weekend baking \\ brioche

i made a loaf of brioche yesterday. it was my second attempt at making brioche. the first time i made it with my KitchenAid food processor and yesterday i made it with the mixer.

i much prefer the texture using the mixer and just like making bread, it was so much easier when the machine does all the work for you. i was going to add some cinnamon and sugar to the dough and turn them into little cinnamon scrolls but Jim prefers it plain.

my initial plan was to make it for afternoon tea yesterday but i made too many plans and set too many goals for myself for the weekend, as usual. so by the time i got around to make it, let the dough rise twice and took it out of the oven, it was dinner time. anyway, Jim had some for breakfast this morning and he found it slightly dry but his mum thought it was quite good and boo loved it. i think the success of this recipe relies heavily on the 225 grams of butter. the better the quality, the more 'buttery'.

i'm hoping to make it again soon. maybe with some extra ingredients like chocolate chips, sultanas or cinnamon. but if i do make it again, i shall make it first thing in the morning.

ingredients \\

1 x 8g dry yeast sachet

1 tablespoon lukewarm water

1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar

1/4 teaspoons sea salt flakes

2 tablespoons lukewarm milk

1 2/3 (250g) 00 flour/bread flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

225g butter, chopped and softened

1 egg, extra, lightly beaten

method \\

place the yeast and water in a bowl and mix to combine. set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

combine then sugar, salt and milk in a separate bowl.

place the flour, yeast mixture and egg in the bowl of an electric mixer and using a dough hook, beat on low for 1 minute. increase speed to high, add the milk mixture and beat for 10 minutes or until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

while the motor is running, gradually add the butter and beat for 6-7 minutes or until glossy and elastic.

place the dough in a bowl and cover with a plastic wrap. set aside in a warm place for 2-3 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. divide the dough into 4 equal-size balls and knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

place in a lightly greased loaf tin, cover with a clean, damp cloth and set aside for 1 hour or until doubled in size. make a cut in the centre of each ball with a pair of scissors and brush with the extra egg.

bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden. allow to stand in the tin for 10 minutes before removing it.

serves with more butter or jam.

\\ original recipe by Donna Hay

 

weekend baking \\ panna cotta with Campari jelly

i made this desserts for Father's Day last weekend. i'm filling it under 'weekend baking' even though there's no baking involved. i'm quite happy on how it turned out so i'm documenting the recipe on the blog for future use. 

Jim asked for the vanilla panna cotta from Donna Hay's Modern Classics cook book but i wanted to try something different. five minutes of googling later, i found this recipe which i thought is perfect because it combines both of Jim's favourites - panna cotta and jelly. coincidentally, this is a Donna Hay's recipe too. 

ingredients \\

2 teaspoons powdered gelatine

2 tablespoons single cream

500ml single cream

1/3 cup (55g) icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (i used 1 whole fresh vanilla bean)

Campari jelly \\

2 teaspoons powdered gelatine

1 1/2 tablespoons water

250ml lemonade

1 tablespoon Campari

1 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar

to make the panna cotta, place the gelatine and 2 tablespoon of cream in a bowl and stir to combine. set aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine is absorbed. 

place the 500ml of cream, icing sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. 

add the gelatine mixture and stir until dissolved. 

pour the mixture into 4 x 3/4 cup capacity glasses and refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. 

to make the jelly, place the gelatine and water Ian bowl ands stir to combine. 

set aside for 5 minutes or until the gelatine is absorbed. 

place the lemonade, Campari and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. 

add the gelatine mixture and stir until dissolved. set aside to cool. 

pour the jelly mixture on to the panna cotta and refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. 

serves 4

//original recipe can be found here. 

Sunday baking

i'm not a fan of pre mixed cake mix. i prefer to bake my cake from scratch because i find most of the pre mixed cake mix has an artificial taste to them which i don't like. 

i first tasted these at work when a male colleague brought them into work to share. i didn't believe him when he told me he'd made it. i was even more surprised when he told me he used Donna Hay's pre mixed cake mix because they tasted pretty damn good. 

i made some for afternoon tea today. i don't think i'll ever make brownies from scratch again...perhaps maybe the healthier version with beetroot. 

they are a bit on the sweet side but oh so moorish and chocolatey. they take no time to make and the only additional ingredients you need is 2 eggs and 150grams of melted butter.