Addicted To Kneading

For the longest time I remember I had a breadmaker in my wishlist. Then I got kneading. And kneading more. And I got stuck. For a while the mojo got lost somewhere. And then again I reignited the fire, and started wanting breadmaker again. And kneading just got me busy, yet again.

Some time last week I spoke to a very old friend who told me she preferred to knead instead of her breadmaker, and that got me thinking. All the while, I too got distracted and busy that I forgot that I wanted one. Maybe I could live without one after all. Maybe it was so therapeutic that it helped me to take me somewhere far far away that I could be myself. It does not matter that I have my house elves around me while I bake. Instead it works to their advantage that they get to 'help'.

They do a good job brushing, sprinkling, or even licking utensils clean. And during the time I knead, they get to play with the dough. They roll, shape, and stuff it into their toys. And by the time the buns are done, they throw it away and get ready to eat!

From my last baking's leftover dough, I decided to make more Hokaiddo milk loaf inspired cheese and cinnamon loaf. And then the balance tangzhong found me making cheese stuffed rosemary foccacia

The cinnamon loaf turned to be just as heavenly as my favourite cinnamon rolls, just a lighter version. And the cheese stuffed focaccia was just oh-la-la! Best eaten with pesto sauce or dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. All these made perfect tea time for my parents who arrived from a long journey.

The next day one of my house elves was found posing at the Harley Davidson boutique in KLCC. Thanks to my dad who always gets them posing in their best.

And also in the washroom, I was seeing double of the boys who were already a handful!

I will be sharing the recipe for the tangzhong focaccia, till then, stay tuned!

Oh My Bread! Hokkaido Milk Loaf!

I am totally on cloud nine. I successfully made Hokkaido Milk Loaf using the tangzhong method for the first ever time. Without screwing up. A round of applause for me, pardon the lack of humility but this is just the moment I want to savour, for being able to bake a soft and fluffy loaf!

The recipe yields two loafs of 20cmx10x9cm, so I kept half in the freezer for the next day. I decided to give one of the dough a special treatment with cheese and Japanese Mayo finish.

I rushed out to get the bread knife from Daiso just the night before!
 
This is how the cheese-filled ones lok in the inside. Notice the bread texture so fine, and super yummy.

You can read about the tangzhong method here. Just one extra step, get it cooled down and you are ready to use it. It helps to make in larger batches and store in the fridge for days for subsequent use. The method I used to make the tangzhong is from Christine's Recipes. And here is the Hokkaido Milk Loaf recipe from the same blog.

I found the dough to be a little dry and hard, added some extra butter and milk to make it smoother. I knead like for almost half an hour to achieve best results, and my biceps have got a very good workout while I was at it. Thank God I am ambidextrous so I could alternate between hands kneading and kneading.

And my moment of glory has to be my boys requesting for the bread for supper session with their milk, and the biggest boy (hubby) bringing it to work next day for breakkie (not in picture), priceless!

On day two the bread continued to be soft and fluffy. The miracles of tangzhong method! No wonder they say once you go tangzhong you will never turn back! Its impossible to think bread baking life without it *drama mode*. Bon apetit!

Happy Days With BurgerLand

I have been meaning to post some pictures of the kids' new little (literally) groove. They are so into these imitation Lego figurines that we got them recently. It was not easy allowing the kids to play with little parts because they tend to throw it around and later expect to Google it up with me. We had strict strategy that we only introduced one new figurine a kid at every given time. And after a week another new figurine, provided the previous ones were intact. It was not an easy exercise, very often search teams were sent out all over the house to find so and so's helmet, body or even hands.

The bright side of these little figurines is that since they are made the size and built, most parts are interchangeable, and this is how the boys get into playing dress-up or slumber party with well known super heroes.

Let me warn you that following pictures might be too graphic for those die-hard fans who might not find this amusing. For the others, its a laughter party. An innocent one, of course!

The best buddies, Tony Stark exchange suit with Clark Kent. Don't you love the Clark Kent's evergreen hairstyle?

Hulk and Ironman. Standing behind is a jealous Raphael.

 Captain America, Ironman and random while shirt dude.

As the list goes on, the figurines mix up tops and bottoms so its hard to 'identify' them.

Other happy days are when the boys get to sweat and max it out at the indoor playground. Instead of climbing up and sliding down, they climb the slide, and jump down. Being a kid totally rocks!

At least that was a rather short in height slide, look at what happens at the taller ones.

Sometimes I just sigh and say 'Shanjeev, Shanjeev', and he goes 'Amma, amma'. They always have the last say.

This boy has been down viral infection, gave me a solemn pose after gulping down his milk. This picture is perfect for the Got Milk? campaign. Casting agents anyone?

Just yesterday he showed a great improvement in his appetite, and so it was time to max out happy day! Being surrounded by burgers here, hubby's wildest dream, and the boys got to live it.

Happy just got happier having the super duper humongous burger at BurgerLand at Bandar Botanic Klang. Their specialties are their homemade charcoal buns, mysteriously delicious patty, special BurgerLand mayo and the great service! Do check it out if you are in the area. 

For someone who can never get enough of good and large burgers, I think hubby's search just stopped here. In the background is the satisfying shot of my baby gaining his appetite back. Priceless!