Yeast Bread | Annie's Chamorro Kitchen

Archive for Yeast Bread

Sweet Dinner Rolls ~ My Original Go-To Version

Posted on September 11, 2014 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 65 comments

As the title for my recipe states, this is my go-to recipe when I want to whip up a tray of sweet dinner rolls.

It’s also the same recipe I use in my tutorial videos for making dinner rolls (see below).

I’ve heard from many people who have made dinner rolls following this recipe and my instructions in my tutorial videos. Most of them were successful at their first try, but I will tell you that baking with yeast requires PATIENCE and practice.

If you don’t succeed in your first try, keep at it. My very first attempt at baking with yeast was an epic failure — my rolls were as hard as rocks! But not anymore! I can’t tell you how much money went down the drain, not to mention the valuable ingredients I wasted each time I tried, but tried I did until I got it right!

Here are some tips when baking yeast breads:

Sometimes the dough is MEANT to be sticky. Do not be tempted to add a ton of flour just to prevent it from sticking to your hands or you’ll end up with super dense and rock-hard rolls. Instead of adding flour to the dough, flour your hands, or rub a bit of vegetable oil to your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to them.

Even if a recipe states to wait about an hour for dough to double in size, sometimes it takes longer depending on the temperature of your rising place. BE PATIENT…the dough will rise and double eventually (provided your yeast is active).

Test the temperature of the water (or other liquid) you use to proof your yeast. Use a thermometer if you have one. Otherwise, use your finger to determine whether the liquid is too hot. The perfect yeast-proofing temperature should feel like the temperature of your skin, or a low-grade fever (around 100-101 degrees). Or, for you moms out there, if the temperature feels like it would be too hot to put in a baby’s bottle, then let it cool longer before adding the yeast. Too hot of a temperature will KILL the yeast.

Yeast needs sugar to grow. Make sure you add a tablespoon or two of sugar to the proofing liquid. If your yeast doesn’t start to bubble after 5 minutes of proofing, chances are the liquid was too hot (and you killed the yeast), or the yeast was old, or you didn’t add any sugar to feed it.

Do not over knead the dough. Hand kneading should take about 10-12 minutes, or 6-8 minutes if using a stand mixer.

Give my recipe a try (posted beneath my tutorial videos).

Post any questions in the comment section below, or message me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AnniesChamorroKitchen1/ for a quick response.

Good luck, and happy baking!

Tutorial Video, Part 1:

Tutorial Video, Part 2:

Sweet Dinner Rolls - My Original Go-To Version

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

2 hours 25 mins

Soft, fluffy and slightly sweet dinner rolls ~ perfect on its own, or slather with sweetened butter for a delicious dessert.

Author: Annie @ Annie's Chamorro Kitchen

Recipe type: Yeast Bread

Serves: 28 rolls

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar (up to ¾ cup if you want it sweeter, but use 2 packets yeast if you add more sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter
1 large egg
½ cup milk (low fat or whole milk)
1 packet dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar (for proofing the yeast)
¼ cup warm water (for proofing the yeast)

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and warm water. Stir together to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Let it stand for 5-10 to allow the yeast to proof.
Meanwhile, melt together the ¼ cup butter and milk in a microwave. Let it cool slightly. Add some of the cooled milk mixture to the beaten egg (this is to temper the egg so it won't scramble when you add it to the milk mixture). Add the egg to the rest of the milk mixture. After the yeast has proofed for 10 minutes, add the milk- butter-egg mixture to the yeast. Stir to combine.
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together 2½ cups of flour, sugar, and salt. Reserve the remaining flour (you might not need it). Pour in the yeast-milk mixture. Turn the mixer to medium, mixing until the dough pulls away from the sides. If the dough still looks very sticky and is not pulling away from the side of the mixing bowl, add in more flour, a few spoonfuls at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (See NOTE below.) Once the dough pulls away from the sides, turn the mixer to medium high and knead for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes of kneading, remove the dough to a clean and greased bowl (you can use cooking spray). Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to let the dough rise and double in size, about 1 hour. After the dough has doubled, take it out of the bowl and gently punch it down. Cut the dough into 28 small pieces then roll them out into balls. Place the balls of dough in a greased 9x13 pan (7 rolls across and 4 rolls down). Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise again until doubled.
After the rolls have doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and brush the tops with melted butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush with more butter.

NOTE:
In most types of yeast bread recipes, the ratio of flour to total liquid should be 3:1. For instance, this recipe calls for just over 1 cup of liquid (including the egg); therefore, use only about 3 c. flour. Start out by mixing in a little less flour than the recipe calls for; If your dough seems too sticky, use only a little more flour just to allow you to knead it, but resist the urge to keep adding flour just so the dough won't stick. Too much flour (and kneading too long and too roughly) will make your finished bread come out tough/hard.

Posted in BREADS, Christmas, Easter, HOLIDAY MENU, Thanksgiving, Yeast Bread

Baked Yeast Donuts

Posted on September 11, 2014 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 71 comments

I love making fried yeast donuts for my family, but in an effort to make this indulgent dessert a bit healthier, I decided to bake them instead.

Give my recipe a try. I think you’ll like it.

Baked Donuts and Donut Holes

Chocolate Frosted with Coconut (my favorite!)

