Belgian Waffles

Ingredients
A

4 cups levain

2 tsp poolish

2 cups full cream milk

1/2 cup melted butter

6 egg yolks

B

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups pastry flour

2/3 cups cornstarch

5tsp sugar

1tsp salt

C

egg whites

2tsp sugar

3tsp vanilla essence

1. Place levain and poolish into a large bowl. Warm up milk over low heat until just warm, before it bubbles. Pour over leaven/poolish and stir to mix.

2. Sift flours and cornstarch into a separate bowl. Add sugar and salt.

3. Add melted butter and egg yolks to milk mix, and gradually adding all of B. Cover and leave it to rise for about 3-5 hours in a warm place. Longer fermentation periods give you a stronger, more sour tinge to the batter.

4. At the very last moment before you make the waffles, whisk C together until medium peaks form. Stir the vanilla essence into the batter, then fold in the whisked egg whites.

5. Heat up the waffle maker, and brush with melted butter. Ladle the batter into the maker and cook till golden brown. Follow your waffle maker's instructions for cooking time.

6. Serve with jam, ice cream, honey, butter, or even turn it into a sandwich!

Pain au Levain

Note: This recipe requires the use of a levain starter.

Ingredients
Levain starter 125g
Water 350g
Unbleached bread flour 350g
Whole wheat 120g
Rye flour 30g
Salt 10g

Mix the dough. Pour the water into a large bowl, add all the flours, then stir just until all the water is absorbed, and a ragged looking dough forms. Cover and leave it to stand for 20mins to allow the dough to hydrate and form gluten.

Add levain and salt. Add the levain piece into the dough, sprinkle the salt, and mix it all in with a few firm strokes of the spatula.

Knead the dough. Use the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 8-9mins. Give the dough the windowpane test to see if it's ready. If it tears, keep kneading for another 1-2mins then test again.

Ferment the dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled container and cover. Leave it to rise at room temperature for an hour.

Turn the dough. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Pat it into a rectangle about 15 x 20cm and fold it like a letter: lift the far edge of the dough with both hands and pull towards you, placing it at the centre of the rectangle. Lift the near end, and pull it away from you, overlapping it with the far edge by about 3cm. Quickly slide both hands under the dough and flip it over so that the folds are underneath. Place it back in the container, cover and leave for 2-3 hours more. Pain au levain is much less gassy than your regular dough which uses packaged yeast, and so doesn't rise so dramatically.

Divide and shape. Cover your tray with baking paper. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces (approx. 493g), then shape each piece of dough into a bâtard about 30cm long. It should be plump in the centre with gently tapered ends. Here's a link to a video on how to shape a bâtard.

Form the couche. Dust the baking paper and place the bâtards on the paper, seam side down, about 9cm apart. Lift the paper between the loaves to make a pleat. This provides support for the loaves while they proof. Lightly dust the bâtards with flour and cover with plastic wrap.

Proof the bâtards. Let the loaves rise at room temperature until they spread and inflate 1-1.5x the size, about 1-1.5hrs.

Prepare the oven. About an hour before baking, place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and a small baking tin on the bottom. Heat the oven to 230 Celsius.

Score the bâtards. Uncover the loaves and stretch the baking paper back out. Score each bâtard  with a knife. Make four 45 degree slashes, about 9cm long, 1.5cm deep starting from the tip of the loaf. Dip the blade in water and use a quick, fluid motion so that it doesn't snag on the dough.

Bake the bâtards. Slide the loaves, still on the baking paper, onto the baking stone. Place 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the baking tin to produce steam. Bake for 15mins, lower the heat to 200 Celsius, and continue to bake until the bâtards are evenly browned with a deep chocolate tone along the edges of the score marks, 20-25mins more.

Cool and store the bâtards. Place the loaves onto a wire rack to cool for about an hour before slicing. The loaves will stay fresh for up to five days if stored in a paper bag.

Variations:
Pain au levain au tournesol
Soak 100g raw sunflower seeds for 8-12 hours in 175g of water. Strain off excess water.
Mixing the dough - Reduce the amount of water to 300g, and add the seeds in when you mix the flour.

