Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My Black Belt Buns

I have to admit, I am no good in photography. Whenever I see other bloggers with all those lovely photos in their posts...I felt mine is such an amateur work, hahaha! I'm not sure is it the lighting, the props used or simply how I "dress up" the food itself. I'm no good in either one! I don't choose the time to take pictures, I just take them when my food is ready! Whether it's 5pm in the late afternoon or even 10pm at night! And then props. What props? Hahaha! I don't shop around or even take out from my store room those pretty dishes or table linens to help accentuate the looks of the food. I simply use what I can grab closest or convenient. And I am seriously no good in garnishing the food at all! Lol!

So my dear readers, what you see is really what it is, my simple homemade food presented in it's most humble way. :) Plain and simple. But of course, I hope in the future I will have the leisure to be able to be better in my photography "skills". :)

Okay, enough said. I want to present to you a bread recipe that I made a week back. It's Black Belt Buns...Hai-Yah! Lol! Okay okay, I shan't confuse you, it's actually Luncheon Meat Buns with Seaweed wrap. :)

This is a really simple recipe, I bet anyone that love luncheon meat will love this recipe. Okay, I know, we should all avoid processed meat if possible...but come on, live a little, I'm not asking you to make / eat this everyday/ every week right? ;) Besides, you can simple replace the luncheon meat to anything you fancy, maybe otah? Yum!
Hahaha, sorry, I can't help poking fun of the photo because that luncheon meat sticking out looks too much like a tongue! Now you see why I can't be good in photography?! Lol! Okay okay, silliness aside, lets talk about this recipe. I used a recipe from the book 65C 湯種麵包 by Yvonne Chen. I figured after baking that 17hour pre fermented dough method for several times now, I should revisit the tang zhong method. :)

Recipe for Luncheon Meat Bun with Seaweed Wrap: (Makes about 8 buns)
Tang Zhong:
100ml water 20g bread flour
  • Mix bread flour into water in a heat proof saucepan and whisk till no lumps. Place saucepan over heat and cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once the mixture thickens and leaves ribbons when the whisk lifts its batter, remove from the heat and let cool completely before use.
Set A:
195g bread flour
90g cake flour
6g instant active yeast
6g salt
30g caster sugar
12g milk powder

Set B:
60g whole beaten egg
65ml water
75g tang zhong mixture

Set C:
45g unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling/topping:
Sliced luncheon meats
Seaweed sheets used for sushi, cut into thin strips
Mayonnaise for tasting (Optional)

Method:
  • Mix all dough ingredients except for butter together in a large mixing bowl to form a soft dough. Place on work area to knead or mixer to do the kneading. Knead the dough till it is not sticky, about 20 minutes.
  • Add the unsalted butter in and continue to knead till the dough is shiny and elastic. 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 to 2hrs.
  • Once it's doubled, punched out the air and divide the dough to 65g portions, roll round and cover to let rest for 10 minutes before shaping.
  • Fill the dough with luncheon meat slices or any desired filling. Then wrap the buns with the seaweeds strips. Let proof for another 20 mins, brush with egg wash. Bake @ 175C in a preheated oven for 15 to 18minus till golden brown.
  • (Optional) Once cooled or when about to eat, squeeze some mayo into the cavity of the buns.
You can choose to give the luncheon meat a fry on the pan to make it a little crisp, but I prefer a softer, melt in your mouth texture. :) The bread turned out soft and delicious which went very well with the savory meat and seaweed wrap. My kids loved it very much!
Okay folks, hope you all will give this recipe a try and let me know how it turns out. I'm gonna go now to try out another great cake recipe now *excited*..will keep you all posted! Hope you all have fun too! Cheerios!

24 comments:

j3ss kitch3n said...

i love this all time fav! i think your pictures are very tempting bee! don't belittle yourself.

CaThY said...

Your bread is so soft! I love luncheon meat with bread :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

hahaha, love you added two eyes on there, so cute!just checked my pantry, i have luncheon meat and seaweed, i must try this very soon.

Tricia said...

Black Belt ... kekekeke ... Love luncheon meat/spam! Looks yummilicious!!!

Happy Homebaker said...

very cute buns you have made :) I think people around our age grow up eating luncheon meat with bread or even as a dish...but now it is like a sin if I were to give my kids luncheon meat ;)

ReeseKitchen said...

I like this, and I'm sure if Ben sees this, he'll ask me to bake this right away because it's his favourite luncheon meat in there..haha!
You definetely have a very creative and good idea..:) I'll try this and let you know ya!

ICook4Fun said...

