DOUGH

Steamed Buns

Hot buns, steamed, filled with meat or sweets are delicious for snacking or a light lunch.   The correct and consistency of the dough is the key to have good buns.

Steam Buns with Pork Filling

The Recipe

This recipe works well in my kitchen, I prepared the buns last week, and they were simply delicious.

In my kitchen I create flavours, often I fill them with savoury pork with mustard sauce and serve with sautéed greens.

I love my sweet buns filled with sweet black bean paste or mung bean paste.

Dough for Steam Buns

2 cups heap full plain flour

A cup heap full plain flour

2 teaspoons dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oil

½ cup flour extra for kneading

2 ½ cups warm water (1/2 cup mix with the yeast-the one cup add into the flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder and extra flour if needed

Method

Mix the yeast with warm water, keep aside until frothy

Place flour, sugar, salt in a large bowl, mix together

Add in the bubbly yeast, oil and a cup of warm water, and mix together.

The dough is very sticky at this stage, add in a little more flour to have a soft dough

Transfer the dough on a floured board, and knead the dough Lightly.  Add flour and rub your fingers with flour, and continue kneading until the dough is smooth but not sticky.

Place the dough back on an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and put it in a warm place for one hour to proof.

Punch the dough down, and knead gently and roll the dough to thin round, add sprinkle with the baking powder.  Fold and knead it lightly, shape it to a sausage shape.

Divide the dough into eight small balls to make eight buns.

The Steamed Buns

Fill these eight small buns with any filling as you like.

For Chinese steamed buns, you can have sweet or savoury fillings, delicious black beans paste, and pork fillings are very popular.

The Preparations

All ingredients mixed together, and the dough is sticky.

The sticky dough is on a floured board ready to knead

More flour for the dough to help the kneading easier

Knead gently

The dough is less sticky.

Kneading the dough to get a smooth and soft texture

The dough is soft and smooth, ready to proof to double in bulk.

The dough has doubled in bulk after one-hour proofing.

Adding baking powder on the dough, knead again quickly.

Fold and knead the dough, shape into a long sausage and cut it into eight,
to make small balls.

Roll each ball into a thin round, place the filling in the middle

Shaping, gather the edges of the dough in, to enclose the filling.  Put
the bun on a circle round baking paper
The muffins are ready to steam within ten minutes.

Cooked Steamed Buns
They need 16-20 minutes steaming/cooking

The buns freeze well.  It is a good idea to make a few batches, freeze them and enjoy at any time you wish to.
Often I serve the buns as a garnish of Meat and Vegetables Stew/Ragu.  Enjoy the hot ragu with a complement of the steamed buns to mop the sauce.  Delicious.

Happy Cooking
Thank you for stopping by
Susy

SEEDLINGS

Mixed Seedlings

One can be so lucky, I visited the local nursery,  The Grow Master to get an Ivy plant, but the nursery did not have it. Anyway instead of going home, I went around to look at the place, and I saw mixed herbs seedling for sale at a special price.  I took a few,  one potted lovage, and three punnets of mixed lettuces, basil and chives, and the total price was only five dollars, I was so proud that I have saved about twenty five dollars.  I took them home and hoping this coming Autumn I will have fresh mixed lettuce to pick and within a month I will harvest the basil. and chives.

The Seedlings

Mixed red and green lettuces

Chives

My plan was, the mixed lettuce and the basil were going to be planted in the vegetable patch,

Red, green lettuces,  and basil were planted under these tall herb and tomato plants on the vegetable patch.  The new seedlings are delicate, so these tall plants will protect them.  Hopefully I could harvest them within a month.

The lovage was planted  in a pot, I got one already and it is growing in the ground right now, but it does not look very well.

Lovage

Basil's

All seedlings have been planted, what they need is tender loving care, specially during the hot days, to day is a warm day but not too bad, later in the afternoon the seedling will be watered, to keep them cool.

