Tuesday 30 April 2013

Sweet corn bun and doughnut


This was my third time making sweet corn bun. The first was long long time ago. I didn't remember who's recipe I used, but I remember the process. I used 200 gr corn kernels, the recipe stated to crush half of it and knead it with other ingredients to make the dough. Then combined the other half after the first fermentation. But my already elastic dough became wet again after I added the corn kernels. I had little experience with bread making at that time, it made me confused. I found it difficult to be handled. Despite that difficulty, my bun was surprisingly soft and rose well. 

The second time was about 3 weeks ago. My husband and 3 of my children went to Jogja to visit my sister in law while I had to stay at home with my youngest daughter. I made the buns for welcoming them back home. That time I just used the crushed corn and skip the corn kernel. It was really good. But because I didn't strain the corn then we could feel the hull when we bite the bread. I thought I crushed it too smooth until it resemble sweet corn puree. The puree blended well with other ingredients leaving the hull around the bread.



So this time, I pushed the corn puree through a strainer. I only used the juice and discard the hull. Now, the bread was clean from the hull and just feel like any other bread. It was soft and sweet. The taste of the corn was so light, almost undetectable. You can't probably even notice that there is corn inside it. But surely you will get all the goodness of corn in every bite.

Actually I had some spare corn kernels for the fillings. I wanted to sprinkle the kernels at the shaping stage (after we divide the dough into smaller portions). But my children ate them all. so I just grabbed cheddar cheese instead. Because my children really love doughnut, I used half of the dough to make doughnut. Just like the bread, the doughnut was also really good.

Then, it all depends on you. If you like the corn bites sensation, just crush the corn lightly and also sprinkle some corn kernels as the filling but if you prefers a clean one like the ordinary bread, strain the puree and skip the corn kernels addition.



Ingredients

1 tbs instant yeast
100 ml water
200 gr corn kernels, steamed
500 gr bread flour
3 tbs milk powder
100 gr sugar
2 egg yolks
3 tbs oil or 50 gr butter/margarine
1/2 tsp salt
50 gr extra bread flour, use as needed
50 ml extra water, use as needed
grated cheddar cheese for filling and sprinkling
1 egg yolk for the egg wash


Method

  • Dissolve yeast in 50 ml warm water. Set aside.
  • Blend  corn with another 50 ml water. Strain and discard the hull.
  • Combine corn, flour, milk powder, sugar, and yolks with a wooden spoon.
  • When the yeast is already frothy, pour it into the mixture and knead until all are well blended. We can use the mixer with dough hook or just our hand.
  • Add oil or margarine/butter if you like and salt and knead again until the dough is elastic. Drop extra flour and or water little by little if the dough seems to wet or dry.
  • Round the dough into a big ball and put in the greased big bowl. Cover with cling wrap or damp tea towel and let rise until double in size for about 60 minutes.
  • Punch the dough. Knead again briefly.
  • cut the dough into 35 gr each, roll it into a ball and place it in a greased 22x22 cm baking tin.  It yield 16 buns. Set aside the rest of the dough for doughnut.
  • Flatten the dough, fill with the filling and roll it again.
  • Cover and let rise again for another 60 minutes or so.
  • Take the rest of the dough. Roll it out with a rolling pin. Cut using mini doughnut cutter. Place the doughnut on a greased baking tray. Cover .
  • Heat oil on the frying pan. Fry doughnut on a low heat until golden brown.
  • Back to the bread. Heat the oven. Brush the bread with egg yolk and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese. Bake until golden brown.
  • Enjoy!


Got a thumb up, yeay...

I am submitting this post to little thumbs up event this month with corn theme, organised by Zoe of bake for happy kids, Mui mui of my little favourites DIY Esther of copy cake kitchen. Wanna read other participants' post? please see this post.

Purple Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Steamed Cake

I missed many baking/cooking events during my absence. One of them is masak bareng yuuk with ubi theme. I made this purple sweet potato cake with pumpkin layer on its top for that event but I didn't have time to post it. I am so sorry Masbar. Though that this cake was not a perfect succesful cake, I like the picture, so I kept post it, okey... 

As I said before, this cake had purple sweet potato on the bottom layer and pumpkin on the top one. The recipe stated that both ingredients have to be blended with 50 ml milk each. That made them, especially the pumpkin, watery. Then when they were incorporated in the cake batter, the batter became thin. I already hesitate when I saw it but the show must go on, right? So, I kept continue the process and ... this was it, a not really beautiful cake, dense though still tasted good. The second problem was my baking tin was too small. Only half of the pumpkin batter could fit in. That's why, the pumpkin layer was thinner than the purple sweet potato one. 

Perhaps then, I think that we have to see the quality of our sweet potato and pumpkin before adding the milk. We can just try to use a fork instead of a blender. If we get a perfect smooth mash, we can reduce or even omit the milk.


Ingredients: 

3 large eggs
150 gr caster sugar (I used only 100 gr)
pinch of salt
100 gr plain flour (I used rice flour)
1 tbs oil (or melted butter if you like)
200 gr mashed purple sweet potato
200 gr mashed pumpkin
100 ml milk



Direction:

Blend mashed sweet potato with 50 ml milk. Pour on a big bowl.
Blend mashed pumpkin with another 50 ml milk.Pour to another big bowl.
Prepare the steamer. Grease and line a baking tin with baking paper and grease again.
Beat eggs and sugar until thick and pale. Off the mixer.
Add in the flour while sifting in 3 batches. Using a spatula, mix carefully until well blended.
Fold in the oil slowly until well blended
Divide the batter into 2, half to a bowl of sweet potato and half to the bowl of pumpkin. Fold slowly until well blended. 
Pour the sweet potato batter into the pan. Steam for 20 minutes. 
Remove the tin from steamer and pour the mashed pumpkin batter on top of it and steam again 35 minutes.
Enjoy!




Source: Tabloid Saji

Monday 29 April 2013

Nasi Tumpeng

Hi... Hello... 

It's nice to be back again to this blog, after more than 2 months absence... Why? What happened? How are you? Where were you? Maybe you will ask me those questions... He he, I am really just fine, everything is okay and I am still here, in Semarang Indonesia, though not in my house...yup, last February I moved from my little home sweet home to a rent house. That's why I am so sorry I couldn't visit and update this blog. I was really busy cleaning, sorting, packing and rearranging all stuffs...so many things, I can't believe I have and keep all those things, big and small even tiny things in my house.

I remember we built that house when we were just a newlywed, only the two of us, me and my husband. A small house with only 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom seemed really fit us. But, now, ten years later, our 4 little angels are already here with us, and they all grow up soooo quick ... we feel like we are all squashed ... We need more rooms, a wider space to stretch and run around ... So, we think it is the time to renovate our home...



It is not easy to leave the house, really. So many memories there, mostly happy of course. But the thought of having a more proper home reduced the sadness a bit. 

Before we started the renovation, we had a selametan with some of the builders. Again, I served nasi tumpeng and ayam ingkung. I chose nasi tumpeng kuning as my children love nasi kuning (yellow rice). That nasi tumpeng was designed for about 12 - 15 people with fried chicken, fried noodle, kering tempe, sambal goreng kentang dan ati ayam, perkedel kentang and telur rawis.  They were all served in a big bamboo platter. The ayam ingkung was served separately, in another smaller bamboo platter. Everybody liked them so much. They were so yummy. Unfortunately, just like my previous nasi tumpeng, they were all not made by me. I asked my friend to help me because I didn't have the time of course. 

At that time we prayed together, hope Allah SWT always bless us and the renovation process will run smoothly without any difficulties. Amien...