Jiucai you bing

Shrove Tuesday falls on 17th February this year and Chinese New Year (it’s the year of the goat which is my sign) follows on the 19th. To celebrate both days, I’ve tried my hand at jiucai you bing. Jiucai you bing is also known as scallion pancakes (scallions is ‘American’ for spring onions).

Apparently they’re eaten in China at breakfast time and are a widely available street food. They’re more like flatbread than what we’d usually recognise as pancakes. In fact, what they’re more similar to is Indian paratha.

I don’t think I’ve ever come across these for sale in UK Chinese restaurants or supermarkets but after looking online they seem to be quite popular in the States.

This was my first attempt at making them and they went down so well I think I’ll be giving them a go again very soon.

They’d make a great starter paired with a little bowl of soy sauce, peanut sauce or chilli, garlic ginger sweet dipping sauce.

Jiucai you bing

Chinese spring onion pancakes

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Course Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Ingredients

500 g/18oz plain flour plus extra for rolling out
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sesame oil
½ bunch thinly sliced spring onions about 6 stems
2 tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp cracked peppercorns
1 tbsp sea salt
vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

In the bowl of a food mixer, combine the flour, baking powder and sea salt. Make a well in the centre
Add 315ml/11fl oz water into the well and, using the dough hook attachment, mix until the dough comes away from the sides and forms a ball (less than a minute)
Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for about an hour
Turn out on to a lightly floured surface, divide into halves, putting one back into the bowl and recovering with cling film
Roll the first ball of dough out into a rectangle ½cm thick
Brush the rolled out dough with 1tbsp sesame oil
Sprinkle 1tsp chilli flakes, ¼tsp cracked peppercorns and half the sliced spring onions
Roll up the dough tightly along the long side into a cigar shape and cut into 3 equal pieces
One by one, gently stretch each piece before rolling it into a spiral and tucking one end under
Flatten each spiral into a disc of about 1cm thickness
Repeat stages 5-10 with the second half of the dough
Put a heavy bottomed frying pan or skillet over a medium flame and add vegetable oil
Once hot, fry the pancakes for 5-8 minutes on each side until browned
Serve hot with soy sauce and/or sweet chilli, garlic, ginger dipping sauce

Jiucai you bing / scallion pancakes ingredients

Keyword flat bread, flatbread, pancakes

Cakes & Bakes: Hokkaido milk bread

I discovered Hokkaido milk bread a few months ago and have had it on my ‘to bake’ list ever since. It looked like it would be very similar to a Warbie’s milk roll… or brioche if you’re more upmarket!

The recipe for this bread is originally from Taiwanese Yu Fen Chen’s (Yvonne Chen) book 65°C Bread Doctor.

Apparently, the secret to the bread’s softness is using a kind of roux or flour & water/milk paste called tangzhong; heating it to 65ºC.

It’s an easy but not a quick loaf – good things come to those who wait…

…there’s a 15-minute electric knead, 2 proves of up to an hour each time, a 20-minute ‘rest’, a bit of dough origami before finally baking for 30-40 minutes – phew!

I put the loaves in the oven, took the dog for his evening walk and on re-entering the house, the aroma was even more amazing than normal bread; maybe it was the added sugar, maybe it was the tangzhong.

The recipe quantities below make 2 small loaves – the tins I used measured 19cm x 9 cm x 6cm tall. I made one plain loaf and one where I added a handful of raisins.

I’ve found variations online where grated cheese or finely chopped bacon were rolled in; I reckon chocolate chips would be a good addition!

This is quite a sweet loaf, but the next time I make it I’ll omit the sugar and make hot dog rolls or burger buns. Watch this space for Hokkaido, the sequel!

Save the recipe to Pinterest!

Hokkaido milk bread

Yufen Chen, 65ºC Bread Doctor

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Cook Time 35

Course Bread

Cuisine Japanese

Ingredients

For the tangzhong

50 g strong bread flour
250 ml milk

For the dough

50 ml double or whipping cream
55 ml milk
2 eggs
540 g strong bread flour
85 g caster sugar
8 g salt
10 g powered milk
11 g instant dried yeast
185 g tangzhong
50 g butter softened

Instructions

To make the tangzhong

Add the 50g flour and 250ml milk to a medium-sized saucepan and mix with a whisk until there are no lumps
Heat over a low-medium heat, stirring constantly. After a couple of minutes (and when it reaches the magic 65ºC) you'll notice the mixture thickening. Lower the heat and continue to stir until the tangzhong begins to come away from the sides & bottom of the saucepan and begins to form low peaks when you lift the whisk
Put the tangzhong into a bowl, cover with cling film and allow to cool while you make the dough