Pain au levain au sesamé

Soak 100g of raw sesame seeds into 175g of water for 8-12 hours. Strain off excess water.
Mixing the dough - Reduce water to 300g, add seeds in when you mix the flour.

Pain au levain aux quatre céréales
Combine 25g of flax seeds, millet, rolled oats, coarse cornmeal, then soak in 175g of water. Let it sit for 8-12 hours. The grains will absorb all the water.
Mixing the dough - Reduce water to 235g, add seeds and grains when you mix the flour.

Pain au levain aux olives
Roughly chop up 140g of olives and mix them in to the dough when it's fairly smooth, otherwise you risk mashing the olives. Add during the last 2 mins of kneading. Press any stray olives back in by hand, after you've turned the machine off.

Pain au levain au lard
Chop seven strips of thick-cut bacon (approx 280g) into 1.5cm pieces. Fry until some of the fat renders (melts) and the pieces start to brown around the edges. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, allow to cool completely.
Mixing the dough - mix the bacon in along with the salt and levain.

Pain au levain au fromage
Use bold flavoured cheese like cheddar. After you've mixed the dough, while it's resting before you add the levain and salt, cut 140g of hard cheese into cubes. Add during the last 2mins of kneading, pressing any stray bits of cheese back in.

Pain au levain aux noix et raisins
Before mixing dough, place 1cup of nuts (walnuts or pecans) onto a baking sheet and toast in a pre-heated 175 Celsius oven until fragrant. Allow to cool, then coarsely chop. Add nuts and raisins during the last 2mins of kneading, pressing any stray bits back in

Stiff Dough Levain

A Picture of My Levain

This is a recipe for a traditional French sourdough starter called levain (le-vaan), which you add to your dough to make it rise. It will take time to prepare, and is quite like a baby - requiring regular feeding, smells, and can die. Yet if successful, you will be very well rewarded.

Ingredients:
Unbleached bread flour
Rye flour
Whole wheat flour
Mineral water (avoid tap water because the chlorine in the water will kill off the bacteria in you culture. I use Evian for this purpose.)

Day 1
Water 75g
Unbleached flour 50g
Rye flour 50g

Pour water into a medium mixing bowl and stir in both flours until you have a stiff dough. It will not be a smooth dough, and it will be rather dry. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2
Water 30
Unbleached bread flour 50g
Whole Wheat flour 5g

Your levain culture may have risen slightly by this point, or not at all. Doesn't matter.
Pour water into the bowl, and using a spoon, press the dough on the bottom and sides of the bowl to break it up and soften it. The water should turn milky and bubble - a sign that it's alive. Add the flours and stir till you have a stiff, dry dough form. Knead into a lump, collecting all the stray dough in the bowl. Don't worry about the dough which sticks to the side of the bowl. Cover and leave for another 24hrs.

Day 3
Water 30g
Unbleached bread flour 50g
Whole wheat flour 5g

Your culture should have expanded to 1-1.5 times its original size. The surface will be dimpled from the bubbles forming below it. It should smell like...well, the book I learnt the recipe from said "wheaty, effervescent, like foam on Belgian ale". To me, it smelt like somebody didn't bathe for three days. Either way, you've got a living starter. Pinch off a bit and try - it should taste sour.

Do the usual - add water, mash the dough, add flour, knead, leave for 24 hrs.

Day 4-10

If your culture is exhibiting these signs:

• risen to a dome that is already deflating
• smells like ripe fruit with a hint of sour
• it will taste really really sour
• slash it with a knife, and you should see lots of air bubbles and complex gluten strands.

then your culture is ready to go - skip ahead to the next step. If your culture still looks pretty dead, then keep feeding the culture for another 6 days. Use warm water (38 Celsius) instead of room temperature, and keep the culture in a warm, draught free area. If it doesn't show signs of life past the 10 day mark, I'm afraid you'll have to try again.

Refreshing the Levain

Pinch of about 45g of the levain and discard the rest (it makes good bird food, I hear). It may seem like a waste, but if you keep it, it will produce excess alcohol and acids that will eventually kill the bacteria culture and give you bread a funny taste.

