Creamy Braided Bread
These are the super soft yet tasty bread as it's produced by the cream, milk and butter. I know it's a bit unhealthy as its contain lots of fat in there. Well, I've promised to myself will not make this so often. I've given away a loaf for my friend and left one for our breakfast.
This was my first attempt on making a braided bread, it looks very ugly. Unlike the one I read from the recipe book of 孟老师的100道面包. But, I'll try to make better next time if I found a chance to give away a loaf again :P
- Mix ingredients (A) except butter at low speed using a dough hook mixer, then turn to medium speed until it become a smooth dough.
- Add in the butter and knead with low speed until the butter combine with the dough. Turn to medium speed continue the kneading process until it become a smooth and elastic dough.
- Place the dough into a lightly grease bowl and cover with cling wrap to proof for 80 minutes.
- While waiting for the dough, mix the ingredients (B) with finger tips until it become crumbly texture. Set aside and ready to use.
- Divide the dough into 6 portions and round them into small balls. Let them rest for 15 minutes.
- Roll each dough into longish shape about 28cm and form a braiding. Tighten up both side of the dough and proof for 30 minutes.
- Egg wash the doughs and sprinkle over some crumble on the doughs. Bake at 180'C preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.
10 Grain Loaf, Multi Grain Loaf
I bought few packages of Red Mill whole grain flour from the Market Place Supermarket weeks ago. There are rye flour, wholemeal flour and 10 grain flour. I've used rye flour for a rye bread in my previous attempt whereas wholemeal flour had been used for wholemeal bread or pancakes.
Yesterday, I tried to make another loaf with the 10 grain flour which contains wheat, rye, triticle, oats, corn, barley, soy, brown rice, millet and flax seed. There are finely grounded grains which is quite different from the wholemeal flour I've been used for some time ago. Perhaps the dough would be much smoother.
I purposely left the bread rise without a lid-on as my other half like the caramelized bread edges. Finally, it rise absolutely tall and end up we've got quite a big slice of bread. As for me, I love the outlook of homemade country loaf.
The bread texture was soft as I used a recipe which contains milk and egg. I could hardly tell what is the flavor as too many grains had combined together. Sometimes, it tasted like soy, sometimes like brown rice and sometimes barley. Well, whatever it is, it's a healthy bread.
Recipe:
250g bread flour
80g 10 grain flour
30g sugar
5g yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
65g ice water
100g milk
30g butter
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Gradually add in all the wet ingredients and mix it by a flat beater at low speed until everything just combine.
- Add butter continue to mix for 1 or 2 minutes. Change to a dough hook continue kneading for about 20 minutes at medium speed.
- Off the machine and clear the sticky dough at side of the bowl. Continue kneading for few seconds.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface until the dough smooth but not sticky then shape it into a smooth round dough, cover with cling film and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Knead the dough and punch out the gas.
- Flatten a dough and roll out into a longish shape. Roll up the dough like a Swiss-roll.
- Flatten the rolled-up dough and roll out again into a long rectangular shape then roll up the dough tightly.
- Place the rolled dough in a greased bread tin.
- Spray water around the tin. Place it in the oven with door close, proof for 60 minutes without lid on.
- Proof until it rise over the top of tin then take out the tin from the oven and preheat the oven at 180'C.
- Bake approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown (used an aluminium foil to cover the top after 25 minutes to prevent burning at the top).
- Take out the bread to cool down before slicing into pieces. Store leftover bread in airtight container without slicing it into pieces to let it stay fresh for the next serving.
bagel sandwich

I remember the first bagel sandwich I had was at the Heathrow Airport. Till now, I still remember the chewiness of the bread.
There are many recipes of bagel and different ways to form the bagels into a donut shape. Some people likes to roll the dough into a “snake” and pinching the ends together. The other way is to shape the dough into tight balls and poke a hole through the center then stretch out the dough into a ring with fingers.
Since this is my first attempts I would like to go for the basic and simple one. This rustic bagel I made didn't looks very round in shape.
By the way, did you realize that there were actually five bagels in the above image?
These aren’t the giant-sized bagels as I purposely make it for breakfast or a snack.
