Sweetcorn bread on a snowy night

I still couldn't resist baking more bread. Even though the living room is still being repainted, and everything is scattered everywhere. And the poor oven being left in the room while the guys are painting the wall, or my baking tins are nowhere to be found. Not even the tempting snow outside, and it's still snowing till now. Nothing could stop me from kneading that dough and bake them in the oven. Yes, nothing.

Hub bought a packet of frozen sweetcorn kernels for me last Monday, and i thought i should bake something related to corn. Forget about muffins, there are still some seaweed butter cake leftover from the day before yesterday's bake which will be lasting till end of this week. And importantly, i haven't figure a better recipe for corn muffins. *The previous ones sucked**Since the previous brekkies have completely gone, it would be an excellent idea to bake some sweetcorn bread, something which struck me while i was reading my Y3K recipe book. I have came across a number of recipes for sweetcorn bread, whether online or books but have never given it a thought until yesterday.

I decided to use the recipe by Alan Ooi in Bread Magic, but then i realised i didn't have custard powder so i opted back to the basic sweet bun dough instead. I added some sweetcorn kernels and replaced the water with milk to give the texture a smoother and finer touch.

My plan at the first place was to roll up everything and dump the dough in the loaf pan so that we can have a fresh loaf the next morning. Too bad my loaf pan was not suitable, it was too shallow for a pullman type ** see below*. In the end, i shaped some into mini pizzas, sprinkled with some bacons and diced mozarella cheese.

I also decided to practise my plaiting skill, so managed to do a plaited cheese sweetcorn roll.

Mini bacon and cheese pizzas with Love in the air

My plaited cheese corn roll, which turned out better than previous attempt

The texture of the roll still looking soft this morning.

And my attempt for a pullman type, this is what it looks like. Due to the loaf pan, my bread loaf turned out looking more like a cake loaf, *short is the best word to describe*. *sigh* (Wondering when someone is buying me a proper pullman tin)

Cut a few slices this morning, and it was still soft too.

A number of recipes for sweetcorn bread involves the addition of custard powder, which i believe contributes to the taste of the bread itself. I have not tried it, but at the meantime, i'm pretty happy with this revised version of mine:

Sweetcorn Bread

Ingredient A:

280g high protein flour,

50g low protein flour,

2 tsps instant yeast

1/2 tsp salt,

1 1/2 tbsps milk powder,

60g caster sugar

Ingredient B:

1 egg - grade A

Ingredient C:

120ml fresh milk (i used milk at room temperature)

Ingredient D:

40g butter

Ingredient E:

50g of whole kernels of sweetcorn (properly dried)

Method (Hand Knead):

1. Combine ingredient A together. Give it a slight blend before adding in ingredient B and C. Mix to form a dough. Add in ingredient D and knead for about 30 minutes till dough is no longer sticky and has a smooth surface. Check whether dough is fully developed by stretching a small piece of dough with your fingers. If dough can be stretched into a thin transparent layer without tearing easily, it is ready. Otherwise, knead until it passes the next stretch test.

2. Add in ingredient D.

3. Keep dough in a big greased bowl, covered with a damp cloth or cling film. Proof in a warm place for one hour (during summer or in tropical climate like KK), or two hours in winter till dough rises to double in bulk.

4. Shape as desired and leave to proof for further 45 mins to 1 hour on a tray.

5. Brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven at 180 oC for 25-30 mins*. Remove hot bread from moulds and cool on a wire rack before serving.

* Note: This is a standard recommended baking time for pullman bread. Small buns/rolls may need shorter baking time, about 10-15 mins depending on oven type and function. Best way is to be on guard during baking to prevent over browing of bread.