Tried to google it, but it seems to be a closely guarded secret. The BreadTalk website simply states that it is an "egg cream". I remember seeing it before at the BreadTalk bakeries -- the consistency does look like beaten egg whites. But I will be very surprised if you tell me that they use raw eggs on their buns. Maybe there is a way to sterilise the egg whites without cooking them. *ponder ponder*
Anyway, SS was craving for Flosss, so I decided to give it a try. I used Mandy's recipe, and religiously watched the video she posted on her blog. The chef Richard Bertinet (love his French accent! Now you know why I watched it religiously...) made kneading the dough looked oh-so-easy. But when it came to our turn, our dough was nowhere as elastic as his. What he did with just a few flips of his hands, we struggled with twenty minutes of pulling, throwing, stretching, rolling... All these just to "fold air" into the dough in a bid to make it light and airy.
Sadly, the buns turned out pretty dense. Not like the soft fluffy ones from BreadTalk. What went wrong? It could have been the yeast. Maybe I killed it when I added it into water that was too warm for it... It could have been that we didn't knead it enough... Or could it be the ingredients? I did substitute milk powder with milk... did that make a difference? Maybe we didn't let the bread prove for long enough... Maybe it was just a lousy day for bread-making... Sigh... I need to check my almanac next time...
8 comments:
So glad you like my method but I would strongly suggest you get hold of a copy of my book DOUGH. Not only does that have a DVD in it with the technique shown in full (I am assuming you have watched the Gourmet video which is of course not real time) but also lots of tips for getting it right. The water should not be warm - just room temperature - and you only need to use my stretching and folding method (no rolling or anything less gentle). Have another go but do get in touch with me via my cookery school website if you are still having problems and I will try and help. Best wishes Richard Bertinet
I should have said - my cookery school web site is at http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com
Happy baking
Actually I would think the BreadTalk bun recipe is a trade secret since IMHO the reason for BreadTalk's success and what differentiates it from the many, many bakeries in Singapore is that its bun is unusually soft. So don't beat yourself up over it. I think it looks great already!! We make that together when you're back?? :)
Who is Richard Bertinet?
I tried making pizza dough on my own before. I used yeast as well and used slightly warm water. Then I always used some source of gentle heat like an open oven to help the yeast do it's magic. Of course pizza is different from fluffy bread. How long did you let the dough rise? After 20 mins I was always a little surprised at the mountain of goo that the yeast had created.
Oh, about the egg cream. I always thought it was the same as the cream they use for our Singapore type prawn and mango salad. Can you google that?
Hey thanks people for all your advice and encouragement! :)
Okay, one by one now...
Dawn:
Hehe yeah we can definitely bake this together! But I will try to improve upon it... after all, I need to live without BreadTalk for a few more years.
Jessica (and Huiling):
Richard Bertinet is a French chef-slash-baker with a cooking school "The Bertinet Kitchen" in Bath, UK. I saw his video on how to make sweet dough here:
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/03/bertinet_sweetdough
And no, I do not know how come he knows I posted a post about him on my blog.
And to Richard Bertinet:
Erm, thanks for the advice. And the mystery that you planted into the heads of me and many of my friends. If you really are Richard Bertinet... :)
And yes, now I am tempted to get the book!
He may have used one of those websites (Technorati is one) that monitors "blog reaction", as in who blogged about his blog / website. Maybe Mr Bertinet can confirm?
Isn't the cream thing just Japanese Mayonaise?
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