I am now looking for whole wheat bagel recipe. Would you please share with me if you've got one. Cheers!
Method:
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer combine all the ingredients. knead dough with the dough hook until elastic, about 10 minutes on a low speed.
- Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 1 hour.
- Get ready a large bowl of hot water and preheat the oven to 400F.
- When dough has risen, divide into 10 portions. Shape each piece into a tight balls.
When all the balls are shaped, let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered with a clean dish towel. - Once dough balls have rested, poke a hole through the center of each dough ball with your fingers. Stretch out the dough into a ring and make sure the hole is slightly larger than you want the finished bagel to have, as the bagel will expanding during the baking process.
Let bagels rest for about 10 minutes. - Drop the bagels into the boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and boil for an additional minute.
- Transfer bagels to a clean towel to drain for a moment, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Egg wash the boiled bagel bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown. (I garnished it by adding some sesame seeds)
Blueberry Bagel

Here is my second attempts on bagel. The recipe had a bit different from the previous bagel I've made. Not only its blueberry flavour but it's made by milk to produce a different texture.
I made big bagel this time and used it for our main course sandwich. I blended some fresh blueberry into paste to produce a blueberry flavor bagel. It smell very blueberry and soft yet chewy. But I still have problem shaping it into a perfect round shape.
I heard a guru said those commercial bagel was form by a round mould but for homemade we've got to use our fingers to make it. Anyway, I don't mind the rustic one but still trying the best to make as round as I can.
Recipe makes four big bagels:
Bread flour 250g
Caster sugar 20g
Salt 1/4 teaspoon
Yeast 3g
Milk 95g
Blueberry paste 50g
Unsalted butter 5g
Method:
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer combine all the ingredients. knead dough with the dough hook until elastic, about 10 minutes on a low speed.
- Divide the dough into 4 portions and shape each piece into a tight balls. When all the balls are shaped, place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 40 minutes.
- Get ready a large bowl of 1L hot water with 5g sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of syrup. Preheat the oven to 180'C.
- Once dough balls have rested, poke a hole through the center of each dough ball with your fingers. Stretch out the dough into a ring and make sure the hole is slightly larger than you want the finished bagel to have, as the bagel will expanding during the baking process. Let bagels proof for about 30 minutes.
- Drop the bagels into the boiling water at about 90'C. Boil for 10 second at each side then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown.
Coconut Bun
I'd like to make this for quite some time but there are just too many recipes to try out and I'm glad this is the time to try. I like to eat coconut bun, it's one of my childhood favorite snack and my mum loves it too! So must give it a try so that I don't need to buy from the bakery shop next time.
I use the milky loaf recipe to make the buns whereas the coconut filling is something new for me and I'm glad I've got the taste and flavour with the guidance of my mother-in-law. I'm using her bread machine to do the kneading this time, the dough need to have extra kneading until it's smooth and elastic. I don't have raw sugar so I used caster sugar. I believe using raw sugar the flavour would be much better. Overall, I'm very happy with the result. The bread soft and the filling very tasty. Yummy!
- For the dough. Place all the ingredients in the bread machine except butter. Knead until everything combine about 10 minutes. Add in the butter continue the kneading process until it become smooth and elastic. I used 30 minutes for the kneading process. Shape it into a smooth round dough, cover with cling film and let it rest for 60 minutes.
- While waiting for the dough. Heat the oil in a wok at low heat, add in raw sugar or caster sugar, coconut sugar until it nearly melted then add the coconut water to prevent sticking. Cook until everything melt then add shredded coconut. Make sure the shredded coconut coated with the melted sugar. Keep stirring to prevent it burn. Mix the water with flour then add into the coconut mixture. Keep stirring until everything well combine and you could smell the fragrant of coconut mixture. It'll start become dry and you'll know it has done. Let it cool down on a plate before use.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces of doughs and roll to form 'ball' shapes. Then, cover with cling film let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Flatten each dough and wrap in the coconut filling and shape it into smooth round shape then place on a baking tray for 60 minute proofing.
- Brush some milk on each doughs and sprinkle some shredded coconut. Bake approximately 18 minutes at 180'C preheated oven until nice and light golden brown.
















