BREAD, BUTTAH & JAM
JAPANESE MILK BREAD
INGREDIENTS
For the tangzhong
- 2 tbsp bread flour (approx 25g)
- 6 tbsp water
For rest of loaf
- 300 g bread flour approx 2 cups plus 2 tbsp
- 2 tsp fast acting yeast (technically a little under but can use 1 sachet, ¼oz/ 7g)
- 120 ml milk ½ cup (lukewarm or room temp, but not hot)
- 30 g unsalted butter 2tbsp, melted but not hot
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sugar (caster sugar/fine), approx 42g
- 1 egg
To glaze
- 1 egg (lightly beaten - won't need all)
DIRECTIONS
For tangzhong - made slightly ahead
- Put water and flour for tangzhong in a small pan. Mix until smooth and no lumps remain - do this before turning on the heat.
- Warm the flour paste gently over a medium-low heat until it thickens, stirring constantly. You should see trails left by the spoon/whisk as you stir it. Set the pan aside to cool.
To make bread
- Measure out the remaining ingredients into a large bowl (flour, yeast, milk, melted butter, sugar, salt and egg). Add the cooled tangzhong - I gently beat the egg into the tangzhong first to both save the tangzhong being too thick and help egg to mix better but you don't need to, just make sure you mix it well. Mix all the ingredients together then knead, either in mixer or by hand on a floured surface. Add a little more flour if needed.
- Once the dough is no longer sticky, transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a relatively warm place until doubled - around 1 hour.
- Once it has risen, knock back the dough, divide into three pieces. Set the other pieces to one side and roll one piece into an oval.
- Fold one side of dough over to halfway across the remaining dough then fold the other side on top so you have three layers (see photos above). Gently roll slightly, if needed, then roll up the piece of dough as you would a cinnamon roll.
- Repeat with the other pieces of dough then put all three rolls of dough in an oiled loaf pan - 9x5in (22x12cm) or slightly smaller.
- Cover and leave to rise again until the loaf is just reaching the top of the pan. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Lightly beat the egg and brush the top of the loaf with egg wash.
- Bake the loaf for approx 30 minutes until golden brown. If it browns too fast, tent with foil for the last part of cooking. Turn onto a cooling rack to cool before slicing.
CARROT CAKE JAM
INGREDIENTS
1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple, undrained
1-1/2 cups shredded carrots
1-1/2 cups chopped peeled ripe pears
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 package (1-3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
4 cups sugar
DIRECTIONS
Place first 7 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until pears are tender, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat; skim off foam. *OPTIONAL: You can pulse or process in a blender or immersion blender if you want a smoother jam. Ladle hot mixture into 8 hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until tight.
3. Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.
HOMEMADE BUTTER
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup heavy cream 38% fat content
- cold water
DIRECTIONS
Mixer Instructions
- Pour cream into the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, or use a mixing bowl and hand mixer. Begin beating the cream on a low speed, and gradually increase the speed as the mixture thickens.
- After several minutes, whipped cream will form. Continue mixing. The whipped cream will start to yellow. After several minutes more the fat solids will separate from the liquids and you'll see clumps of butter fat quickly form, leaving the sloshing liquid buttermilk in the bottom of the bowl.
Mason Jar Instructions
- Pour heavy cream into the mason jar, filling it half-way full. Do not overfill past the half-way mark. Screw the lid on tightly so there are no leaks.
- Shake mason jar for approximately 5-7 minutes. After a few minutes, whipped cream will form. Keep shaking until you hear that a lump has formed inside, and shake an additional 30-60 seconds after that. You should clearly see that the fat solids have separated from the liquids. The amount of time it takes will depend on how vigorously you are able to shake the jar.
Rinsing, Flavoring, and Storing
- Strain the fat solids from the buttermilk using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. You can reserve the buttermilk and save it for later use in recipes.
- Pour cold water over the butter. Discard water and repeat rinsing 2 times more. Shape into a ball or any other shape (you can purchase butter molds for interesting designs).
- At this point you have butter. You can add in things like salt, honey, and herbs to create flavored butters, or serve in its pure form as is.
* Tastic Spice is available HERE
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