The Experiment Begins (a third topic not addressed on the internet)

I have actually found a third subject not addressed on the internet (the others being obscure guitars from the '60's and the usefulness of tripods on cruise ships).  I've been dabbling in the art of Japanese Milk Bread of late, doing things like adding sourdough starter to the recipe to deepen the flavor.  What happens if you use the 'tangzhong' as the base for the sourdough starter?  I've tried a few small experiments just to see if it is even feasible (does it grow mold, or the milk spoil, or not ferment due to some strange osmotic situation?) and so far it seems to make a decent base for a starter, it doesn't go bad and bubbles away as happily as any starter I've tried, I'm still not sure on the flavor, not having left it to mature much longer than a week or so, but with my results so far, I'm going to try it on a bigger scale and for a longer period, using milk for one and water for the other.  I'll keep you posted!

Still Obsessed

I'm still obsessed with Japanese Milk Bread, and finally my sourdough starter has finished fermenting so I can try adding that to the mixture.  I love the light, fluffiness of the bread but it needed a tad more flavor or depth or something, and I hoped my sweet sourdough starter (think Amish Friendship or Herman type starter) would do the trick and it did!  I got the light fluffy softness but with more depth of flavor than you expect in something this airy.

Here's what I did:

In a microwave safe mug combine 2 tbsp flour with 6 tbsp water, microwave on high until thickened (35 seconds in mine).  Pour into bread machine pan and add 1/3 cup starter, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tsp salt and 2 3/4 cup flour and a tsp of instant yeast.  Run on dough cycle and add 2 tbsp of cold butter once the other ingredients are well combined.  Remove after the second knead cycle and let rest for 10 minutes.  Divide into 12 balls, rolling each into a long oval.  Fold in one long side and then top with the other, then roll up like a jelly roll (spiral from the short end) and place seam side down (spirals on either side) in a greased cake pan for dinner rolls or separate on a cookie sheet for buns.  Repeat with other balls and let rise until double.  Brush with milk, oil, or butter just before baking.  Bake until set in middle and golden brown.

Variations and experimentation with 'Japanese Milk Bread'

I'm addicted, that's all I can say, this bread is so good!  I've tried a few variations with it, just to see what happens.  I used the original recipe for buns, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, pigs in a blanket, and loaf bread and adapted my regular French bread recipe to use the technique and even made a batch of oatmeal muffins with it.  I'd like to try adding sourdough starter but haven't had the chance as mine is still fermenting.

The results:

Rolls/Buns: absolutely fabulous and likely the best bread I ever made.  We had company and the entire 2 dozen rolls (2 batches) vanished (usually I have a couple left over dinner rolls from a batch of 12!).

Loaf: I don't do so well with actual loaves of bread (save French style), I never seem to get them cooked through in the middle without over cooking the outside so I am not the best judge of this aspect.  Despite greasing the pan, the loaf was determined to stick (I'd like to try a silicone loaf pan, the muffin cups work great for the rolls).  The bread itself was excellent but the crust was very thick (likely my inefficiency at loaf baking).  A good prospect for proficient loaf bakers.

Breadsticks: not very substantial, I'll stick with my usual French bread recipe, breadsticks aren't supposed to be light and fluffy.

Cinnamon rolls: not much flavor, didn't get as fluffy as the dinner rolls (used the traditional cinnamon roll technique rather than the more involved folding and shaping of the dinner rolls), I much prefer my sourdough recipe.

Pigs in a blanket: these are actually a nice substitute for that canned crescent roll dough, at least if you don't mind foregoing that 'fake butter' flavor, ugh!

French bread: I adapted my usual French bread recipe to use this technique (just water, salt, yeast, sugar, and flour).  Being the chemistry geek that I am, I did the math and converted the recipe.  The crust was definitely softer but the loaves were rather ugly and the crumb softer but otherwise I didn't notice much difference and don't think I'll do it again.

Oatmeal muffins: yes, I made a 'quick bread' with this method.  It was a rather strange result, good but certainly different; I'm not sure how to describe the texture, it wasn't very muffin like, cake like, or yeast bread like, the closest I've ever made previously was one of those 'no knead' yeast breads.  They were very moist and tasty, just not your typical muffin.  I wonder what brownies or cake would be like?

I think I'll stick with the buns, but it is certainly fun to try!

Oven fried chicken fingers

I'm still trying to perfect this recipe, but each time it gets a little closer to those lovely chicken fingers you order at your favorite restaurant and there's no deep frying involved:

Mix 3/4 c buttermilk with 1 crushed bouillon cube, garlic, Worcester sauce, celery salt, and pepper.  Add chicken pieces (2 pounds sliced breast meat or legs with skin on) and let sit for 45 minutes.  In a gallon bag combine 1/4 cup corn starch, a tsp of baking soda, 1/2 cup each flour and bread crumbs.  Drain chicken, coat in flour mixture and place in a greased cake pan.  Drizzle oil or butter (2-3 tbsp) over coated chicken and bake until crispy and juices run clear, turning halfway through.