before??

Stark black before proofing

Dark grey after 2nd proof

I decided to throw in some pecan and walnut for added colour and crunch.

Is this gorgeous or what? Do you think Rebecca Black will like this? Or maybe King Kong?

I'm going to cut them into cubes and steam them and see how gastronomically adventurous my guests are tonight. I am having my next Living Room talk tonight - which will also be my next post!

The Morning After
My black bread got nicknamed the Chewing Gum Bread 'cos it turned out to be rather chewy in the middle! In all the blogs I read on baking with Bamboo Charcoal powder, no one mentioned these  important observations which I have now made:

1. Recipes that say "bake till golden brown" is not applicable to black breads since you can't see any change in colour. Which means you have to be sure of the baking timing. In my case, my bread was actually not completely baked yet after 12 minutes but I had no way of knowing till I cut it. As it turns out, the inside was too chewy for a bread texture. So while the taste was good, the colour and texture felt odd.

2. The charcoal powder may stain your cloth or utensil, or at best, it's not easily washed off. So, do be careful when handling it.

3. You won't know when it's gone stale just by looking at it.

So, my overall verdict on this baking feat? Almost a success, almost a disaster.

My Kissing Dinner Rolls

These rolls got me more excited than I should be. I mean, it's really just a slab of dough come together. But the aroma, taste and texture were pretty awesome. 

I was not too hopeful that they would turn out to be anything good as I had trouble dealing with a really sticky dough. But when they proofed well and puffed up after just a few minutes in the oven, they got my undivided attention. 

The aroma was amazing and I couldn't stop sniffing at them. I wanted to make calls to every dinner guest to ask them to come over, like right now!

What really won my heart was when I saw these rolls kissing! Aren't they the cutest buns on heaven and earth. Such loving creatures. I must remember to make them on Valentine's!

And my favourite part in baking these - shredding them apart and seeing the soft texture especially when hot!

I got this recipe from ehow.com some time ago and have tested it a few times. It seems the original post has been removed. It's a good thing I copied them down. Here goes.

Caution: You need time and patience and you must not give up if it doesn't succeed at first try. Dough may be difficult to handle - way too sticky!

You will need:

Electric mixer (or be prepared to knead dough by hand)

Damp cloth

Large dry cloth

Baking tray

Baking paper

Ingredients (yields 12 rolls):

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup hot water

1 pack dry yeast (I used 11g instant yeast)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups plain white flour (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup organic rye flour which has higher protein and fibre, and lower carbo and saturated fats)

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup margarine (I used butter instead. Say no to trans fat!)

Method:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2. Add in remainder of the ingredients and mix well.

3. Once a ball forms, cover bowl with plastic wrap or damp towel and allow to rise. (Mine didn't form a  nice ball and I had to add another half cup of flour to make it drier. I let it rise till double in volume.)

4. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough. (I used my electric mixer and kneaded for a good 10-12 minutes.)

5. Line baking tray with parchment paper. Divide dough into 12 balls and flatten slightly on baking tray. Cover with cloth. Allow rolls to rise. (I took my dinner and came back to see they have doubled in size. Give them time to rise before you bake them.)

6. Preheat oven to 205 degrees Celsius.

7. Bake for 15-20 min or until light golden brown on top. Tap buns - they should sound hollow and not dense when ready. 

8. Remove from oven and after a few minutes of initial cooling time, wrap rolls in a large dry cloth. This will aid in keeping the crust soft. 

The Forgotten Bread

I heart bread.

I made this bread more than half a year ago but can't remember which recipe it was based on. Tsk tsk. Looks like a semi-hard crust with a fibery inside. I guess it could be the stiff British bread recipe from BBC but I can't be sure. It's definitely not a Tangzhong bread judging by the texture. Looks pretty decent and I remember the aroma but sigh, it's not repeatable.