Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Strawberry Milkshake Bread Loaf with Dried Cranberries

I have been wanting to bake a fruity flavored bread for awhile. Its seems like a fresh and delicious idea, but it also sounds like a pretty unusual thing to incorporate fresh fruits into bread recipes. Most of what I've seen are the fruits being placed on top of the yeast bread but not really incorporated into the dough. Perhaps the acidity of the fruit will affect the overall growth of the yeast? Unable to rise as expected maybe? Not wanting to forgo the idea, I decided to do some experimenting. I went ahead to blend fresh strawberries into fresh milk, thus making strawberry milkshake which is then added to the bread dough recipe. And this is what I got....Strawberry Milkshake Bread Loaf! (with cranberries to brighten up the overall taste)
The outcome? The scent of strawberry was really evident! In fact when it was still baking in the oven, my whole kitchen was perfumed with strawberry smell! What's even better is the bread loaf turned out soft and delicious with a fruity strawberry scent, perfecto!
The addition of dried cranberries was great, it gives extra texture and brightens up the overall taste of the bread. :) I have to say this experiment is pretty successful. A much tastier version compared to my previous strawberry bread loaf recipe.

Recipe for Strawberry Milkshake Bread Loaf with Dried Cranberries :
Strawberry Milkshake:
100g fresh strawberries, diced
100ml fresh strawberry milk (I used Meiji Strawberry flavored milk)

  • Blend the strawberries and strawberry milk together till completely pulverized.
Dough Mixture:
375g bread flour
5g strawberry powder (I used NESQUIK® Strawberry Milk powder* see note)
50g caster sugar
6g salt
7g instant active yeast
15g milk powder
280ml strawberry milkshake (above milkshake + more strawberry milk)

40g unsalted butter, room temperature
115g dried cranberries, cut smaller if too big chunks

Method:
  • In a large mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients except the butter and cranberries. Mix everything well and knead it till it comes together to form a soft dough.
  • Continue to knead the dough till it is not sticky and it's pulling away from the sides of the working area of bowl.
  • Add in the room temperature butter and continue to knead till it is very elastic and pass the window test.
  • Place well knead dough into a oiled bowl and let proof in the switched off oven alongside a bowl of hot water for at least 1hr to 1.5hrs till it double in size.
  • Remove from oven and punch out the air. Weigh out the dough and divide it equally into 16 portions. If you prefer smaller buns, go for 20 portions. Roll round the portions and let rest for 10 mins, covered, before shaping.
  • Using a rolling pin, roll out one of the portions into a flat oval shape, sprinkle some cranberries on top and roll it up like into a long pole shape. Seal the edges and continue to roll it till it resembles a long thin pole of about 1.5 cm thickness. Tie the dough rode into a knot and tug in the ends. To see detail steps of shaping, please go here.
  • Place into a well greased baking pan (I used 10 inch heart pan). Repeat with the rest of the dough portions till all has been rolled and placed in pan.
  • Let the shaped dough rest covered for 30 minutes before baking. Meantime, preheat the oven to 180C. Egg glaze the surface of the dough.
  • Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes till the bread turns golden brown. Remove from oven and remove from the cake pan immediately to cool on the rack. Enjoy!
*note: I have used NESQUIK® Strawberry Milk powder to enhanced the strawberry flavor of the bread instead of strawberry essence. Feel free to replace it with milk powder if you cannot find NESQUIK® Strawberry Milk powder

I have made an additional small loaf for a good friend whom I missed her birthday. I know, why make bread not cake?! Reason was I had to bring it miles and miles to her without refrigeration, so bread seems a smarter choice, lol! Good thing she loved it! *phew*
A shot of the texture of the bread. Need I say more? It's a keeper if you love strawberry scented bread. I know for sure my kids loved it, so will be making it again. I might even attempt other fruity flavors, will see, heehee!


I am submitting this Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011) hosted by Jess of Bakericious. Thanks Jess for hosting this month! 

Have a good day all!

