Flat versus Rounded

When i first glanced at a Mcdo burger, i could not help noticing how flat the bun really is compared to the ones sold in bakeries. I have stopped eating fastfood burgers, for the life of me i cannot remember the last time i had one really, maybe since 2003?, or 2004? Not sure. I know how to cook, and since i am a cancer survivor and a baker as well, i made sure that none of that over 500 calorie stack or should i say heap will enter my mouth. I have experimented with all sorts of burger mixes with fails and ho hums, although the bread is a no brainer. Just add a bit of whole wheat or any ancient grains, herbs, spices and veggies you want and you are good to go. The burger though is tricky. How to make something tastes and feel like you are eating beef is something nobody has ever perfected yet. Right now, i settle for half chicken breast and half veggie/bean mix. The only upside to this is that i find every single patty inside the refrigerator, right where i left them. Nobody else wants to dare eat them. Back to the real issue (hence the title)of the buns, the trick is plain and simple to anyone who bakes bread. Just add water. Yup. Buns that are flatter and thinner (like Ciabatta) has more water, and the domed, rounded ones are tighter because it has less water. You do not alter the formula, just the hydration level.

Photo above shows you how sticky the dough is to make a flatter Soft Bun, i used about 60% water on this one.

The dough flattens out by itself, no need to press them down, which i used to do many years ago.

Buns are done proofing, time to bake them.

Goes about with just about everything. My nephew loves them with Peanut Butter, Cheez Whiz ( gee Marc, you are still a baby).

Not eating this, i just plated it for John. Next posting will be on the dome, rounded Soft Bun version with lots of sesame seeds. Just finished baking them for the weekend burger day. They are all watching The Avengers and well, you see i am not a superhero kind of person. I have not seen Iron Man, Green Hornet, Thor, Hulk, except for Eric Bana's version, etc., etc., I just don't get it, although i will probably might and maybe see Spiderman, and only, sigh, because of Andy Garfield. There. Sorry. www.breadmakinglessons.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