Chocolate Babka

World Bread Day 2016 (October 16)It's that time of the year again where baking and blogging for breads is compulsory for the World Bread Day. I don't mind it at all. In fact, I look forward to it come October knowing that I will add something in my list of breads that I've tried. As always every year this is hosted by the very generous Zorra of Kochtopf.

I have decided to bake something with chocolate to hit two birds with one stone. For it is also Chocolate Week here in UK. This recipe I adapted from a special insert in the current September issue of Waitrose's magazine. It is very good except that the filling was quite runny. So the instructions said to cut it in half lengthwise and then twist them together, I knew that it will be a messy affair if I did that. Hence, I just twisted them intact. I expected that it won't be too good looking when finally baked but I was rewarded with a nice swirl inside that was revealed when cut. And the taste of the bread itself was excellent. This is a definite keeper of a recipe. I just have to tweak that filling so it won't ooze out too much.


Chocolate Babka


Chocolate Babka

*Dough:
7 g  sachet easy bake yeast
250 g  strong white bread flour
3 Tbsp  dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp  fine salt
1/4 cup  whole milk
1 large egg - beaten
75 g  unsalted butter - softened

*Filling:
1/4 cup  whole milk
75 g  milk chocolate - finely chopped
50 g  dark chocolate - finely chopped
1 Tbsp  cocoa
3 Tbsp  caster sugar
1/2 tsp  vanilla extract
1/2 tsp  ground cinnamon

*Glaze:
3 Tbsp  dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp  water

*For the dough:
**Manual method:
  1. Gently warm the milk in a pan until it is just lukewarm, remove from heat. Stir in the yeast and set aside for about 5-10 minutes. By then, then yeast should be foaming (it is activated). If not, discard it and start again from the beginning with fresh milk and yeast.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the milk-yeast mixture, egg, and butter.
  3. Knead mixture in an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment for 6-8 minutes or mix and knead by hand for 10 minutes until smooth.
  4. Cover with cling film, put in a warm place and leave to double in size (about 2 hours).

**Bread machine method:
  1. Put all ingredients according to the manufacturer's instructions (usually with the yeast first) and put on the dough program. This will include its first rising.

*For the filling:
  1. While dough is doing its first rise, heat the milk until steaming. Remove from heat and then add the chopped chocolates.
  2. Stir until chocolates has completely melted.
  3. Add in all the other ingredients. Stir to mix completely. Set aside to cool completely.

**Assembly:
  1. Punch down dough and lay out on a floured surface. Roll out to a rectangular size about 12 x 18 inches (30 x 45 cm).
  2. Spread the chocolate filling all over the dough. Roll up tightly like a log starting from the short end. Pinch the edges to seal it.
  3. Trim the ends of the roll. Cut in half lengthwise with a floured knife.
  4. Tightly twist the two strips over each other with the filling facing outwards.
  5. Transfer to the prepared tin. Cover with cling film or tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place to double size (about 1 hour).

**For the glaze:
  1. While the dough is doing its second rise, place the sugar and water in a saucepan and boil for about 2 minutes until syrupy. Set aside.

**Baking:
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through.
  2. Brush half the syrup over the babka and leave for 15 minutes.
  3. Brush again with the rest of the syrup then cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate Babka

Banana Apple Bread

Banana Apple Bread
I've always wanted to combine the two most favourite fruits our family like to include in baking - apples and bananas. The experimentations over the years were not very successful at all. Most of the recipes were from the internet and they range from the really soggy ones (too much bananas) to the dry ones (not enough moisture) and the too sweet ones.

This one fits the bill, although I have to adapt and reduce or increase some of the ingredients, but generally it's quite good and not overly sweet which I guess is why it's called a 'bread'. That's one of my dilemna, do I call it a bread or a cake? For me, it can be classified as a cake but then it's not very sweet so a bread then? Whatever it is, teatime or coffee time would be better with this addition.

Thanks to Kelly in Just A Taste for the great recipe I adapted.


Banana Apple Bread

260 g  [2 cups] plain flour plus 1 Tbsp extra
1 tsp  bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/2 tsp  fine salt
1 tsp  ground cinnamon
95 g  [6 Tbsp] unsalted butter - melted
150 g  [3/4 cup] granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp  vanilla extract
1/4 cup  buttermilk
1 cup  mashed overripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
1 large baking apple - diced small (about 1 1/4 cups)
2-3 Tbsp  demerara sugar or granulated sugar for sprinkling
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking parchment.
  2. Combine flour, cinammon, salt, and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.
  3. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp flour on the diced apples and toss to coat. Set aside.
  4. In another bowl, mix sugar with melted butter.
  5. Add eggs one at a time and beat each time.
  6. Add bananas and vanilla, stir to mix.
  7. Fold dry mixture to the wet mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
  8. Then fold in the apple.
  9. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
  10. [Optional] Sprinkle top generously with demerara sugar.
  11. Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer pierced in the middle comes out clean.

