Alex Goh Magic Bread
Hi Bethany,The thermometer is to check the dough temperature. The ideal temp(for Alex Goh) is 28-29 deg C. This ideal temp varies from baker to baker.Knowing the dough temp lets me know if the next step - bulk fermentation will be shorter or longer than what's recommended. Higher temp = shorter time. It also helps me during the "autopsy" if the bread turns out poorly. (what not to blame) Lastly, if the bread turns out great and I want to bake it again and get the same result, achieving that same dough temp will be the key.
alex goh magic bread
The bread dough was flattened to cover my entire baking sheet, the curry parcel was carefully placed in the middle and the dough sheet wrapped around it. A few pinches here and there to seal and it was left to rise before getting a shiny egg yolk glaze and a baking in the oven for about 25 minutes.
Thank you for sharing your bread recipe.I tried making the bun last week and proofing was alright.But when I baked the dough, it took less than 10 minutes and I took the buns out because top already browned.The bun is soft but not light and fluffy. It is quite heavy and some part still a bit wet.I did not baked long enough??Please kindly advice.
Thanks for posting all these wonderful recipes, tips and suggestions in your blog. This is an awesome blog. I am just figuring out what is happening to my bread (using the water roux) as it gets hard after the next day. Am dying to try this version also but am trying to get the water roux version right first though.
I tried this method before too.Have yet been able to decipher the best between tangzhong and this method as my bread results have been going up and down, still experimenting with the new mixer and and oven to get everything right.
Nice buns, gert ( no pun intended..lol).I've stopped making any kind of breads for the time being as it's cold here.I so malas to wait and it gets dark early here too.Feels weird to be in the kitchen tengah-tengah malam buta when actual fact it will only be 5pm..hehehehe.So,I'll just drool at yours saja la.
you must be referring to ' magic bread' yeah unfortunately there's no explanation on the gelatinised dough. I prefer this to the tangzhong method as i find the dough easier to handle and results wise, both still give very good results , water roux bread could be a little more fluffier!
Cathy, thanks.Shirley, yea they are not that stiky. All your food looks great and they don't look like 'dog food'Jeannie, yea but lack of explanations though :)Reese, I baked these so I can give it to Diana as she can have it for her breakfast :)Sonia, thank you.Shaz, hope you try this out someday :)Wendy, yea sometimes my bread will turn out great sometimes not either. I guess making bread also depend on your mood :)Ann, thank you. Looking forward to see your bread.Hanushi, ooops. Forgot to include the pandan paste in the ingredients. I already added it in.Shereen, yea cold weather is not good for bread making. I know you like to bake bread late at night.
Yen, I used pandan paste.Lena, I got it mixed up :) I prefer fluffier texture for bread.Bee Bee, I forgot to take a shot of how it look like inside. Maybe next time when I make this again :)Leemei, me too. Reminds me of home :)Ilovecooking, I am in PA and I am able to get most of the ingredients here. Certain ingredients I have to get in from NY.Joyce, thank you.Kristy, thank you.
To think that the simple technique can result in such wonderful looking bun is amazing. Yes, from the last picture, I could tell it is very very soft. Just like those we get from Asian Bakeries! You knead well and make good breads HHB!
