The Chocolate Medley!

The Everyday Bread Challenge

yeap. this is my third time making this everyday bread from Happy Home Baker's blog. from her blog it seems like bread making is SO DARN EASY. whenever i do this bread, its either:

-after kneading dough doesn't seem to be as soft and smooth as HHB's
-felt more like a pizza dough
- after baking bread is very hard...rock hard
-when sliced, inside may seem airy and fine but actually very coarse
-turns stale almost immediately after cooling down
-can only serve as french toast... if put in toaster will become a huge cookie =(


for my first 2 attempt, i was ignorant and did not give my dough a good knead. i still remember 2 weeks ago i made this recipe again and gave it only a 16 min knead. the result? well... whatever that was stated up there =(


after consulting HHB, she told me the important thing bout bread making was the kneading and if she hand knead her dough, she will knead it for at least 30+ min. bearing that in mind, i went for my third attempt today. i was suuuper careful with my ingredients and weigh them all very carefully according to the recipe. and as usual, the dough came together nicely but i thought it was kindda dry. i remember reading from HHB's blog that adding butter after 8-10min into the dough will be better so i did that too.


this is how the dough was after first 15 mins of kneading. of course cannot lah. the past dumb me will shape the dough at this stage and left it to proof. YES I WAS THAT DUMB. and so i continued to knead...


...and knead. this pic was taken after 30min of kneading and yea it may look like i am apply loads of pressure that but please believe me i am not. i just... push the dough a little. not push how should i say. okay there were pressure being applied but definitely not alot. a bit like how you massage a baby... get what i mean?

but anyway. dough at this point is in room temperature but still rather dry and tough...


and this was how the dough looked like after 45 mins of kneading. still cannot. okay though HHB said at least 30+ mins, i was actually thinking like 1 hour or something. still, dough was dry and tough. i did think of adding something in and in the end i added a tiny weeney bit of butter in. i thought i didn't add enough of butter or something and hope it will look really smooth and elastic. and so i continue to knead...




knead knead knead. this was taken when i had knead for almost 1 hour. BLOODY HELL DAMN TIRING AND I WAS SWEATING LIKE A COW. the weather was darn good today. super sunny and not bad at least it was windy. but still to me... ITS VERY HOT. i felt as though i was in the gym or something. anyway after 1 bloody hour of kneading, i thought maybe i should do the window pane test...and to my horror...


!@>)#$%^&^@#$^**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



WHAT THE HELL???!!! 1 BLOODY HOUR OF TRUE KNEADING STILL LIKE THAT??? THIS IS SUPER JAGGERED CAN? this time i got really fed up. i gave myself a 5 min break. went to drink water... let the dough rest a bit first. i thought maybe this would be better and continued to knead for like 15 mins. in fact i think more than 15 min coz i just kept kneading and kneading and refuse to see the clock. a bit like how i would always try not to give time a damn whenever i am running PE lessons in secondary school.


and after 1.5 hour of kneading... i officially gave up. KNN WHAT KIND OF DOUGH AM I FACING HERE? I THINK THE GOD OF BREAD PURPOSELY PICK ON ME!!! but seriously the dough this time round proof rather quickly! less than 1 hour the dough has beautifully rise up and doubled in size. i got mom to check and she said her way of judging whether the dough was done or not, was to use her fingertip and so a slight indention on the dough. if the print springs back slowly and not totally, then the dough is ready for shaping. so the dough went for it's shaping and 2nd proofing and into the oven. 2nd proofing was fine, the dough raised well.

but...



i got a rock out inside. yes i know the bread here looks very french... very rusty BUT HELLO I AM MAKING AN EVERYDAY BREAD!!! the surface of the loaf was ROCK HARD. niece accidentally drop a spoon on the bread and we could hear a very clear thumping sound! sound is like how a man flunk his shoes on the floor whenever he gets home from work. think all the moms definitely know that sound very well.


and this is the innard shot of the loaf. if you dont tell people that this is a bread, they confirm thought this is a pound cake. mom was consoling me... she told me 'cake then cake lor... can eat can already..' WAAAH!!!! T.T





man i think i really fail big time as a bread maker. how come cinnamon roll turn out so well for me but for loaf bread i just simply cannot make it? the bread taste fine when it was freshly and warm out from the oven. i ate it with my favorite kaya spread and try to feel contented even though i know after it cools down, i get craps again. and indeed, after my sunday family dinner, the bread really became stale and coarse. 1.5 bloody hour of kneading IS STILL USELESS FOR ME!!!


haiz it's times like this when i really feel like maybe i am fated to eat store bought breads forever and eat preservaties for life. i really wish i can bake soft and fluffy loaf for my family but i just simply can't! i guess i won't be touching this recipe for the time being... need to dig and cave and hide in to have a good cry first ='(

Everyday Bread originally from Happy Home Baker :

Ingredients:

270g bread flour
30g cake flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
170ml milk
1 tablespoon (about 14g) butter

Method:

1. Assemble the pan and kneader blade in the bread machine. Add in milk and butter, followed by sugar and salt. Spoon in the flour and make a slight indentation in the centre of the flour. Add the yeast in the indentation.
2. Shut the lid and set to the "Dough" function. The machine will do the mixing, kneading and proofing within 1 hr 30mins (The setting and timing vary among different brands of bread machine).
3. At the end of the programme, remove the dough from the pan. The dough should have doubled in size.
4. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and and punch to deflate it.
5. Roll the dough back and forth with your palms to form a rope. Fold the ends of the dough under so that it is even width and the exact length of the tin. Lightly grease the pan (not necessary if it is a non-grease pan) and lay the dough in it.
6. Cover with cling wrap and let it proof for another 30 mins, or until double in bulk.
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degC for 25 ~ 30mins. The bread should be well risen, golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on wire rack before slicing.

for those who have attempted this recipe, please sure with me your experience and any changes you have made if you did! and for those who did not, do try out and let me know your results too! i guess i really got no luck with this recipe... sigh =(


p.s: please do not misunderstood that i am saying this recipe is no good! it's definitely accurate and its pure obvious that my bread making skill sucks and God Of Bread hates me. i've tried out HHB's milk loaf once and it turn out fine. will definitely make that one again =)

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Name: Katherine

Location: Singapore, Asia, Singapore

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