New York Back To Manila

Just thought i would type in a few words 2 weeks before i depart for Manila.

18 months.Impressed, Turbulent, sad, not just cold but very cold, confused, bewildered, amazed,grateful, discovery etc., etc.,

I have so many whys to leave behind, hopefully and planning to ditch them in the trash. They won't make it to my luggage. I have a third invisible luggage with me though, my Cake Decorating knowledge and getting to know a brother i have not seen since 1992. Canada must have been good to him. He was and still is the best brother one can ever have. For that alone, this New York trip makes it all worth it. My intangibles.

Yes, America is a great country, beautiful and almost perfect. But....

"It's this city that makes you go bad" suspect, Law and Order, SVU Episode

Depends i guess. You cannot blame a city for turning into the worst in you. You cannot lose who you are, because if you do, then what you have become of will wreak havoc. Heaven forbid it happens to me.

We all have God given talents to rise above misfortunes and trials. First time immigrants do not have a stamp of "immunity to persecution", it is up to us to swim or sink. I am glad that i met new friends, i might have lost some along the way, but i will cherish the ones i found.

New York,the best. Did not turn out the way i expected it to be, not your fault but mine. Still, i was glad to have been here, whether i come back is no longer the point, it's whether i stay. Only God knows.

In the meantime, back to Manila. Fairview, let's go baking. See yah!

PUNCHING THE DOUGH

SCALING

PORTIONING

GLAZED AND DREDGED WITH SUGAR

PROOFING

BAKING

www.breadmakinglessons.yolasite.com

Comments

3rd Class Flour, What's It All About

For starters i cannot make this Hard Monay if i did not bring any 3rd class flour or soft weak flour to New York. Once i ran out of 3rd class and tried Cake Flour, it turned bad, do not even think of using All Purpose, it will be soft but not chewy as this one made with yes, 3rd class indeed. So third class is hard to find here in the US if you will use that term. You have to say or look for soft wheat flour, that's it, not hard wheat flour, not cake or All purpose but something in between these two. It is easy to find in the Phil., just ask your local bakery suppliers and they know it is Tercera. Tercera is not for bread, bakers use it basically for cookies, cakes and other pastries, but we bakers know how to create bread recipes using part of this flour with the bread flour or hard wheat flour. It makes a softer version of any of your fave breads, with a cheaper price tag. Plus if i own a bakery, i get to use the third class for my cakes and cookies, lowering my food cos

Cutting Pandesal, Baston Style

So how do we really do the Baston style "singkit" cut? First start with a slightly stiff dough, if your dough does not have eggs or eggyolks, a hydration of around 55% is ideal. I have seen bakers use less water, but that will make your Pandesal too dry and dense after 1 day or so so try to keep it slightly on the soft side, but not too sticky. Why? If you use a sticky dough for the Baston style cut, the dough will spread and will have a flat look rather than a rounded shape we are all familiar with. In Tagalog, "lalapad" ang dough so medyo flat ung Pandesal. So after you mix the dough, divide it into 2 to 4 portions if you are mixing kilogram. Experienced bakers divide their dough into 500 gram portions, i do mine the same way. Flatten the dough, focusing more on the length and not on the height. The height of the dough should be around 2 to 3 inches only. Next, fold the dough while pinching the edges making sure the dough surface

Kape at Pandesal

When someone emailed me about Kape at Pandesal, i suddenly felt home sick. Just these two words. Dipping Pandesal in coffee. Who got this phenomenon or practice started? We all know the colonial Spanish era and Gregorio Zaide mentioned our fondness for idling around in the history books (Juan Tamad and siesta), but for breakfast? Who wants to jump up and down when you wake up? This is the answer. Dunking the warm, crispy Pandesal into hot, steaming coffee. How did this thing start? Who invented it? What made the Pinoys dunk their Pandesal? Maybe the Pandesal in those days are rock hard, or maybe it is one way to sweeten the bread. Baka may alamat dito. Is it because the Pandesal is salty in those days? After all, sal means salt right? The Italians love to dunk their Biscotti in coffee, but the Biscotti deserves it. Seriously, Biscottis if not dunked in coffee can give you a free tooth extraction. But the Pandesal? Okay to some, it cools down the coffee. Don't tell me they

How To Bake Pandesal and Other Breads

Search This Blog