Saturday, July 31, 2010

Pork Floss Loaf

These past few days I have been deliberating on what I should bake. I was torn between baking lemon-scented pull-apart coffee cake, cream cheese cinnamon rolls and....a pork floss loaf. I chose to make the loaf, only because it was the healthier one out of all three. I'm glad that I made it because the loaf tasted spectacular. Really soft and yummy, just like the ham and cheese loaf my mom buys from the bakery to pack as a lunch for me. I got the recipe from Happy Homebaker.

Pork Floss Loaf
From Happy Homebaker who adapted it from Bread Magic
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Ingredients
330g bread flour
30g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted and used salted butter)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
190ml fresh milk (I ran out of milk at 120 ml, so I had to substitute the rest with half evaporated milk and half water)
25g butter, room temperature
some pork floss (I also used some red bean paste, separately)

I made this bread through the hand kneading process. Please refer to Happy Homebaker's blog for the bread machine method.

Mix bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add in the milk and start kneading. I used a dough scraper to mix the milk and dry ingredients together so my hands wouldn't get too sticky. Then, start kneading with your hands. Keep kneading until the dough comes together and is pretty smooth. Now, add in the butter and knead it in. That's all you have to do. Knead it until it is smooth and elastic, passing the window pane test.
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Leave to proof for around 1 hour or double in size. To be certain that it is done proofing, use two fingers and quickly press the dough around a 1/2 inch deep, if the indent stays, it's done. If it puffs back up, leave to proof for a longer time.
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Punch down the dough and then let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll it out into a 15 inch by 18 inch rectangle after 10 minutes pass. Spread pork floss or a filling of your choice onto the rectangle. Be sure to leave a 1/2 inch border around the whole rectangle.
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Roll it up like you would a swiss roll. Seal the ends.
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Place the "seam side" face down in a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and cover with a damp cloth/ plastic wrap. Leave to rise until it fills up the pan 80%, around 30 minutes. Bake at 355*F for 25-30 minutes. Take it out from the oven and cool on wire rack immediately. Wait until it is cool before slicing and serving.


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The cross section of the bread reminded me a bit of tangzhong bread.
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Notes: I used red bean too because I didn't want to use up too much pork floss.
Roll up the roll tightly to prevent the gap you see in my bread. (or maybe it's b/c there is a lot fillings=harder for bread to stick together?)
If left overnight, make sure to rebake for a nice and soft texture, otherwise it will be a bit dense and chewy as noted by Happy Homebaker.

This recipe was really good! You should try it out.

Variations: Red Bean
Ham and Cheese
Coconut Shreds

7 comments:

  1. I'm always deliberating over what to bake on the weekends....there's so many things I read about that I want to make! Your prok floss loaf looks really good! It looks really soft and fluffy =] Now I have cravings for bread! I haven't made bread for a while now....=[

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  2. i love to eat meat floss but i dont know how to cook.. :)

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  3. Hi, not sure whether I am wrong, (from what I see from your photos), when you leave the dough to proof for the first time, you need to shape/smooth it to a smooth round dough. This way it will proof better and the texture of the final bread will be better. Also, you need to place the dough in a bowl, and cover the top of the bowl, and not cover the dough with the cling wrap, (just like the way you do it for the 2nd proof). This way, the dough can expand without any resistance from the cling wrap. Ignore me if this is not the case. Hope you won't mind me being a busy body ;p

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  4. Hey Von, I'm just like you. :) I have such a long list of things I want to bake, but it'll take me forever to finish that list b/c it keeps adding up. Thanks for your compliments.

    Hi Reanaclaire, If you mean you don't know how to cook the meat floss, I just buy it from the store. It can be found in Asian supermarkets. If you meant you don't know how to cook, I don't know how either. :)

    Hi Happy Homebaker,
    Thanks for your advice, I certainly don't mind. I'm always open to learning new things about baking. I never knew that I should smooth out the dough, I'll be sure to try it next time. ^_^ The only reason I covered it with cling wrap like that was b/c I thought that way a skin wouldn't form? I guess it doesn't matter, as long as you cover the bowl? Thanks :)

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  5. Yes, just cover the cling wrap over the bowl will do, it won't form a skin. Looking forward to reading more bread posts from you :)

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Thanks for reading my blog. I love hearing about your thoughts and/or your advice. :)

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