Cinnamon Rolls

A yeasted bread recipe that didn't require you to break up a sweat when kneading - in fact no kneading required at all! - what could be better than that? I got teased a lot before in school everytime we have to make breads because where as my classmates would treat their dough as a punching bag, putting all their efforts to it, I would simply prod at the dough here and there with my fingers, coax them to shape and declare them done.

I wouldn't even now what a properly kneaded dough would feel like even if they hit me in the face. My only consolation was that the breads I made turned out okay - as long as they are eaten the first hour they were made. After that is quite another story, so I made it a point to bake only as much as I thought would be eaten immediately.

I've heard of the No-knead bread that's been blogged about many times over but I don't have a dutch oven so I couldn't try it even if I want too. This one however didn't need special equiptment so as soon as I've read (and re-read) the no kneading part I immediately tried it.

Recipe over at thePioneerwomancooks.com and it comes with an extensive photo guides. The only thing I changed was the frostings, I added some cocoa to mine and made it a chocolate frosting. It's really good.

Siopao - Steamed Buns

I burnt my fingers with these buns. Steamed buns or Siopao in the Philippines is usually filled with either Chicken/Pork Asado or Bola-Bola (Meatballs) but since I'm not really good at cooking and this is my first time making Siopao, I filled mine with Bukayo - strips of candied young coconut. The result was a very light, soft buns that was worth the painful sting on my fingers.


Ingredients
1 c. warm water
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. yeast
3 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
2 tbsp. oil

Procedure
Dissolve yeast in water, add sugar, salt, oil and 1/4 c. flour. Let stand until bubbly. Add remaining flour and mix until dough holds together. Place dough on a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size.

Punch down and turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for a minute. Divide the dough into two and form each into a log. Cut each log into 6-7 pieces and roll into a ball. Take one ball, flatten it with your hands, pulling the sides to form a circle. Place filling in the center and pull up the sides and twist at the top to seal.

Place each bun, sealed side down on a wax paper. Let buns rise for another 30 minutes then cook them in a steamer for about 12 to 15 minutes.

Siopao can also be made with baking powder as the leavening agent or both yeast and baking powder. The result is a little on the cakey side, springy and tend to dries up quickly. Its the kind of siopao sold almost everywhere. I like that texture in puto-pao or mantao (they have no filling) but for siopao I prefer them leavened only with yeast like the one found mostly in chinese dimsum shop.

Pizza

Pizza! We made pizza in class a few weeks ago and although I didn't get to spin the crust like they do in TV it turned out great nonetheless. Made it again a few days later letting the crust developed overnight in the ref and it was even better. It was a square one however and again, I didn't get to spin it. :)


Ingredients
2 tsp. instant yeast
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 c. lukewarm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3-3 1/2 c. APF

Procedure
Dissolve sugar and salt in water, add oil. Mix yeast with flour in another bowl, make a well in the center and add liquid mixture, stirring to make a soft sought. Cover and the leave for 10 minutes.

Lightly knead in an oiled surface for about 3 minutes, left it to rest for 5 minutes and knead again for another 3 minutes. Let it proof in an oiled bowl for an hour to an hour and a half.

Cut the dough in half, roll each half into a circle, cover and leave for 10 minutes. Roll each ball into desired thickness and shape and place onto oiled-and-cornmeal-sprinkled baking tray. Brush surface with a little oil, prick and top with desired toppings. Bake in 400F preheated oven for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness.

I grated the cheese on top of the dough hence the mess. And it's cheddar, the only widely available cheese here in the Philippines and it didn't really melt. Also, I didn't have a pizza stone so even though I suspect it would turn out much better if baked with one I wouldn't really know.