Water 50g

Unbleached bread flour 95g

Whole wheat flour 5g

Add the water to the levain, mash it, then add the flours. Knead to gather up all the loose flour, then keep kneading for 1-2 minutes till you get a stiff dough. As usual, it will not be a smooth dough. Leave the dough for 8-12 hours before you either use it in a recipe, or chuck it into the fridge where it can keep for a week before needing to be refreshed.

Important Note: Whether or not you have refreshed you levain recently, you must refresh it 8-12 hours before you intend to start baking to ensure optimum condition for raising bread and flavour. Just remember to put aside 45g of levain to refresh into your new batch.

Baguette & Petit Pains

Petit Pains 8 Nov 2012

This one of the bread recipes which I simply love. It's simple - just four ingredients, yet authentic enough to be called bread. Produced by bakers all around Paris, the first batch goes out at 0700 when the bakeries open, and a new batch is set out every four hours until closing time (Leader, 2007).

Ingredients Weight Baker's Percentage

Warm water 340g 68

Instant yeast 4g 1

Wheat flour 500g 100

Salt 10g 2

1. Pour the water into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, flour, and salt. Stir just until all the water is absorbed and a dry, rough dough forms. Cover the bowl with clingwrap and let it stand for 20mins, allowing the flour to soak up the water.
2. Knead the dough. I usually work by hand as this lets me gauge the texture of the dough. Lightly dust the table with flour, then empty the bowl onto the table and knead it for 10-12mins. Continue to knead, flouring your hands as necessary. Take care not to knead too much flour in or else your bread will turn out heavy. Stop when the dough has lost its stickiness, firms up, and feels silky smooth and springy.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container big enough to hold the dough even after it has swelled to 1.5 times its size. Cover it, and leave it to ferment for 45mins. What I usually do here is park the car under the sun and chuck the dough in.
4. Pour out the dough and shape it into a rectangle. With the short side facing you, fold the bottom half to the middle, then fold the top down so that it overlaps with the bottom bit. Quickly flip it back over and put it back in the bowl with the seams facing down. Leave for another 45mins.
5. One hour before baking, heat the oven to 230 Celsius.
6. Lightly dust the table with flour and turn the dough out on the table. Cut the dough into your desired number of pieces. Gently pat each piece into a rectangle and fold it in half. Cover and let them rest for 10mins.
7. Shape the dough into a baguette, leaving the ends rounded. Take note to avoid over-handling the loaves or you'll deflate them.
8. Cover the loaves and let them stand at room temperature for 30-40mins on the baking tray. They would almost double in size. When you press your finger into the dough, the indentation should spring back slowly.
9. Uncover the loaves and score each baguette with a lame or a wet knife. Starting from the tip, angle the blade 45 degrees to a make 3 slashes. Slash deliberately and quickly.
10. Chuck the tray into the oven and place half a cup of ice cubes in so that the crust can expand nicely. Bake for 15-20mins. A good loaf should be caramel coloured and should sound hollow when you tap the base.

Petit Pains (Nov2012)
For petit pains, after you turn out the dough for shaping, cut the dough into 3 equal parts, then further into 12 equal parts. No shaping is required for petit pains. Set the oven at 200 Celcius. Place them onto your baking paper, then leave for 30mins for them to spread. Lightly dust with flour or decorate however you like. Chuck them into the oven for 20mins or until caramel brown.

[Note (8nov2012): I switched out water for an equal amount of full cream milk. I suspect it will make the bread much softer. Also, I experimented with a new brand of flour which boasts 15% protein per 100g - Waitrose's Very Strong Canadian White Flour. Much more pricey than regular high protein bread flour, but produces excelent dough!]

Reference
Leader, D., (2007). Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers. NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Classic Cornbread

After watching an episode of Anthony Boudain in New Orleans, I thought I'd give cornbread a try. A quick check on good ole Google turned up this recipe:
A
375g Flour
225g Cornmeal
1tsp Salt
4tsp Baking powder
110g Sugar
480ml Milk
2 Eggs
110g Butter, melted
B
1 small tin of sweetcorn kernels

Heat your oven to 200°c, then mix A together till you get a sponge cake mix consistency, adding B in at the end to avoid smashing the kernels. Oil your baking trays, and chuck them into the oven for about 20mins till golden on the outside and cooked, obviously, on the inside.

