Hokkaido Milk Loaf

Ever since I bought a pack of non-diary whipped cream, I'm trying to use it fast before it past its expiry date. But what other ways to use it besides for frosting? Since I failed my sponge cake sometimes ago, I couldn't think of other ways to use it... :(

The famous "Hokkaido Milk Loaf" is one of my favourite bread. The texture of this bread is really soft.... However, I do not quite like the strong milky taste.

Now, with my experiment, I am pleased that from now on I can use this cream (non-diary cream) to make the famous Hokkaido milk loaf (minus the strong milky taste).

Although this loaf is not appealling in look, you'll be surprised that it's equally soft and cottony, and the best thing is it's very tasty! Much better than the original version, in my opinion. Be very careful when you slice the bread, it's soft as cotton!

Original recipe is from Angie's Recipes. I scaled down to half and scale up 1.5 times. This time I used a loaf pan (that's why scale up 1.5 times, otherwise half recipe is too small for loaf pan). It was a breeze to remove the loaf. For your info, this dough is rather sticky initially. You've to knead for 30 mins (I gave another 2 mins) to achieve the smoothness and elasticity finally.

Next round, I'll adjust the quantity to achieve a better appearance.

Verdict: Very nice, soft, and tasty too!

Seems like this cream is not very healthy too..... contain hydrogenation...... just like our favourite "Skippy Peanut Butter" spread! Sigh! :(

Char Siew Buns

Finally, I'd made my first savoury "char siew buns" with homemade char siew yesterday. Char siew, be it bun or bao, is my husband's favourite. My kids love it too, but not me!

I use a "sweet buns" recipe from Happy Home Baker, char siew fillings from Aunty Yochana, and char siew from Lily Wai Sek Hong.

This sweet buns recipe is a keeper! The texture of the bread was very soft. However, my husband commented that the fillings were too sweet and he preferred the char siew to be in bigger chunks...!! He also noted that the buns aged and not as soft as it was baked yesterday........ :( What a fussy eater!!

Nonetheless, my kids love it :)

Cream Cheese Loaf

A number of bloggers out there gave thumb-up for this bread. Better than the "Hokkaido Milk Loaf!? Wow! so die die must try :) I also find the "Hokkaido Milk Loaf" has a VERY strong milk taste not to my liking! Anyway, I'd also experiment using non-diary whipping cream to achieve the same softness as the famous "Hokkaido Milk Loaf " minus the strong milky smell. :))

Back to this topic "Cream Cheese Loaf". Recipe was taken from Pure Enjoyment. Indeed, the texture of the bread is extremely soft and cottony! I had to be very gentle when I sliced the loaf. After slicing, I get my two little testers to try with their favourite spread, peanut butter, as their night snack! (Very lucky hor! got freshly made bread everyday!) They like the softness of the bread!


I baked it into a loaf pan which I haven't used for quite sometime. Should have just flattened and rolled into one long strip instead of dividing them into two (keep thinking I'm using a pullman's tin!) So you see, my loaf ended with one big or one small! :((

Despite the look, this bread is definitely a keeper! :)

Char Siew (Barbecue Pork)

Made a batch of "Char Siew" today using a recipe from Lily's Wai Sek Hong. Truely amazing blog! You name it she has it :)

Actually I'm thinking of making them as my bread buns' fillings tomorrow. So, I double the recipe using 500g pork (五花肉) and marinade it overnight. As usual, this recipe never fail me. Sedap!

Almost a perfect square!

I've not achieved a perfect loaf for quite some times :( My last successful attempt was in November last year! Today's loaf was almost a perfect loaf if not for the side... I did a bad job in unmolding the loaf and in the process deformed the side..... :(

This is a coffee nut bread recipe taken from <曾美子教你第一次做面包>. Since I did not have any walnuts on hand, I just omitted it. Although coffee powder was added, it didn't have an intense coffee flavour. Guess my coffee powder wasn't good enough.. :(

Since this book is more for novice baker, the basic fermentation she explained is quite tedious! I just used my normal method of kneading and proofing. However, I noticed that she used some warm water to speed up or maintain the temperature. I find it very useful and it does help my 2nd proofing tremendously. This is how I do: Place your shaped dough in a warm/enclosed place with a bowl of warm water. Check your dough every 15-30 mins to see whether any rising and change the warm water once it turns cold.





