Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Pandan Kaya loaf with crumble topping

It feels like not long ago, I was still carry my elder daughter in my arms...holding her while she takes her first few steps. Feeding her baby food and teaching her the ABC song. But as the saying goes, time really waits for no one. Just a couple days ago, my girl said "Mommy...one of my teeth is shaky". Immediately I knew she is already starting to lose her milk teeth. My girl was really brave when I took her to the dentist to extract the tooth. Even though she loses a bit of blood, she was okay after a couple of hours. Now she has the cutest smile with a little hole in the middle, haha! I am sure many parents out there experience this and it might not be a big of deal to some. But I had that weird melancholy feeling...because I know my girl is growing up and it's sooner then I want it to be. :)

Enough talk about motherhood and dental issues. It's time to bake some bread for the family again. Not to worry, it's not oat bread this time, haha! Figured it's not that exciting for my family too....can already imagine their expressions if I produce another oat loaf! So something different, something delicious and something that can use up the remaining coconut milk in my fridge! Yeah, left over from the Yam Custard Cake yesterday. So the "birth" of this Pandan Kaya loaf with crumble topping.

This recipe is from Alex Goh's "World of Bread". But I did made tiny adjustments to it, so I am posting it for my reference. I double the recipe to be given away, so feel free to reduce it:

Ingredients for Pandan Kaya loaf (8"X4.5"X5"):
600g bread flour
110g caster sugar
11g instant active yeast
4g salt
1 tbsp milk powder
2 eggs
110ml coconut milk
4tbsp pandan juice (2-3 pandan leaves blend with 4 tbsp water, sieve)
1/2 tsp green colour pandan extract
180ml water

Filling:
6 tbsp kaya spread ( I used pandan flavored kaya)

Crumble Topping:
50g butter, room temperature
50g caster sugar
80g all purpose flour

  • Using mixer or just wooden spoon, mix butter and sugar together till creamy.
  • Add flour in, using finger tips, incorporate the mixture till it resembles bread crumbs.
  • Refrigerate till needed.
Pandan Kaya Loaf Method:
  • Mix all ingredients together for the Pandan loaf in a large mixing bowl. Mix well till it comes together.
  • Knead the dough till it is not sticky and elastic. Takes about 20 to 25 minutes.To test if the dough is ready, pull a small piece off and stretching it with your fingers. If dough is very elastic and pulls to almost see through without breaking, then it's done.
  • Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof for at least 90 minutes till double in size.
  • Punch out the air after proofing. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll into balls and let rest for 10 minutes before shaping.
  • Grease the loaf tins. Taking one dough ball and roll flat using a rolling pin into an oval shape. Spread 1 tablespoon of kaya (optional) onto the surface.

  • Roll it up in a swiss roll form length wise and seal the edges tight. Set aside.
  • Repeat with the rest of the dough balls till all is completed. At the end, you have 6 long logs. Using just 3, plait the dough logs together and gently place it into the prepared loaf tin.
  • Let proof for 45 minutes covered till it fills 90% of the tin.
  • Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush the top of buns with egg wash. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the loafs.
  • Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes before unmoulding. Slice when it is cooled down.

When the loaf was baking in the oven, it smells like heaven! So fragrant! Even my friends that came over to my place said they smell it while they were walking over to my place, haha!

The bread is super soft but it still rises very nicely. As for the taste, whatever I said will not justify the "ymminess" of it! You have to try it to know how good this loaf is...well, that is if you like pandan and kaya like me. :) The sweet, crunchy crumbles on top adds that extra flavor and texture, plus the kaya filling (you can see it in the photo) goes really well with the pandan bread, not too sweet but just right. The bread is good enough to eat on it's own, no spread needed. My girls and I ate a slice each when I cut it up...my husband ate 2! He even pack 2 slices to work today, heehee. ;)

Made 2 mini loafs for my good friends to enjoy this delicious bread too. (Lucky them! I wish someone will do that for me too! Haha!) The mini loafs looked so cute and nice! My friends too could not wait, and cut out a slice each to eat when I gave it to them, heehee. ;)
Overall a very good recipe, a keeper I would say. So bookmark this recipe now my reader / friends, try it out and I am very sure you will love it! ;D

17 comments:

Sweet Tooth said...

The doug is very well knitted giving it a very soft and yet a little chewy texture giving it some volume. The pinnacle of bread texture.
The layers of Kaya within the bread distributed the flavour evenly across the bread.
Very nice just on its own.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Sweet tooth! So glad u and the girls love it. ;)

Kitchen Corner said...

Tasty bread!! Coconut and kaya.. what a good combination. I always got problem roll up the dough when I spread some jam or wet ingredients on the dough. You manage to do it nicely, very admire! Any good tips?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Grace,
Heehee, no larr, I was lucky it did not ooze out, no special technique involved. I just did the usual pinching method to seal it only, haha. :D But do try out this recipe Grace, it's yummy good. :)

Happy Homebaker said...

Wow, what a delicious loaf of homemade bread! I love the crumbles and the soft texture :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Happy Homebaker! Yes, it is quite a yummy loaf. In fact only 1/3 of the loaf is left since I made it last night...going fast. ;) Do try it when u have the chance. ;)

Missy said...

woow i love kaya bread. wish i could perfect this like yours

ReeseKitchen said...

Hey BB,
Thank you very much, it was really delicious, even my husband like it so much! How i love all ur breads...yummy! Thanks!!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Missy,
It took me quite a bit of practice and baking to be able to get my bread loaf this way. So I guess my word of advice is "Practice makes perfect". Good lock!

Hi Reese,
You are most welcome! Glad that you and Ben like this Pandan loaf. I am sure you can make this bread yourself too. ;) Anyway, see you tomorrow for our Swiss roll session.

Nate @ House of Annie said...

very lovely. well done!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Nate-n-Annie! And welcome to my blog. ;)

Veron said...

I tried making the Pandan Kaya Loaf. It's really soft and tasty.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Glad you like it Veron! So happy that yours turn out great. Enjoy!

JT said...

hi, is your recipe for 2 loaves?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Yes missy-j, I doubled the recipe.

joyceyvonna said...

thanks for the recipe! it turned out great when i baked it today. this is my first pandan recipe..i love pandan and kaya too:)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Glad you like it joyceyvonna! Yes, this is indeed a lovely and yummy recipe. I love pandan and kaya too!