My Bakescapade !

 

Lately, I have been wanting to learn about bread baking.   My inspiration came from watching baking shows on Cable TV like "Baking Made Easy" by Lorraine Pascale, Martha Stewart's "Martha Bakes"and Cup Cake Wars. I enjoyed watching these shows and I was so amazed with the bakers' talent, artistry and creativity. 

 Lorraine Pascale ~ a former British model turned cook
Photo from www.mightyape.co.nz

 Martha Stewart ~ an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality

Photo from www.tastebook.com

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Cupcake Wars is a reality based cupcake making competition hosted by Justin Willman and with judges, Candace Nelson (Pastry Chef and owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes) and Florian Bellanger (French Pastry Chef)

Photo from zap2it.com

Look so yummilicious !

Photo from saltlakecity.about.com 

I looked for a baking school near our area and found one. The trainor owns a bakery herself  and had been in the business for several years. I took the Bread Baking and Bakery Management Training Program.  Todate,  I finished Levels 1 and  2 and I am planning to take Levels 3 and  4 as well. For those who are interested to learn bread baking, you may contact :

Rose Manalo

JETROSE BAKERY

F. Reyes Street  Balibago Road 

Sta. Rosa, Laguna 

(In front of Walter Mart)

Mobile No. 0917-9940296

These are the breads we baked in Level 1 :

1. PANDESAL
2. TASTY
3. BURGER BUNS
4. ENSAYMADA
5. SPANISH BREAD
6. KESO ROLL
7. CHEESE BREAD
8. CINAMON ROLL
9. PANDECOCO
10. GERMAN CHOCO FUDGE ROLL

And below is Level 2 :

1. MALUNGAY PANDESAL
2. FLAVORED TASTY ala Gardenia
3. FRIED DONUT
4. UBE BARS
5. EGG PIE
6. MONAY sliced
7. SLICED MONGO ROLLS
8. MONAY BIG
9. MONAY PUTOK
10.KALIHIM
11.UBE FLOWER
12. CHOCOLATE CRINKLES
13.FLAVORED COOKIES

Bread baking ingredients consist of  the following :

1.  FLOUR   

Flour provides the structure for the product and the most important ingredient in bread production.  The most common type of flour used in bread baking is the Hard Flour or Bread Flour.  This contains more stretchy gluten and has a high water absorption capacity. It produces bread that has a higher volume.

The Soft Wheat Flour or Cake Flour has a high starch content  and is ideal for cakes, pastry and cookies.  It is not ideal for bread baking.

The All-purpose flour also called generally used flour or pastry flour is a combination of  60 % bread flour and 40% cake flour.  This can be used to produce variety of cakes and pastries and to make breads as well but it is more expensive.  It serves as a substitute for either cake or bread flour but it will require more mixing in cake and more kneading for bread.

The Whole grain flour do not have as much gluten because there are other ingredients like the germ and bran which get between the gluten molecules. This flour is usually combined with bread or all-purpose flour to make a better  crumb.

The dough kneader at work

2.  YEAST

Yeast  is the essential ingredient which makes the dough rise and gives home-baked bread a great taste and aroma.   It is the heart of the bread baking process called Fermentation. During the process of fermentation, the yeast multiplies and grows by using the available sugars and water, giving off carbon dioxide (for rise) and ethyl alcohol (for flavor) as by products.

3. WATER

Water hydrates the flour and makes gluten development possible.   In bread making, water stimulates the growth of both the yeast and the development of gluten .  It dissolves and activates the yeast. It also activates the protein in wheat flour and blends with it to create sticky and elastic dough.

 

Water does two important things in bread making. It dissolves and activates the yeast and blends with the flour to create a sticky and elastic dough.

Photo from : redlineendurance.com

4.  SALT

Salt is a flavor enhancer and helps keep the quality of the bread.  It slows rising time, allowing the flavor of the dough to develop and adds structure to the dough by strengthening the gluten, which keeps the carbon dioxide bubbles from expanding too rapidly.

Salt is a major component in bread

Photo from athleanx.com

5.  SUGAR 

The main role for sugar in  yeast bread is to provide food for the yeast. Sugar adds flavor and rich brown color to a bread's crust.

 Photo from stopsugarcravingseasily.com

6.  FATS

In bread making, the most commonly used form of fat is the shortening, next is margarine and then butter. Fat adds flavor and make bread tender and moist. It slows moisture loss, helping bread stay fresh longer. 

Shortening has bland flavor and has excellent creaming quality.  However, most bakeries use the flavored margarine because of it adds a vanilla like flavor to the bread and cost almost the same.  On the other hand, butter is used only to make high end products such as cinnamon rolls, ensaymadas, cream buns, etc.

Fats help the gluten strands to be more elastic and the finished product softer and with longer shelf life

Photo from www.guardian.co.uk

7.  EGGS

Egg is a very expensive ingredient. which adds food value, color and flavor to breads. It also helps make the crumb fine and the crust tender. Egg adds richness and protein. Some recipes call for eggs to be used as a wash that adds color.

