What we did last Sunday

Auntie has been giving too much attention to work and traveling in the last few weeks or so, BB is feeling neglected. (BTW, BB already discovered this blog, so auntie has to mind her ps and qs..a bit). So, olive branch was a Sunday cookout. These were what we did on Sunday:

I tried bread baking many times and had not been too successful. This first attempt in a long time is no difference. The buns looked OK but they were a bit hard so to the birds they went.

The second batch of the dough turned out excellent though. The secret is in recognising whether the yeast has reacted with the warm milk/ water. For about 4 cups of flour, use a tablespoon of instant yeast. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk + 1 tbsp sugar. Wait to see if it bubbles a bit then only add into the flour. Add beaten egg (can also add a tsp of vanilla) and 3 more tbs of sugar. Before adding the liquids add salt to the flour first and make a whole in the flour for the liquid. The salt should not be put in the liquid with the yeast coz it will kill the yeast. Then knead to your heart's content (kalau ada kenwood chef or kitchen aid bagus gak, but kneading with hands has its own rewards, like thinking of someone and how much better he would look with his face punched).

The dough will rise as you knead. Leave for a few hours in a bowl covered with wet cloth. A baker's tip: Don't leave the bowl of dough on a table/ stand that is likely to move (ie one that someone is likely to knock into and make it move).

I left the dough overnight coz after a few hours I checked the dough still did not rise. It must be the yeast coz it had been in the cupboard for sometime. But alhamdulillah, in the morning it rose nicely. Punch the dough and knead a little bit more. Shape and put in tray. Then leave to rise for another half hour or so before baking. It turned out to be crusty on the outside but soft in the inside. It was a little bit cakey and yellowy though, I think, because I added too much egg. It should prolly be only half and egg.

Here's a buttered slice for breakfast. Real delicious, if i may say so meself.


The other project was a fish dinner. We splashed on salmon steaks but because BB's parents were not really into salmon we also prepared dory fish and chips (subs carrot chips for potatoes, though).

There's also pasta salad:

Here are the salmons. Served with baby carrots, fennel, mushrooms, onions and pasta.

BB went to sleep a happy bloke that night. It may be a long time before he gets all this again, though.