Baking Bread 101

Mummy blogs...

Nicole was down with a fever today, so I took childcare leave to take care of her (and try to separate her from the rest).

Well, it was like old times, when I stayed home on a working day. The last time Nicole was sick, she felt better during the day and we baked cookies.

Today, her fever subsided in the afternoon. So I decided to bake BREAD!

It was an easy decision... since she has done cookies twice, the next FUN thing to make is bread. I could envision Nicole and Nathan kneading and shaping the dough. How difficult can it get? They have loads of practice with Playdoh!

So it started with shopping for Bread Flour, Salt, Sugar, Yeast and Egg (erm...you can see how inadequate our kitchen is!). After mixing all of that, we got a nice block of dough to work with.

We kneaded, karate chopped, pinched, and squeezed the dough. We wanted to ensure "the dough gets a thorough work-out", according to the recipe.

For the uninitiated, we have to 'proof' the dough for an hour to ensure the yeast works and in turn, the dough will rise. After working on the dough, we put it in a large bowl and covered with a damp cloth. Then the bowl went in a large pot filled with some hot water. Yeast grows well in warm and dark surroundings!

The funny thing was when we were proofing the dough. All of us went to the living room, to watch TV. Nicole would periodically walk to the kitchen, climb on the stool, peep under the damp cloth, and scream out loud,

"Mummy, the dough is bigger now!"

It wasn't long before she didn't have to peep, cos the dough grew out of the bowl!

After proofing, we have to knead some more. I didn't want to take any risk of the bread not rising so I resorted to following the prata man. (Notice Nathan's face!)

Making Bread with the Kids from Edmund tay on Vimeo.

Indeed, all work leads to profit! Check out the unbaked bread and the HAPPY and TAO (hokkien for arrogant) bakers!

AND.... after 30 minutes in the oven, we are proud to present Amish White Bread and Buns (with variations).

Nicole made her own special concoctions:

Her favorite is MIlo Bread! (For obvious reasons!)

And of course "Porky Porky Bread" (Bread with Pork Floss)

It was a FUN day for the kids!

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