Our breakfast

Kids asked for hashbrown so I have them toasted in the toaster oven instead of deep frying. Although it's not as delicious as the deep fried version, it's good enough for us :)

Flaxseed, Sunflower, Pumpkin Seeds and Raisins Bread

Life hasn't been too smooth sailing for me the past 2 weeks.

Last week, DD3 was down with high fever for no reasons. No runny nose, no cough, no nothing. She just had a fever. It took her 5 days to recover.

2 days ago, we brought DD1 for her Otolaryngology (ENT) appointment. We have been to KK Women's and Children Hospital (KKH) for the past 6 months and did 3 hearing tests. All results show fluid in her right middle ear. DD1 is diagnosed with Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) and is scheduled for Examination under anesthetic (EUA) and KIV ear tube surgery. I'm also looking at alternatives ie seeking 2nd opinion with private practice.

Just when I thought this is enough to keep me busy, I received a call from SIL D and she told me my bro K got into some kind of trouble. OMG, why is this man always getting himself into some kind of shitty stuff?? I called/smsed friends to seek some advice and praying things won't turn too nasty for him.

It never occur to me that bread is my comfort food. I remember when I was a young girl, I never like bread. I'm typically a very Asian girl who loves rice/noodle. Bread to me is not staple food as they can't fill my "bottomless pit" stomach. With so much for me to handle, I decided to bake some bread. Instead of using the machine, I kneaded by hand. To me, kneading by hand is very therapeutic. I get the luxury to hand knead the dough as my 2 elder ones went over to my inlaws.


Instead of the usual plain white bread, I added some white sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and raisins. I should have thrown in some black sesame seeds but I was keeping that for my black sesame ice cream which was on my To-Do list for the longest time. Let's hope I get my hands to make it soon, else may procrastinate again.

Flaxseed, Sunflower, Pumpkin Seeds and Raisins Bread
Ingredients
2 cups cold water
6 cups bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp (60ml) olive oil/vegetable oil/melted butter
2 tsp yeast

Optional - as desire
Flaxseeds
White Sesame Seeds
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Raisins

Method

1. Place the dry ingredients (except Sunflower and Pumpkin seeds) into a big bowl and mix well.
2. Add in the wet ingredients to form a dough.
3. Knead dough until dough is elastic and smooth.
4. Place it in a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or cling-wrap and leave it to proof in a warm place till double in size (about 1-1.5 hrs).
5. When proofing is completed, punch down the bread dough to release the air. Knead in sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and raisins.
6. Shape into balls and leave it to rest for abt 10 mins. Shape as required and let it proof on lined or greased baking tray for another 50-60 mins or until dough is double in size (about 1 hr).
7. Bake in preheated oven at 170C for 15-20 minutes. If the top has browned, you can cover the top with an aluminium foil to continue baking.
8. Remove bread from loaf pan to cool completely.

Brioche with Raisins

Shaping bread is not an easy task, especially if you have added dried fruits/fillings in them. I've been lucky to get some really nice buns but while the bread dough was in 2nd proof, some dough gets torn apart. Nevertheless, they still taste delicious.

Brioche with Raisins
Ingredients
2 beaten eggs
125ml plain yogurt
300 - 320ml milk
75g sugar
500g flour
2 teaspoons yeast dry
4 tsp butter (optional)
Raisins, as desire

Method

1. Place the dry ingredients into a big bowl and mix well.
2. Add in the wet ingredients to form a dough.
3. Knead dough until dough is elastic and smooth.
4. Place it in a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or cling-wrap and leave it to proof in a warm place till double in size (about 1-1.5 hrs).
5. When proofing is completed, punch down the bread dough to release the air.
6. Shape into balls and leave it to rest for abt 10 mins. Roll out dough and wrap with raisins.Shape as required and let it proof on lined or greased baking tray for another 50-60 mins or until dough is double in size (about 1 hr).
7. Brush the top with a little magarine and sprinkle some sugar on top.
8. Bake in preheated oven at 170C for 15-20 minutes. If the top has browned, you can cover the top with an aluminium foil to continue baking.
9. Remove bread from loaf pan to cool completely.