When I sliced the bread, I noticed that the bread was real soft and cottony! May be that's why the side was difficult to unmold?!

Recipe as follows:
Ingredients A:
Bread flour 300g
Castor sugar 45g
Yeast 3.6g (I use 4g)
Water 150cc (I use fresh milk)
Egg 45g (I use 1 whole egg)
Ingredients B:
Salt 4.5g
Instant coffee powder 9g
milk powder 9g
Ingredient C:
Unsalted butter 45g
Ingredient D:
Walnuts 90g ( I omitted this)
Method: (I use my own method)
1. Combine ingredients A &B into a mixer to form a dough. Add ingredient C till smooth and elastic.
2. Remove dough. Shape into round and leave it in a big bowl cover with a piece of damp cloth/clingwrap. Leave to proof in a warm place for 50 to 60 mins till double in size. (Temperature: 28 deg C to 30 deg C)
3. Once double in size, punch out the air. Divide into 2 portions. Shape into balls. Rest the dough for 15 mins before shaping.
4. Flatten each piece and roll up tightly into a swiss roll style. Place the rolls into a greased tin. Cover with clingwrap/damp cloth and let it proof for 60 mins in a warm place till it reach 90% of the tin (temperature: 36 deg C to 38 deg C, humidity: 85%) {Mine took 1 hour 15 mins}
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 deg C for 30-35 mins.
6. Remove the bread from the tin. Cool well on a wire rack before slicing.

My Tangzhong (汤种)面包 - Spring Onion Buns

I made it! My most successful 汤种面包 (water-roux method) so far ! :)

Using the water-roux starter which I prepared yesterday, I made a batch of these buns. Looking at the smooth and satin second rising (shaped dough), my heart leaped with joy! I knew that my buns would be perfect today! Finally all that trying and guessing....

Here are the close-up of the bread texture:

So soft and fluffy....

I think my last few attempts failed (2nd rising) lies in the temperature.... must be 38 deg C. And I also think must follow the author's procedure/method to the T, then you can achieve this soft and fluffy stage, including when to add ingredients (dry & wet) and butter.

The following was the first batch of 汤种面包 which I made yesterday (using Florence's recipe: bread loaf). I'd included some pandan paste into my loaf. But unfortunately it didn't rise to the brim :( but the bread texture is the same... soft and fluffy... My husband said GOOD! (Wow! he rarely used the word "good" to my bakes... only "not bad"!)

My tiny loaf (think dough surface a bit dry that's why the cracked!?)

BTW, this bread remained soft and fluffy even today:) My sons simply loved it :)


Recipe source: <香葱面包 > “65度C 汤种面包” by Yvonne C.

My experiment: “65度C 汤种面包”Tangzhong Mian Bao

Last week, I went to a local library to return my books. I was lucky to borrow quite a few interesting cooking books and this is one of them, “65度C 汤种面包"by Yvonne C.

My family takes bread almost everyday. And I'm constantly in search of breads that stay soft and fluffy for at least 2 days. Coincidently, when I bloghopped to Florence's blog a few days back, I discovered that she was baking this “65度C 汤种面包" with great success.:) She also gave a detail explanation with pictures on how to prepare this 65度C 汤种. Armed with this valuable informations, I tried my experiments yesterday and today.

Pic A: 1 of 3 - This loaf was made on 12-3-2008.

Pic A: 2 of 3 - Close-up

Pic A: 3 of 3 - Texture of the bread

From the above pictures, you can tell my experiments were not very successful. My shaped doughs didn't rise properly as a result my breads are "tiny". Strange and puzzle: why it didn't rise even in the hot oven? One suspect: humidity. With the past few days raining non-stop, the humidity level is different? Don't know whether other bloggers out there encounter such problem? Or was it my 汤种 giving me problem?

Thinking that the kneading was not enough, I made another loaf today (using another recipe). Same problem: dough raised very well initially, thereafter, rising was slow or stagnant?? and it practically didn't rise in the oven!?

Overall, this 汤种 really made a difference to our normal bake. One bite and you know the difference :) My husband who is very particular about food texture, nod his head and said "Nice"! Will try again once the weather is good.