To make the bread

In a mixing bowl (I used my Kenwood mixer as there's a lot of kneading involved!) add the cream, milk and eggs and combine for a few seconds
Add the flour, sugar, powdered milk, yeast and tangzhong and, using the dough hook, mix for 3 minutes on a low setting
Add the softened butter and salt and mix for a further 10-15 minutes, again on a low setting
Remove the dough hook, quickly form the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with clingfilm and allow to prove in a warm place until doubled in size (45-60 minutes)
Grease 2 small bread tins
Put the dough on a floured work surface, divide into quarters, form each piece into a ball, put them on to a floured oven tray, cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to relax in a warm place for 20 minutes
On the floured work surface, one by one, roll each ball into a rectangle using a rolling pin
Fold each rectangle of dough into ⅓s along the long sides, turn over so the overlap is on the underside and re-roll into a rectangle
Roll up each rectangle along the long end and put into a baking tin with the end of the roll facing down to stop unravelling
Cover the pans loosely with cling film and leave in a warm place for the 2nd prove for 45-60 minutes
Preheat the oven to 175ºC
Once proved, brush the top of each loaf with egg wash and bake for 35-45 minutes
Allow to cool on a wire rack before eating

Hokkaido milk bread ingredients | H is for Home

Keyword bread, milk bread

Cakes & Bakes: Cheese soda bread

Sometimes you want a lovely fresh loaf of home-made bread but you don’t always have the time for all the kneading and proving it can involve. On days like that I make a soda bread round. Bish, bash, bosh – it’s mixed, baked and ready to eat in just over half an hour.

I’ve not made a cheese soda bread loaf before – or even found a recipe for one anywhere – but you just know it’s one of those things that’s going to be a success!

It’s definitely one to try!

It’s lovely fresh out of the oven with a generous spread of butter. Good with pâté too – and cheese of course.

It also makes great toast and the bread’s flavour combines very well with all kinds of breakfast ingredients – bacon, sausages, beans, mushrooms. Or one of our favourites – a simple poached egg.

Cheese soda bread

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Course Bread

Cuisine British

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

200 g/7oz plain flour
150 g/5oz wholemeal flour
50 g/2oz wheatgerm
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
30 g/1oz butter cubed
300 g/10½oz buttermilk
100 g/3½oz mature cheddar cheese grated

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/430ºF/Gas mark 7
Grease a large baking tray and set aside
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients well
Rub the butter into the flour mix before making a well in the centre
Pour the buttermilk into the well and begin bringing the flour from the edge of the bowl towards the centre using a spatula or dough scraper
Add the grated cheddar and knead the dough into a ball, trying not overwork
Put the dough on to the baking tray, make a deep cross on the top using the dough scraper or large sharp knife
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on the top
Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving

The brand of buttermilk we buy in the supermarket only comes in 250g containers. We just top up the recipe amount with 50g plain or Greek yoghurt

Keyword bread, cheese,, soda bread

Cakes & Bakes: Spelt cereal loaf

I must confess, I have a soft spot for a Warburton’s Toastie. I love that first, fresh crust slice with just a thin scraping of butter (only Lurpak will do!). A couple of soft white slices from a ‘bought that day’ loaf, spread with some crunchy peanut butter and half a sliced banana… divine!

This spelt cereal loaf – I borrowed a recipe from Country Bread by Linda Collister & Anthony Blake – is a much more healthy option than most loaves of bread you’d buy in the supermarket. Spelt flour has more protein and a little less calories than regular wheat flour. The added oats, bran, wheatgerm and sunflower seeds crank the nutritional value up to the max.

Justin enjoyed a few slices today with a bit of pate. I fancy a cheese & Branston pickle doorstop!

Here are a few other ideas of how to use spelt flour in your baking!

Spelt cereal loaf

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Ingredients

250 g white bread flour
250 g spelt flour
100 g rolled oats
75 g malt flakes
50 g wheatgerm
25 g sunflower seeds
15 g sea salt
15 g fresh or 7g dried yeast
400 ml lukewarm water
2 tsp olive oil

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, mix the flours with the cereals, seeds and salt
Make a well in the centre
Put the yeast into a measuring jug and make into a smooth liquid with a little of the water and pour into the well in the flour
Add the olive oil and remainder of the water
Gradually work the dry mixture into the liquid to make a soft, slightly sticky dough - it should not stick to the bowl or your fingers, so add a little more water if necessary
Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead well for 10 minutes
Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel or put the bowl into a large plastic bag and close tightly
Leave to prove at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size - about 2 hours
Knock back the risen dough with your knuckles to deflate it, then turn out onto a work surface
Pat out into a rectangle the length of your banneton or greased tin before putting it into the container
Cover and leave to rise again until almost double in size - 1-1½ hours
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas mark 7
Uncover the dough (if using a banneton, carefully tip the dough out on to a greased baking sheet) and bake for 35 minutes until it turns golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom of the loaf
Cool on a wire rack for at least half an hour before slicing & serving

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: bread

Jiucai you bing

Jiucai you bing

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Hokkaido milk bread

Hokkaido milk bread

Ingredients

For the tangzhong

For the dough

Instructions

To make the tangzhong

To make the bread

Cakes & Bakes: Cheese soda bread

Cheese soda bread

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Spelt cereal loaf

Spelt cereal loaf

Ingredients

Instructions