The biggest benefit from using eggs in a recipe is that it extends the shelf life of the bread.  This is because the lecithin in the egg is a form of fat which provides extra moisture to the crumb

Photo from www.everythingeggs.ca

8.  MILK

Milk has a stabilizing effect on fermentation, preventing wild fermentation. It improves crust color because of the lactose sugar it contains. It also improves texture, crumb color, flavor, taste, and keeping quality of the baked loaf.

 Milk gives better taste and aroma

Photo from blog.thealliedgrp.com

Here are some of the breads we baked during the Sessions :

PANDESAL

Pandesal is the classic Filipino bread introduced by the Spaniards.  It is a bread roll made of flour, eggs, yeast, sugar and salt.  It came from the Spanish word "Pan de Sal"  which means "Bread of Salt"  but it is actually sweeter than it is salty.  It is traditionally served as a breakfast roll~ buttered and dipped in coffee or hot chocolate.

In Pandesal making, the dough is shaped  by rolling it into long logs (baston) which are rolled in fine bread crumbs. These are then portioned, allowed to rise, and baked.

Cutting the baston dough

The Classic Pandesal

The Pandesal has evolved and we now have the popular and enriched with vitamins ~ Malunggay (Moringa Olifeira) Pandesal

Mixing the Malunggay leaves with the dough

TASTY LOAF BREAD

 Loaf Bread is a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating

 Preparing the dough for the tasty loaf bread

 Placing the tasty bread dough in the baking pan

The Tasty Loaf Bread (Not yet sliced)

BURGER BUNS

Burger Buns fresh from the oven

ENSAYMADA

The Philippines is a Spanish Colony for 300 years and has  adopted the Majorcan ensaimada (commonly spelled Ensaymada).  Ensaymada is one of the most common delicacies in the Philippines. The localized pastry is a brioche baked with butter instead of lard and topped with grated cheese and sugar. Upscale versions of ensaymada can be topped with butter cream and sugar.

Ensaymada dough formed into a swirl

Baked Ensaymada

SPANISH BREAD

Spanish Bread  is a soft and moist type of bread with sugar and butter filling.  It is a favorite merienda in the Philippines paired with coffee or milk.

Spanish Bread

KESO ROLL (Cheese Roll)

Keso Roll or Cheese Roll is a snack food rolled into a tube shape with a sliced or grated cheese filling topped with margarine and sugar.

 Rolling and inserting the cheese inside the dough

Keso Roll

CHEESE BREAD

Philippine cheese bread is a commercial soft pandesal but smoother, its surface encrusted in sweet cheese granules instead of bread crumbs. The interior is soft, almost dry and denser.

Cheese Bread

CINNAMON ROLL

Cinnamon roll or cinnamon swirl is a sweet pastry that is made out of rolled sheet of yeast dough in a cinnamon, raisin and sugar mixture then topped with a sweet glaze

Cinnamon Roll or Swirl

GERMAN CHOCO FUDGE ROLL

German Choco Fudge Roll

FLAVORED TASTY LOAF BREAD

Loaf bread with Ube and Chocolate flavor

 

Applying the chocolate filling in the dough

 Flavored Tasty Loaf Bread

FRIED DONUT

Donut Dough

Sugar raised donuts

Cinnamon donuts

UBE BARS (Purple Yam Bread Bars)

 

 Ube flavored Dough

 The ube baked dough after dipping it in the Ube Syrup

 Ube Bars

 

EGG PIE

Egg pie is a popular bakery item in the Philippines made out of egg custard baked on top of pastry dough

 Egg Pie

MONAY PUTOK and MONAY BIG

Monay is one of the classic breads in the Philippines. It is always sold hot during meryenda or snack time

Monay Putok

Monay Big

KALIHIM

The  Kalihim is one of the popular Pinoy bread and  is a soft bread with a bright red filling peeking out of its folds.  The red filling is actually a thin bread pudding made from stale bread, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and lots of bright red food color. It is then wrapped in the main dough, pricked with a fork and baked. It is also known as "Pan de Pula" or "Pan de Regla."

The red filling is actually a thin bread pudding made from stale bread, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and lots of bright red food color. It is then wrapped in the main dough, pricked with a fork and baked. - See more at: http://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/44900/local-bread-10-best-panaderia-finds-in-manila/4#sthash.QRNYuhyt.dpuf

The red filling is actually a thin bread pudding made from stale bread, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and lots of bright red food color. It is then wrapped in the main dough, pricked with a fork and baked. - See more at: http://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/44900/local-bread-10-best-panaderia-finds-in-manila/4#sthash.QRNYuhyt.dpuf

The red filling is actually a thin bread pudding made from stale bread, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and lots of bright red food color. It is then wrapped in the main dough, pricked with a fork and baked. - See more at: http://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/44900/local-bread-10-best-panaderia-finds-in-manila/4#sthash.QRNYuhyt.dpuf

Placing the "Kalihim" filling in the dough

Applying egg wash on top

Kalihim also known as  Pan de Pula or Pan de Regla

CHOCOLATE CRINKLES

 Chocolate Crinkles are soft, fudge-like chocolate cookies that are encased in a coating of confectioners sugar

Crinkle dough with powdered sugar

 Chocolate Crinkles

 FLAVORED COOKIES

 Putting raisins on top and pressing the dough

 Strawberry and Mango Cookies

 FLOWER BREAD

Ube Flower Bread