A page from the recipe planner - sourdough focaccia

 

It's been a while since I last shared a page from my recipe planner....but I found these photos of my sourdough focaccia on my phone and remembered how yummy it turned out... definitely deserves to have a place in my recipe planner. :)

I've made this several times but this one was the fluffiest one to date....check out the holes in the bread!:) I used the recipe from Foodgeek, adding slightly more water than the original recipe because the organic flour I use absorbs a lot of water. You might have to tweak it based on your climate. High hydration doughs are usually harder to work with but since this bread gets its shape from the pan, I went in with as much water as the dough could take and it worked well for me! *triumphant music plays in the background*

The toppings for my bread were organic sea salt, oregano and tomato. So I went with the patterned papers and stickers to match my bread. :)

I tried to match up the corresponding page too.

Lots of fussy-cut bits...

Happy week ahead friends! :)

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A page from the recipe planner - chocolate sourdough bread

 

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing a page from the recipe planner - chocolate sourdough bread. :)

My first foray into the sweeter side of sourdough breads. These smell amazing when they are piping hot right out of the oven. But of course, you can't cut into them. I wait till the next day. (Yes, my friends, who is this patient gal right? *winks*)

I did modify the recipe though...I used walnuts. The original recipe uses hazelnuts which are ridiculously expensive here.

The upside about working on my recipe pages is that I get to use up my 6x6 patterned paper scraps and stickers.:)

And small fussy-cut pieces that might get lost on a regular 12x12 page...:)

Happy Tuesday friends! :)

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A page from the recipe planner - sourdough sandwich bread

 

Ahh..haven't made this sourdough sandwich bread in a while. It worked out well when I was using ordinary all-purpose flour (earlier in the pandemic when flour supply was scarce and that was all I could get)) but once I switched to my regular organic all-purpose flour, the bread got a little denser and drier and the complaints came in (yes, the Yams are such whiners...*LOL*). 

Organic flours tend to be more "thirsty" so I need to adjust the hydration levels. Maybe add a tangzhong to the recipe to keep the bread really soft and moist. And add a few more stretch and folds for a better rise too. :)

I should totally experiment to perfect my sourdough sandwich bread since it doesn't require any toasting to eat...perfect for the lazy members of the Yam family. 

Definitely had fun using my little scrap bits. And how cute is that bear notepaper? 

Happy Wednesday friends!:)

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A page from the recipe planner - Tangzhong sourdough bread

 

Hello friends! Just sharing a page from the recipe planner featuring my fave free-standing sourdough bread - the Tangzhong sourdough bread! :)

I think I've "perfected" the technique for this bread because I've baked it several times with stellar results *clearly not modest at all*....hehehe.

It's my treat on days when I worked out hard and get to eat breakfast in the am. :) Actually, I only eat it once a week because sometimes I'm too lazy to heat up my frozen bread in the oven and just go for chia seed pudding instead. And no, no microwave in the Yam household for health reasons.

On non-workout days (alternate days), I just start working on lunch earlier and have a hearty brunch instead. Yes, this feed-the-family-homecooked-meals-everyday-thing is really time-consuming. Which is why Wednesdays are Eat Your Own Lunch Wednesdays in the Yam household. *winks*

I got to use up a whole bunch of notecards, stickers and washi tape.

Hope your week is going well. :)

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A page from the recipe planner - lychee tarts

 

These are currently my fave tarts to make - lychee tarts.

The tart shell is made from a pâte sablée dough which is crisp and more cookie-like. It is filled with lychee flavoured pastry cream and topped with lychee pieces. :)

 It's surprising light and refreshing. And yummy. If you like the taste of lychee. *winks*

The owl makes another appearance....hehe.

I was happy to squeeze the entire recipe in. :)

Happy Tuesday friends!

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A page from the recipe planner - Basque burnt cheesecake

 

This week's page from the recipe planner is Basque burnt cheesecake - possibly the world's easiest cheesecake. :)

I'm used to making traditional New York cheesecake which involves making a biscuit base, baking in a water bath, cooling in the oven with the door slightly ajar, cooling on the table till room temperature and an overnight refrigeration before one can even cut into it. 

The Basque burnt cheesecake is a one bowl, one whisk and baked within the hour cheesecake...which can be...*wait for it* eaten at room temperature! :)

I've made this enough times to have tweaked it to my preferred doneness - soft and gooey on the inside and a bit custardy on the outer edges of the cake. :)

It is ONE of those baked goods that looks terrible...

Mum, "Oh dear, did you burn your cake?"

And everyone avoids taking the most "burnt" piece on their first try...but later realizes that the "burnt" (caramelized) ones are much more yummy. *LOL*

Have you tried Basque burnt cheesecake? I like mine chilled because it tastes like ice-cream. :)

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A page from the recipe planner - bibimbap

 

One of the Yam family's fave weekday lunch meals is bibimbap - Korean mixed rice bowl. 

The original Korean recipe calls for all the veggies and meat to be cooked separately and arranged along the circumference of a mound of rice in a bowl. For visual impact, you have a mix of colourful veggies like carrots, corn and peppers. And you finish off with a sunny side-up on top. To eat it, you add as much gochujang sauce as you want and just mix the whole bowl up.

I tend to cook this dish when I'm low on meat supply...I just add a medley of veggies and mushrooms to bulk it up. The runny egg yolk really ties this dish together, making this mixed rice bowl dish a member of the empty bowl club. *winks* 

You can use any protein you like ...I always mix it up..chicken, beef or pork. I also mix up my own gochujang sauce by adding honey, sesame oil and a squeeze of lemon to give it more depth of flavour.

I also serve up some other condiments on the side. like fried garlic, white sesame seeds and seaweed. My family members are fussy and will complain if I add stuff they don't like to their rice bowl. Or give me that face of disgust. I know, the Yams are totally spoiled. *LOL*

I do cheat a little when I make this dish though. Instead of cooking each veggie separately, I cook them all together (since they are all going to be mixed up anyway) to save time.

What about you? Have you tried a mixed rice bowl?

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Another page from the recipe planner - crispy pork belly

Today I'm sharing another family fave from the recipe planner - crispy pork belly. Whenever I make this dish, the Yams would be eating more rice than usual. :)

Prior to the whole stay-at-home situation, this was a dish I would order in a Chinese restaurant or a famous hawker stall because I thought it must be such a difficult dish to make since the meat was so succulent and juicy and the skin on top so crispy and yummy.

Apparently it was way easier than expected. And you could do it in an air fryer! The hardest part (for me) was actually piercing the holes on the skin because the skin is quite tough when it is raw.

Happy weekend friends!:)

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