I have to say, the sweet aroma of sweetcorn in the oven is to die for. Wafting through the kitchen, coyly caressing my senses...Mmmhmmm... The sight of such glorious golden brown is a feast for the eyes, before it even feeds the stomach. In this recipe, I had also replaced milk with soy milk, which I'm now wondering if I should have done, since there was a subtle, but strong enough fragrant soy undertone clashing with the flavours of the corn. Perhaps it would be quite different if I had used milk instead. There was also a gritty texture to the bread, which I'm also unsure of - is it due to an error of my preparation of the cornmeal (should I have soaked it first?), or its that supposed to be normal? I guess I'll never know until I go visit New Orleans to find out.

For those of you wanting to know where I got cornmeal from, this is a picture of the meal I used. I bought it at Mercato, though I'm quite sure you can find cheaper ones at your local (Malaysian) Indian mill. Otherwise, just dry your own corn and send it to the mill.

Note [2 Nov 2012]: I've been told by a chef colleague of mine that I've stirred the mixture too much, allowing the gluten to bond too much, resulting in a chewy bread-like consistency. The correct consistency should be light and fluffy like a cupcake.

Suikaaaa Ppppunch!!

I was back in my home town for a long weekend, and while there, I made a visit to the weekly night market. As I walked through the stalls, I noticed that one fruit stall was different from the rest; this one had a very special watermelon for sale, something I had always wanted to grow for myself - the Black Beauty. Unable to resist her tender beckoning, I brought her home with me.

The moment I had set eyes on her, I already knew what I wanted to do with her. Melaka is infamous for its swearing afternoons, and that day was no different. A nice cold refreshing drink would work really well, so I bought a bunch of mint as well.

As soon as I got home, half the watermelon was balled and chucked into the freezer, while the other half sat quietly in the fridge to chill. Later on, into the blender it all went, with a handful of mint leaves and half a lemon's worth of juice. Top with a mint sprig for garnish if you like, which I did. Refreshing, not overwhelmingly sweet having being balanced by the lemon, as well as a bright aroma to it thanks to the sharp scent of mint. The perfect thirst quencher.

Growing up in Melaka as a child, I had a steady diet of Kamen Rider and Power Rangers. Every time they were about to defeat a monster, they had to yell out the name of their devastating attack as they went in for the kill. It was always 'xyz punch!' or 'qrst kick!' or 'tuvw blast!' This drink, being a punch... well... you get the pun. haha. Then keeping in spirit with the Japanese theme, suika is Japanese for watermelon. I call this drink the Suikaaaa Ppppunch!!

Also, if you're in to alcoholic drinks, vodka will go very well with this. I'm no drinker, but I'm thinking a shot or two would do.

Salsa Tropicale

No pictures for this one, I'm afraid. Finished it before I thought of blogging this recipe I made a second attempt of this recipe, adding spring onions since I couldn't get any cilantro at the market, so here's the picture. This recipe was inspired by an empty fridge and an episode of Chef at Home.

Ingredients are as follows:

2 sweet oranges

2 tomatoes

1 red onion

chilli flakes

pepper

salt

1tbs lime juice

olive oil

I cubed the the oranges, onion, and tomatoes, put everything else together and mixed. The oranges give this salsa its unusual sweetness, while the onion provides the bite and crunch to the mix. Since this dish is served cold, the chilli flakes balance it out with some fiiiire. This recipe lacks a little green, and I would suggest cilantro, but I didn't have any at hand, so it had to go without. Chuck the salsa into the fridge to chill for about 30mins, then it's ready to serve!

Just be careful with the liquids, since you don't want to have the salsa swimming in lime juice and olive oil after it's sat in the fridge. Also, easy on the salt, since it will draw water out from the fruits (yes, tomatoes are fruits).