Super Easy, Four-Ingredient Ciabatta Bread

I hadn't made bread before, but when I came across this simple recipe from Caroline Bretherton in her book "Step-by-Step Baking", I could not resist not making it! It's so easy and you probably have 3 of the 4 ingredients already in your pantry! As an added bonus, you don't need any mixers with a dough hook! 

Ingredients:

450g Strong White Bread Flour

2 tsp Dried Yeast

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Sea Salt

 Steps:

1. Dissolve yeast in 350ml of warm water. Then add the oil.

2. Mix flour and salt.

3. Add the wet ingredients and stir to form a rough sticky dough.

4. Place the dough on a flour-dusted surface and kneed it for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and well-formed (Add bits of flour if it's too sticky).

5. Place the dough in a bowl and cover it with Glad Wrap and leave it in a warm place for 2 hours.

6. After the two hours, the dough will have risen to approximately twice its size.

9. Return the dough to the floured surface and knock the dough back with your fists.

10. Knead the dough again for a few minutes until it's smooth (Again, add bits of flour if it's too sticky).

11. Divide the dough into two equal parts and shape them like a round-edged rectangle.

12. Place the doughs on a baking sheet and cover with a Glad Wrap loosely. Leave them for 30 minutes.

13.  The doughs will have almost doubled as size again.

14. Cook in the oven at 230C for 30 minutes. Spray with water before putting in the oven and afterwards, every 10 minutes.

15. Place the breads on wire racks to cool before cutting.

16. Enjoy!!!~~~

Eating out in Melbourne- Koko Black

What's a Chocolate Choux Pastry you ask?

It's this delicious dessert which Koko Black is serving as part of its winter menu right now. I went there last week and ordered it, just cause it looked intriguing! Turns out, there are kind of like a chocolate eclair but until you cut it open, you can't see the delicious cream and raspberry sauce inside.

What I would really want to know is how you poour the cream inside the pastry, 'cause as far as I could see, there weren't any tiny holes at the bottom of the pastry to pipe the cream in, as is the case with profiteroles.

Hmmmm.... I really want to have the recipe for this cutieee...:D...Any ideas?

Easy Veal Stew

I have never cooked with wine before, but of course I really wanted to ignite my pot on fire just cause it looks cool.. lol ! Anyways, I found a recipe for veal saltimbocca and I tweaked it a little bit to make this yummy veal stew. Addition of tomato paste, and a bit of water to the wine for the sauce, means you won't have the pot on fire, but still it makes a really delicious weekend lunch!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used South Island's Sauvignon Blanc)
• 200g mini Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 bunch of continental parsley
• 1/2 bunch of sage
• 200g veal medallions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (optional, but I found it's a lot tastier with it)
• Plain flour for dusting
• Olive oil

Method:

1. Dust the veal medallions and sage leaves with flour, just enough to coat both sides of them.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan.

3. Fry the veal medallions in the pan until all sides are golden.

4. Place the medallions in the oven for 10 mins at 180C so that they are cooked through.

5. In the same pan that you used to fry the medallions, add the white wine, cherry tomatoes with crushed garlic.

6. Stir and add the tomato paste.

7. Give the sauce a stir every now and then.
8. Add three tablespoons of water and stir.
9. Cover with lid and simmer for about 6 minutes, stirring often.

10. Stir through the parsley and let simmer for another 2 minutes.

You can serve the veal stew with bread or rice, your choice! and ofcourse, the rest of that bottle of wine. Enjoy!!~~~~

 

My Beautiful Rainy Paris

Just some pictures of the rainy days of Paris during my visit!~~~