What a surprise!!! I have finally managed to get into Blogger after some mind blogging tasks, so early in the morning, brain is still in the sleeping mode. I am staring at the new format and my brain is trying to get accustomed it. I tried loading pictures as i have promised to show before steaming and after steaming the paus/baos and i am delighted to find out that i am now able to select several pictures at one time, just like it used to be, a long time ago. Thank you Blogger, for bringing back this feature.
Below, i have numbered every pau/bao that i have pleated and took a picture of it before steaming it and then another picture of it after steaming. I have tried my best to figure out how to get a uniform smile but these paus/baos have a mind of their own, they will smile however they like and with attitude. Which Smile do you like? I like the one that split uniformly like a blossom and i have found that if i gather the pleats neatly , it will and might split like blossom. The ones that i twisted, split like the map of the world, it is not so easy to pleat with this recipe as the dough is so soft. Need many credit hours and that too might not ensure that it will work despite all the practice. Well, at least they cracked and the taste is there, accept it lily, they are hand-made and rustic.
As promised, i am sharing how to finish making the pau/bao. In my next post i will share pictures of the pleated paus/bao before steaming and after steaming.
I have just finished making another batch of char siew pau/bao and this time with a starter that i have left to ferment for more than 48 hrs - it was give and take 55 hours. The starter dough did not look any different and did not smell sour or yeasty. My conclusion is that if the starter is replenished with just enough water to make into a soft dough, the starter dough will not become foamy. The first batch of Smile Pau was made with less starter dough and using more dry flour cos the starter dough was more liquid to start with. So, when adding the dry flour to the starter dough to make the main dough, it has to be adjusted according to the texture of the starter dough. Although this Smile Pau/Bao gave the best grin, i feel that there is room for improvement, not only the texture, the appearance too. I have tried my best to share my experience as i have made more than 5 batches of Smile Pau/Bao and they all SMILE, although sometimes not the way i would love the SMILE to be. It has been quite fasinating to see the result of this Smile Pau/Bao, smiling how ever they like, they have attitute. Perhaps it is me, i am not expert enough to seal the pau/bao and it will take many more batches of pau/bao making, even that too might not ensure that i will get it right. But, what i do know is right, is that the WATER for STEAMING has to be ALOT(quantity) and VERY VERY HOT, to create as much steam as possible. This is the toughest combat that i have to face, steaming in high altitute.
I have edited this recipe by replacing the wheat starch with pau flour as i have found that too much starch makes the pau gummy and sticks to the teeth.
i had wanted to share this step-by-step procedure from the beginning to end with a finished smiling pau/bao but blogger did not cooperate. I loaded all the pictures and was about to select them, boom, it took me somewhere and i lost all the pictures loaded. I am not going to load them again, cos blogger does not allow mutiple loading and i had to load, one at a time. I hope someone can help me load multiple like how it used to be. Anyway, so i decided to post this procedure by sections, starting from the starter. I started the starter on March 7th, 2012 when i made the first batch of smile pau/bao. I will keep a little or rather what was not needed and added 2 cups of pau flour and enough of water to make into a soft dough. I have found that i could make the pau/bao smile although the starter did not foam and smell sour.
Tsoureki, a rich sweet yeast bread with a proud tradition, is made of eggs, milk, and butter, is a staple during Greek Easter. The three-strand braid symbolizes the Holy Trinity, while the red-dyed hard-boiled egg braided into the dough symbolizes the blood of Christ. I know there’s a lot poured into it and since it is the ending of Lent and being able to eat well again, this delicious bread ought to be served. AuthenticTsoureki is flavored with orange and a delightful spice called Mahlab (also called Mahlepi) that is ground from the pits of wild cherries. I did not make an authentic tsoureki but i did bake a beautiful bread that put a smile in everyone's faces when they looked at it and you should see their eyes rolling will glee when they were eating this soft bread. Happy Easter and a lovely weekend.
I love this type and style of chee cheong fun for breakfast and have been trying to get the texture right but have not been able to get it right until now. Now, my quest is over, i can have this type of chee cheong fun for breakfast with no fuss no muss. A piece of chee cheong fun can be made in the microwave for only 2 minutes without having to heat up a pot of water for steaming or using a crepe pan to fry which is not too bad but the underside sometimes tend to be overcooked and so will be slightly rough.