It is not about seedlings but an apple tree.  I got a potted apple plant for Rayner a while ago, and he has been taking care of since.

I am showing you Rayner's apple tree: dwarf ballerina pink lady, it is fruiting now and we will have a lot of apples this year, as long as the bird won't come to harvest them before us.  I think the tree is doing better than last year.  Rayner has been looking after the tree well, the other day he bought a net for covering the plant, to protect the apples from the birds.  I think it is going to work, and he must have a good harvest this time.

The three pictures of one apple plant. April - May the fruits are ready to harvest, hopefully.

Today, sweets were prepared for a treat.  These mini Ricotta cakes were cooked  over the stove.  It does not take long at all to cook, and without lighting up the oven.  The kitchen stays
cool, this cooking technique is excellent for a hot day.

Mini Ricotta Cakes

The recipe is here for you, what you need is a cake pan which is hard to get over here in Australia, it was bought from Yogyakarta,  in Java.

The Cake Pan

Mini Ricotta Cake

Makes 8

Ingredients:

½ cup fresh ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons whipped cream

1tablespoon caster sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1 egg

Rind of lemon

1 tablespoon chopped raisins or sultana

Extra butter for greasing the cake pan.

Method

Put the cake pan over hot burner,  until hot, take it off the heat and keep aside.

Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix together to make smooth batter (I use a hand whisk)

Spoon and put in a hot buttered pan and place the cover on, cook over a very low heat for 13 minutes then turn them over. Take the cake pan off the heat.  Keep the cakes in the pan until cool.  Transfer the cool cake  to a plate and dust with icing powder.

It is soft and delicious, serve with black coffee.


In my backyard I will get more self seeds plants from the last season lettuces.  More free seedlings which I could share with friends.

Butter lettuce flowers turning to seeds.

Self sewn tomato plant

My self sewn tomato starts flowering, and today I saw some small tomatoes already.  Fresh tomato salad is on the menu, that's for sure.






Until Next Post
Susy

Avocado Bread and the Garden.

Avocado is one of my favourite fruits.  It is delicious to add in salads or drinks. Picking avocado is not easy, choose the large one and firm not too ripe or too soft.  I bought one in a supermarket, I thought I did the right thing, and it has been in the fridge since until I wanted to prepare a mixed salad.  There it was, it looked good, but bruises inside.  I took some of the good one, I did not mix it with the salad, but I mashed it up and added with yoghurt for making avocado bread.  It worked well, and the bread was delicious.

Avocado Bread with Nuts

Here is the recipe for you.

Avocado Bread with Nuts

Ingredients
Two cups full of self-raising flour put it on a large bowl.
A handful of mixed nuts, add onto the flour and mix.
Avocado mixture:
Place these ingredients in a small bowl
- 2 tablespoons mashed avocado, 1 tablespoon yoghurt, 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil, 1 egg and 1/2 cup milk.
(mix all together)

Method
Add in the avocado mixture onto the flour mix,  all at once, mix in quickly to make a soft dough.
Transfer on a lined paper baking tray.  Shape in a long loaf and mark diagonal across with a knife.
Bake in a preheated hot oven at 210 (my oven-a fan forced) for 18 minutes.  Transfer onto tea towel which is lined with baking paper,  Wrap it quickly and let it cool, I did it because I want the bread soft and moist.
Slice when it is cold, serve with cheese or simply spread it with good butter.

The Process

Sharing what is going on in My Garden.

Second Round Roses

Red roses are back in flowers, but they look different compared to the first round.  Anyway, it is good to see that there are colours in the garden.

Snap Shots

We had a lot of rains of late, the potted plants are flourishing, and the potted fig trees are fruiting beautifully and looking so healthy.

The vegetable patch is so good, herbs and self seeds Swiss Chard is growing well, it is the time for baking vegetable and cheese pie.

The avocado bread was right, it keeps well for a few days in the pantry, and soon I will bake the vegetable pie, make the best of the fresh Swiss Chard.

Until Next Post

Susy