Bread

Bangkok is a cosmopolitan city, like Tokyo, and you can find any kinds of food from all over the world.

Especially Japanese food is easy to find in Bangkok。

It’s everywhere.

So, finding Shoku-Pan in Bangkok is not a problem.

You can even find specialty stores that sell authentic Japanese Shoku-pan.

However, finding “vegan” Shoku-Pan is a challenge.

But that’s okay.

Because I came prepared.

I don’t know how many people pack their bread pans, but this made it into my suitcase from Minnesota.

The flour and yeast I bought here are working great.

Dough rises very well.

I’m still loving my bee wax wraps.

I’m so proud that I haven’t bought plastic wraps.

What can I say?

My oven rocks!

I’m almost feeling bad that I doubted you, Mr. Oven.

When I looked for an oven, there were a few things that were important to me.

One of the things was the size.

I wanted at least 30 L just so that I could bake Shoku-Pan.

And I’m glad that my 30 L oven handled Shoku-Pan baking perfectly well.

The kitchen smelled SO good!

The bread turned out amazing!

So soft and fluffy.

A little note for myself.

*This is for a 1.5-KIN pan.

*Milk = I used soy milk

*Warm = lukewarm

*1 teaspoon yeast = approx. 3g

*Baked for 30 min.

*Cover the top with parchment paper once it turns brown.

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By the way it was a nice sunny day yesterday, perfect for laundry.

When we lived in the U.S. I never hung laundry outside because we had a dryer inside the house.

It was convenient because we could do laundry anytime even when it was pouring rain.

Now we hang laundry outside, and I don’t mind doing it.

One. I now have time.

(If I was still working full-time, I would feel very differently!)

Two. I like the smell of the sun on the clothes and towels.

Finally, I used my oven for the first time and baked bread.

The first bread I baked in Bangkok was Ciabatta.

I was nervous about using my new oven.

Actually, I was nervous about everything because everything was new to me.

The oven, the kitchen, the kitchen tools…

Also ingredients.

There were many different brands of flour at stores, and it took me a while to decide which one to choose.

There were some familiar brands like King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill along with some from western countries such as Canada and Australia.

But eventually I picked this because I wanted to try a Thai flour.

I picked this one because I had seen a few people recommending this brand.

This Turkish brand’s dry yeast was new to me as well.

I was relieved as the dough rose just fine.

While baking the bread in the oven, I quickly put together squash soup and salad for lunch to serve with the bread.

When I took the bread out of the oven, it looked great outside.

But I was so afraid that it might be underbaked inside.

No particular reason for the fear.

I was just nervous.

I had this urge to put it back in the oven to bake for extra minutes, but my husband stopped me.

And I was glad that he did.

The bread was perfect!!

I was so happy and relieved at the same time.

The Ciabatta was crusty outside, but moist and nicely chewy inside.

This will be great for sandwiches.

Well, next time.

Now I feel a little more confident using my new oven.

I can probably start baking other types of bread too.

Japanese Melon Bread consists of soft bread and a thin crust layer of cookie on top/around.

This time I decided to make the cookie blue by using this powder.

You don’t have to, but it’s fun.

It’s called “melon” bread because the lines on the top imitate the lines on the skin surface of the muskmelon, the popular type of melon in Japan.

My mother adds melon flavor by using melon extract, but people make it with other flavors, too.

My mother puts raisins in the bread, and I wanted to do the same.

My husband is not a big fan of raisin, so I decided to use dry cranberries.

The bread turned out great!

It’s been a while since my last post.

To tell the truth, I’ve been struggling to find the purpose of my blog.

I now post pictures and videos on Instagram, not only of food but also of some of my life.

I’m not sure at this time, but I may close my blog, if I cannot figure out how this can provide a different content that is still interesting to the readers.

Check out my Instagram page.

I’ve recently started posting reels as well.

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

Thank you!

Bagels are always fun to make.

But I’ve been getting different results.

This time they turned out so well that I want to make a note here so that I will remember what to do the next time.

1. Boil water but turn the heat down when you put the dough in.
2. Don’t boil them too long. 30 seconds each side is fine.

I love how plump, shiny, and smooth they are.

I also liked that they got the beautiful brown color.

I made five bagels, two plain and three with “Everything but the bagel sesame seasoning blend”.

Everything bagels is my husband’s favorite.

Me feeling accomplished.