Sour Cream and Vanilla Bread

Sour Cream and Vanilla Bread

This is more like a cake than a bread to be honest. But it's very very nice especially when straight out of the oven and slathered with butter. This is adapted from the Betty Crocker website and is obviously for a bread machine. You will have convert when doing it manually such as activating the yeast first, then putting them all together in a bowl. Then proving twice and finally baking. Right now I don't have the time nor the energy to do it that way. So to the bread machine I will stick!


Sour Cream and Vanilla Bread

1 sachet [2 tsp] fast action dry yeast
3 cups  bread or strong flour
3 Tbsp  sugar
1 1/2 tsp  fine salt
1 Tbsp  vanilla extract
1 egg  - slightly beaten
1/3 cup  sour cream
1 Tbsp  butter - softened
1/2 cup  water
  1. Put all ingredients in a bread machine in the order given (or according to your bread machine's instructions).
  2. Select White/Basic bread cycle. Do not use delay timings. After baking, remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

World Bread Day 2015: Barm Brack

World Bread Day 2015 (October 16)It's that time of the year again for the World Bread Day to celebrate anything to do with breads in the food blogging world. Zorra of Kochtopf as usual is ably hosting this fine blogging event.

I always loved fruited breads like tea breads/cakes, fruit loafs, etc. Toast them lightly then slather with butter and scoff down with some Earl Grey tea - yum! So what better way to try making a fruited bread than baking the Irish Barm Brack. The timing is quite right, too. For it is also traditionally served during Halloween.

I first had Barm Brack when an Irish family friend gifted us with one. It was the dark variety but packed chock-a-block full of fruits. Oh wow, it was a great introduction to this wonderful tea-time bread.

Barm Brack
Sue Lawrence's Book of Baking provided me with a workable recipe with the help of my trusted Panasonic bread machine.


Barm Brack

Barm Brack

500 g  strong white flour (or bread flour)
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground mixed spice
7 g  sachet of easy-blend dried yeast
1 tsp fine sea salt
50 g  [scant 1/4 cup] unsalted butter
50 g nbsp;[1/4 cup] caster sugar
150 g  [1 cup] currants
50 g  [1/3 cup] dried mixed peel
50 g  [1/3 cup] sultanas
300 ml  [1 1/4 cups] tepid milk

*Glaze:
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water

  1. Hand Method:
    • Combine the flour, yeast, spices, and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter.
    • Stir in the sugar and dried fruits; then the milk.
    • Once combined, turn out on a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth.
    • Place in an oiled bowl, invert dough so that the top is oiled. Cover with cling film and let rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours.
  2. Bread Machine Method:
    • Put all ingredients according to the bread machine instruction and set to dough setting.
  3. Butter a 20 cm/8 inch baking pan. Punch down dough and shape into a round to fit into the prepared pan. Cover with greased cling film and let rise in a warm place for another hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Bake the bread for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F. Bake for a further 30-35 minutes. Cover loosely with foil in the last 15 minutes. It is cooked when it sounds hollow when tapped at the bottom.
  5. While it is baking, make the glaze - boil the water in a small saucepan; add the sugar and cook on low heat until dissolved. Brush the syrup glaze on top of the bread and return to the oven for 2 minutes.
  6. Remove from baking pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Baked Doughnuts

Sometimes when we like to have doughnuts but don't want the accompanying grease, we take out this recipe to make some baked doughnuts. Yes it is possible. Although in this instance a special doughnut pan has to be employed to create that round sweet bread with a hole in the middle. I got this pan from Lakeland ages ago that sometimes I forget that it exists in my pantry. Its accompanying recipe almost got lost before so I thought I better document this recipe before I lose the only hard copy we have.

Baked Doughnuts

Baked Doughnuts

225 g  plain flour
175 g  caster sugar
10 ml [2 tsp]  baking powder
5 ml [1 tsp]  fine salt
175 ml [scant 3/4 cup]  whole milk
2 eggs - beaten
15 ml [1 Tbsp]  melted butter or olive oil or cooking oil
5 ml [1 tsp]  vanilla extract
extra icing or caster sugar for dusting
  1. Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan/325°F. Lightly brush the doughnut cups in the pan with cooking oil making sure that the centre stem is well covered by the oil.
  2. Sift the flour, caster sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
  3. In another bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla together.
  4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mixing thoroughly.
  5. Fill each doughnut cups around 3/4 cups full with the batter.
  6. Bake for about 8 minutes or until firm and springy to the touch.
  7. Remove from pan and cool slightly. Dust with sifted icing sugar or caster sugar.

Baked Doughnuts

Baked Doughnuts