Nice buns...:) I have the same problem on breads and buns too, as the buns always go hard the next day. Btw, I haven't try any of the water roux method yet. Afraid its too difficult to handle, that;s why..;p
hi HHB, You are really good at bread making. The slitted buns look really professional. Even better looking than some of the ones sold in bakeries. Thanks for sharing the tips on how to do the slits. I think I shall get the book and try this one day. I will be practicing the direct fermentation method first before going on to other indirect methods and techniques like tangzhong, water roux and other western bread making methods. cheers and happy baking =]
Quinn, thanks! I guess I have lots of practice over the past few years kneading bread by hand ;)Thanks Fuat Gencal!ReeseKitchen, if you have a standing mixer, then you should try the water roux method, it is not as difficult as it seems. The only thing is the dough is very wet, it takes too much hard work to knead by hand.quizzine, the kneading blade of my bread machine just refuse to move :'(Thanks Angie! When I first started to make bread, I studied many of your bread recipes :) Thanks for sharing!Swee San, I like to made red bean buns as I love tau sar since young!Thanks Happy Flour :):)Pei Lin, I saw your flickr photo before you left this comment :) I am waiting for your blog post!busygran, I just hope they could stay as soft the next day!PlumLeaf, your husband is so sweet! I like Chinese red bean buns too :)Jess, yes, this dough is much easier to work with. Actually, I made it a point to take photos of the window pane test to show you that it can be done within 30mins. The only thing is I was kneading it alone, if not I would ask my kids to take a video clip of the kneading process.Bakertan, fyi, I learned the shaping of the buns from another book, not this one. All along I use the direct method, it is only recently that I tried the water roux method. I will continue to explore the various methods, just that I had to stick Salonpas for three days after each kneading session....aunty here getting very old :'(Beau Lotus, I wish I could pass some over to you :DSu-yin, will love to read about your bread buns :)
Ur rolls are so pretty....I think they look like giant 毛毛虫, cute!I tried this recipe from Alex Goh before, this is the easiest dough I had ever handled, I mean it's not sticky at all after proofing, perfect for shaping. However, the bread turned out a bit dry the next day, a bit disappointed as some of my bread made by straight method can keep longer than this.
Anonymous, yes I knead the dough by hand, I have been doing that ever since my bread machine died :(Honey Boy, you may have mistaken, this bread recipe requires yeast.SSB, I measured. 3g salt is half a teaspoon, while 4g instant yeast is 1 teaspoon, half a teaspoon is 2g. Let me know if u need to convert anything :)Ellena, thanks! It is partly because I like to play with dough ;)Thanks Kasia!Aimei, thanks, practice makes perfect, you should have seen the very first buns I made ;)Cook.Bake.Love, really?! You experienced the same thing? I thought I was being bias, when I feel that some recipes using the straight dough method gave better results. I suspect it is the amount of water used.
Hi HHB!It's been a while since I last went bloghopping. I'm really glad to see a bread post here since I started making my very first breads and buns because I was so inspired by your homemade buns!(Not sure if you remember though)I was told that the tang zhong method produces the "softest homemade bread texture". I failed once and have not tried it since. =(As usual, your shaping is fantastic! Love the nice clean slits you made and the nice brown shade on each bread! YUMS!
Hi! Your red bean buns look so gorgeous! Wish I could just take one from the screen! :)Congrats on getting a digital scale! (Now then I know, haha!)BTW, the red beans paste you're using, are they from Phoon Huat? Is it very very sweet? My teeth can't take sweet things! ;) I've been using "water-roux" for all my bread loaves/buns, and there is no turning back. :) Oh yah, for kneading bread dough, may be you can use a mixture of "摔打" (throw & bang) method to achieve the window pane faster. I find it very effective for me.Hope to see more savoury/sweet "water-roux" buns from you! :)
I've given up on hand-kneading bread dough... used my KA and the poor machine kneaded 45mins to reach the pane stage. I also find using the water-roux method yields the same kind of results as the straight dough method. so i've stopped using that. great looking buns!
I think I didn't get my tangzhong correctly the last time I made them. The bread was only soft on the day it was baked.Looking at your buns made me so tempted to try my hands on them again. I've not made bread for a long time...
Hi HHB,Hope you can enligten me on Overnight sponge dough by Alex Goh. I have recently bought 1 of his book titled Baking Code,all the bread recipe requires Overnight sponge dough, the problem is it just indicate 150g overnight sponge dough, 1 cold egg, 240g cold water. The basic recipe for overnight sponge dough is 100g bread flour, 60g water(room temp) 1/4tsp instant yeast. Am I suppose to increase the bread flour to 150g, water to 90g and 1 1/2 tsp yeast? Thanks in advance.Confused
Hi HHBThanks for ur pics on the membrane/window pane test. I followed it and managed to get my sweet bread dough to work :)Here's the link. -raisin-bread.htmlcheersMissB
Hi Happy Home Baker,I got inspired reading your blog, especially looking at the pictures of your creations. Thanks for inspiring me to take on the challenge of baking bread. My only problem is converting the recipe to US measurements, I tried converting it but I did not trust my own conversions. Please help, if you could convert the measurements to tsp, tbsp and cups.Happy baking,Kusinera of Hayward, CA