25 comments:

CaThY said...

awesome heart shaped bread! your bread is so soft! ;)

ICook4Fun said...

You are adventurous. I notice you like to experiment with different flavor and they always turn out perfect. I like fruits in my baking goods too especially dried fruits.

Bakertan said...

hey bee bee,

thats a good reward for being adventurous =] fresh fruits in bread is definitely a good idea. I'm so tempted to have some of these bread myself.

I have been wanting to make bread but I am forever procrastinating. Wonder when I will even be able to churn out nice fluffy bread like yours, hee =]

pigpigscorner said...

What an interesting recipe! Looks so light and fluffy!

茄子 said...

这个食谱还真不错!这个造型很美,看了很喜欢,你的创意真棒,改天也要如此试试才行。:))

j3ss kitch3n said...

such a interesting combi! looks so soft and fluffy!

Zoe said...

Your bread is so fruity and so soft in texture. Got to bookmark this recipe to try.

Joyce @ Chunky Cooky said...

You have made the bread in a heart shape ! Soooo cute ! The bread looks extremely soft and I am very sure you can't get this favour of bread anywhere outside !

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

your bread look so soft and fluffy, must try one day.

Anonymous said...

heart shaped bread??soo cute. hehe. anyway your bread look really soft. does it stay soft overnight?

My Little Space said...

Oh my Bee, this sounds amazing! I lov to try bread with strawberry as well. So tempting! Thanks for sharing. This is so cool!
Have a lovely evening.
Kristy

Anonymous said...

What an interesting recipe. This looks so beautiful in the heart shape. I am always amazed when I come to your blog!

The Sweetylicious said...

LOVELY! the heart shaped bread is so nice! the milkshake sure help in the smell and taste! normally when i use strawberry in baking, there's only nice fragrance and no evident taste of it. i sooo wanted to try that! (: great job bee bee!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Cathy!

Thanks Gert. :) yeah, I really enjoy experimenting new recipes, especially bread, hahaha!

Hey ZY, you should definitely try baking bread! Once I started, I never look back. :) it is in fact a much more satisfying baking experience to me then anything else! So you see most of my bakes are bread, lol! Feel free to give me a buzz if you need help on baking bread, I'll be super glad to help. ;)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much Ann!

谢谢你茄子! Hope you will like my recipe if you ever try this out. :)

Thanks J3ss! I know...hope it wasn't too weird, lol!

Thanks Zoe! Hope you will like this recipe. ;)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Jyoce! Heehee, I was just trying out what shape is most attractive and heart shape seems all appropriate fora pinkish looking bread loaf, heehee!

Thanks Sonia! Hope you will like thus and let e know ok?

Thanks for dropping by Janice! Actually it is still soft the next day but my usual practice is at the end of the 2nd day, I'll put the bread in the fridge and steam/ toast itwhen we want to it. If you wantreally soft and long shelf life, try the 17hr pre fermented dough method, it's the best!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hahaha, thanks Kristy! So glad you like this idea! Please let me know how you like it once you try it out yah?

Thanks for your lovely compliment Angela! ;$

Thanks Jasmine. :) hope you will like this recipe, have fun baking it! :)

Anonymous said...

Good Morning Honey Bee

I just stopped by to say; "God Bless You and Have a Nice Day" :-)

hanushi said...

The heart shape make it so endearing. A very healthy bread with so many fruity ingredients. :)

ReeseKitchen said...

OOH!! Is this the one you said I'll love it? I definetely fell in love with this bread! Thanks for the recipe...:)
Wish we still have the chance to try your hot breads huh...;p

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Ron.

Thanks for dropping by hanushi! ;)

Aimei said...

Hey you are so creative!

lena said...

good attempt! nice!

Mk mummy said...

Hi,

I dont think I can find strawberry flavour milk.. but I got strawberry juice, do u think I can use juice instead of milk?? Thanks.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi MK Mummy, I would suggest replacing partly strawberry juice and partly milk. Hope that works. good luck and let me know how it turn out.