Black Is In

Recently went back to bread making, after stopping for so many years. Realized it's still a lot of fun making my own bread, because I get to control what goes into each loaf/bun, without the nasty preservatives/additives that manufacturers add to commercial loaves. 

Straits Times Life published an article about black food items a few weeks(or months?) back. I must say I agree that black gives a great contrast and makes the eyes pop. So I decided to venture into the world of black as well.

Squid Ink Mini Burger Buns

Ingredients (A) – mix well

185g bread flour
20g TopFlour/Cake flour
10g milk powder
20g sugar
2.5g salt

Ingredients (B)

3.5g dry yeast plus 15g water

15g squid ink, dissolve well in 120g water
18g egg (beat whole egg, then measure)

White sesame seeds

1)Dissolve yeast in 15g water and wait for 5 mins to become frothy. Stir well
2) Mix the yeast with the remaining ingredients in A and B together to form a dough. *Knead into a smooth and elastic dough until it passes the 'window-pane test'.
3) Round the dough, placed into an oiled bowl, cover and ferment until double in size, about 45 mins to 1 hour.
    Pic shows rounded dough before fermentation:

4) Punch down the dough to release some air. Rest dough for 5mins. Divide into 5 equal portions. Form each into a tight ball and set onto lined baking sheet.

5) Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 30-35mins
6) Brush top with beaten egg(additional), sprinkle sesame seeds and bake in preheated 190C oven for 15 to 18 mins until golden brown and cooked through.

* I used my Kitchenaid and kneaded for a total of 24 mins on Speed 2. It will be sticky at first. Be patient, the dough will leave the bottom of the bowl around 10-15mins. Resist the temptation to add more flour before this as it will toughen the bread.

I used them for 2 different kinds of burgers, the first being salmon burger with curry aioli:

The other is Korean-inspired taste - Korean sweet & spicy chicken burger

Final variation is a beef and guacamole burger.

Shall share the Korean chicken and salmon burger patty recipes next time!