As big as fresh mushroom

Fresh mushroom is one of my favourite food but definitely not this one on my son's forehead!!

Cranberry Yogurt Cake

Honestly speaking, I've never been a fan of pound/butter cakes. I find them dense and dry, I'll very much prefer a chiffon or sponge cake. Gina shared this recipe in Kitchen Capers and many members tried and gave thumbs up to this recipe. I decided to give it a try and I must say this cake is unlike any pound/butter cakes that's heavy and dense. And the yogurt and cranberries combination is truly awesome!


I was rushing through this bake as I needed the oven for my Yogurt Bread, thus that explains why the top ain't brown nicely. I think it'll be better if I had let it bake for another 5 more mins. Nevertheless, it still taste yummy!

Cranberry Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
200ml plain white yogurt
100g dried cranberries
110g butter
200g castor sugar
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. In a small bowl, mix yogurt and cranberries together and let it stand for 30 mins (room temperature
2. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar till creamy.
3. Add eggs, 1 at a time to mix.
4. Add vanilla essence to mix.
5. Stir in cranberry yogurt mixture with a spoon/spatula till evenly mixed.
6. Fold in sifted flour/baking powder till well blended.
7. Spoon batter onto prepared tin.
8. Baked in preheated oven 180C for 20 mins till golden brown.
9. Served warm.

Notes
If you are baking this in a loaf pan, you will need to adjust your baking time accordingly.

Fresh Cherries

I still remember when we were in New Zealand years ago, we chanced upon a cherry farm. The cherries are big, fat and juicy. We bought 1 kg, thinking that it'll be more than sufficient for the 3 of us (DH and DO) but we were wrong. We finished up almost the whole pack on that night itself! So the next day, we made a big detour to the cherry farm (that's like 1 hour drive from where we stay) and bought another kg. This was the time when I fell in love with fresh cherries.

Last night, DH decided to go visit Giant (local supermarket). There was basically no agenda, just to bring kids and MIL out for some night shopping (our very first night shopping).

They are having some fruits promotion and fresh cherries is one of them. I vaguely remember fresh cherry's prices are between SGD15 and SGD20 per kilogram. There is a 3 days offer and it's only SGD9.90/kg now! The best thing is, the staff just packed the cherries and they are very fresh. Without any hesitation, I bought 2 kg of them. 1 kg for my family and the other pack for my MIL.

Yogurt Bread

I didn't realise I've not been blogging for the past 1 week... Have I been busy? Looking back, I didn't bake much, so why ain't I blogging? Instead of staying "glued" to my lappy, I had spent some good quality time with DD1. I've been neglecting her ever since the arrival of DD3. She just started Primary 1 this year but I've left her alone to do her homework and her own revision.

I basically don't have much time to supervise DD1 as DD3 is on total breastfeeding and is a light sleeper, most of my time are spent taking care of DD3. So how do I find time to bake? My bakes are using done during my meals preparation or while the kids are having their meals. Yes, I multi-task. While cooking, I may be whipping up something somewhere in the kitchen, making the best out of my time. I always plan my schedule ahead, so that I can maximise time, effort and energy.

Ever since I went back to my parents to help out during the school holidays, I've not been baking any bread. I was flipping through my recipes and decided on the Yogurt Bread since I've got a big tub sitting in the fridge, calling out to me to utilise it ;-)

Again, I doubled the recipe and yields 8 small buns (50g each) and 4 small loaves (125g each).

I baked this on Wednesday and it's still soft even when we had it for breakfast today :-)

Yogurt Bread
Ingredients
(A)
500g bread flour
30g sugar
1 1/2 tsp yeast

(B)
200g plain yogurt
120g fresh milk
1 egg

(C)
60g butter
6g salt

Method

1. Mix (A) till well blended. Add (B) to form a dough. Add in (C) and knead until dough is elastic and smooth.
2. Gather dough to form a ball and cover dough with cling wrap and let it rest for abt 50-60 mins or double in size.
3. Shape as required and let it proof on lined or greased baking tray for another 50-60 mins or until dough is double in size.
4. Egg wash the top of the buns and bake in preheated oven at 170-180C for 20 minutes or till the top turns golden brown.
5. Remove bread to cool on rack completely.