I love the presentation of these buns. Look so musculine and cute at the same time ha ha.. we love our SPAM too but eat it once while. Life is short so can't deprive ourselves too much :)

Hearty Bakes said...

Ok I have to disagree with you here ;)
I love your postings all these while, be it ur bakes, the way you presented to your sharing. Just like you did for this post, especially that cute bun that looks so comical. Your bakes itself look inviting and heartwarming without fanciful backdrop nor props that may not bring out the soul and highlight for your bakes. So keep up your Good job Bee Bee!

茄子 said...

好可爱的黑带面包!我倒觉得你的照片不错,很清晰,让人一目了然你所要呈现的。好的成品比照片来得重要!

lena said...

oh bee, i think your pictures are great but photo takingdo takes uo quite a bit of time for me which i really hate! Lighting is the worst problem, i really have problems taking photos at nite with my camera! what a 'tough' name you've given to the buns i was thinking, after looking at seaweed then i know why, haha! luncheon meat is also another good filling!

DG said...

Your 2nd picture so cute that made me smile :) & your last picture made me drooling :)

joyceyvonna said...

whaaa these are sooo cute! don't worry about your photography. we love your pictures :)

Pei-Lin said...

Bee Bee, I should try using luncheon meat or SPAM for my buns. Good idea!

About photography, haiya! Don't worry lar ... Just do what you like, which expresses who you are and what you are ... =)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks for your support joss! Heehee, if you've seen me in real person before, you wouldn't think that I will ever "belittle" myself, lol!

Thanks Cathy! Me too me too!

Heehee, Sonia, that is part of the fun of having a blog right? No one is gonna stop us, lol! Ohh ok, looking forward to seeing your post, else happy baking it!

Thanks Trica! Heeheee, you get what I mean right!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks HHB. ;) yeah, imagine how much the world has changed around us...lots of pressure! But you never know all these 'critics', for all we know, they are all eating those junk food behind close doors! I guess the most important is not to be too bothered about how people see or judge us, agree? Life's too short for that!

Is it? Heehee! Yeah luncheon meat is sort of like a childhood food to many of us! I bet it brings fond memories to Ben too, heehee! Make lah! I think he'll be pleasantly surprised!

Thanks Gert! I cannot agree more with what you wrote! You took the words right out of my mouth! Heehee!

WendyinKK said...

I love the eyes on the buns, so cute!!
I don't really eat luncheon meat, used to like it when I was a kid, but when I grew up, I don't really eat it anymore.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Ohh Jessie! You are so sweet! You made my day! Heehee! I guess you ladies are always so supportive, so I'm really appreciative of that, thank you! *hugs*

Thanks for your support 茄子! But i do hope I can improve....yours is definitely of the ones I'm hoping to work towards!

Yeah, I have to agree with you Lena! It's all about the lighting! I hate it sometimes when I caught my own shadow in the picture *sigh* yeah, the name of the buns is funny, just trying to poke fun and give more entertainment for my readers, cheap trick, lol!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Heehee, thanks DG for letting me know how my photos gave such positive reactions. ;))

Thanks so much joyceyvonna! I love you guys too, heehee!

Heehee, the American call their luncheon meat Spam, almost forgotten. ;) it's definitely one of their favorite which not many wants to admit since it's not as healthy. But you know something funny, my mum for so many years, she has been buying SPAM brand luncheon meat from USA! She said it taste the best! So you see, I'm already eating it way before I went to reside in States! Lol!

hanushi said...

Don't worry about the photos or layouts, they are very pretty and are so inviting that I am drooling and hungry in front of my screen. :P

The Sweetylicious said...

those pic that you took is nice and cute! i like it! better than mine for sure (: anyways, those buns look yummy! (:

Bakertan said...

hey bee bee,

I love luncheon meat buns and hotdog buns. Been telling myself to do bread but I just didn't sit down to doing it. One reason is because the recipe I want to attempt requires at least 12 hour of refrigeration for the scalded dough..

ann low said...

hahaa... what a cute name Black Belt Bun...looks so good!

My Little Space said...

haha... You're so funny! Didn't you notice mine also the same. I seldom decorate my food too and only have limited space for my photogaphy session. The only little spot which have just enough sunlight! Btw, I love lunchion meat bun and yours look so inviting. I love the plate as well. haha.... NO, I'm not going to eat the plate! :D Have a fine day, sweetie.
Blessings, Kristy

Lite Home Bake said...

Just to let you know i love this bread dough recipe of yours, used it a few times already. It gives very soft and flavorful buns. Used it for ham and cheese recently. Thanks!