Back to baking

It has been a year and three months since the last post.

It started with procrastination, and unknowingly but inevitably, laziness took over.  

Back to baking again.  The Hubby bought me a new oven, a much bigger one compared to the last one I had.  So much more spacious and user-friendly.  Temperature came in digital setting, which means I don't have to make estimated dials of 165 deg C or 205 deg C.

New oven, new baking experiment.

This is it.

I had always wanted to try bread making.  But never got down to doing it earlier.  I was afraid of yeast and using yeast.  I can't quite understand the fear of yeast.  Not phobia type of fear, but I suppose it was some sort of misconception about the difficulty of using yeast, or getting the yeast to work properly. 

Anyhow, I've gotten over the uncertainty.  

Very simple, easy to get ingredients can be put together to create these cute-looking mounds.  

It is all hand-made.  No appliance involved, of course the oven is beside the point.

I cannot imagine myself having the patience to go through the full process of bread-making.

Mixing the liquid into the dry ingredients, kneading the dough till window-pane stage, first stage of proofing, shaping and second stage of proofing before sending these little smooth mounds of well-risen dough into the oven.

It was tough work kneading the dough purely by hand.  But it was definitely satisfactory.  

This batch was actually the fourth attempt.  It was still not as soft as I would have liked it to be.  Perhaps a little more moisture or fat would help.  It wasn't salty enough too.  But I am worried that adding a little more salt would kill the yeast.  Never mind, just give it a try.  Next round of bread-making, add a little more salt and a little more fat.  

The round ones with sesame seeds and the swirl are plain rolls.  Those at the back, elongated olive shapes have sausages as filling.