Cinnamon Sugar

Chocolate Frosted (my kids’ favorite)

Vanilla Glaze

Donut Holes with Chocolate, Vanilla Glaze, Cinnamon Sugar, and Sprinkles

Baked Yeast Donuts

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

7 mins

Total time

2 hours 7 mins

Baked, not fried yeast donuts...all the indulgence with a little less guilt. 🙂

Author: Annie @ Annie's Chamorro Kitchen

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 20 donuts

Ingredients

Yeast Mixture:

1 package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup warm milk (between 98-105 degrees)

Dough Mixture:

2 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup warm milk
1 egg
⅓ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour (you might not need it all)

Chocolate Glaze: (this makes enough to glaze about 10 donuts)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
¼ cup powdered sugar

Vanilla Glaze: (this makes enough to glaze about 10-12 donuts)

1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Cinnamon Sugar topping:

2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Honey Butter:

¼ cup butter
¼ cup honey

Other ingredients/items:

Sweetened coconut flakes
Sprinkles
Butter cooking spray
Plastic Wrap

Instructions

MAKE THE DOUGH (DONUTS):

In a mixing bowl, mix together the yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ cup warm milk. Stir together to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Let it stand for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to proof (it will get very bubbly).
Meanwhile, mix together the 2 tablespoons melted butter and warm milk. Mix in the egg, ⅓ cup sugar and salt. After the yeast has proofed for 5 minutes, add the milk-butter-egg-sugar-salt mixture to the yeast. Using your mixer's dough hook, turn the mixer on to medium low speed to combine. *Note, if you don't have a large stand mixer, you can use a sturdy mixing spoon or spatula to combine the ingredients.
Add 2½ cups of the flour to the mixing bowl. Reserve the remaining ½ cup flour. Turn the mixer to medium speed, mixing until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. After mixing for about 2 minutes, if the dough still looks very sticky and is not pulling away from the side of the mixing bowl, add in more flour, a few spoonfuls at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

**DO NOT add more than the remaining ½ cup of flour, even if the dough is still sticky.**
Once the dough pulls away from the sides, turn the mixer to medium high and mix for 5 minutes to knead the dough. *Note: if you are doing this by hand, mix the flour with the wet ingredients. Once all of the flour is incorporated, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface (use some of the remaining ½ cup flour to flour the surface) and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. If the dough sticks to your hand while kneading, use whatever remaining flour is left from the ½ cup of flour. If the dough is still sticking to your hands, spray your hands with butter cooking spray (DO NOT add more flour or your resulting donuts will come out hard as a rock).
After kneading, place the dough into a clean bowl that has been sprayed with butter cooking spray (you can use softened butter as well). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to let the dough rise and double in size.
After the dough has doubled, take it out of the bowl and gently punch it down. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, rolling the dough until it's about ½ inch thick. Use a donut cutter to cut out donuts (and donut holes).
Place the cut donut shapes (1 inch apart) onto a baking pan that has been sprayed with butter cooking spray. Spray the tops of the donuts then cover with plastic wrap and let it rise again until doubled.
After the donuts have doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. DO NOT overcook the donuts, even if the dough still looks "white". Remove from the oven and let the donuts sit on the pan for 5 minutes then remove them to a baking rack to finish cooling.
While the donuts are cooling, make your glazes.

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter, milk, vanilla extract and corn syrup for one minute. Remove from the microwave. Stir in the chocolate chips to the heated mixture; continue stirring until the chocolate chips have melted. Using a whisk, mix in the powdered sugar. Continue whisking/mixing until there are no more lumps from the powdered sugar and the glaze is smooth and shiny. Dip the donuts into the glaze while the glaze is still warm. If the glaze thickens up, reheat it for 10-15 seconds in the microwave.

MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:

In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Mix until there are no lumps and the glaze is smooth and creamy. Dip your donuts into the glaze.

MAKE THE CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING:

In a small bowl, place the melted butter.
In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
Dip the donuts first into the melted butter, then dip them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

MAKE THE HONEY BUTTER:

In a small microwave-safe bowl, place the butter and honey; heat for 30-45 seconds, or long enough for the butter to soften and just begin to melt. Stir to combine the mixture; mix until you get a creamy, spreadable consistency. Spread honey butter on top of the donuts.

Optional:

Top the glazed donuts with sweetened coconut flakes, sprinkles, or any other topping you like (nuts are good too).

Posted in BREADS, DESSERTS, Donuts, Yeast Bread

Spanish Rolls

Posted on September 3, 2014 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 25 comments

Spanish Rolls are one of my favorite things to eat!
They are a soft, sweet bread dough rolled flat and filled with sweetened butter, then rolled jelly-roll style. The rolled dough is brushed with melted butter then topped with a sprinkling of a sugar-breadcrumb mixture and baked to golden brown perfection.

Eat them as a snack, dessert, or have a roll or two or three 😉 for breakfast with
a steaming cup of your favorite coffee.

It’s not that difficult to make. Follow my complete recipe below and mix up a batch of sweet bread dough. Flatten pieces of dough and brush with a butter-sugar mixture. Roll up the dough, jelly-roll style and let the dough rise.

Spread more butter on top of the rolls and top with a sugar-breadcrumb topping before baking. Use turbinado sugar, also called sugar in the raw, to top the rolls.

The sugar-breadcrumb mixture bakes up into a sweet and crunchy topping that compliments the soft and incredibly fluffy, buttery rolls.

Don’t you wish you could just reach into your computer and pull one of these
scrumptious rolls right off that pan?

Give my recipe a try. I know you’ll like it. 🙂

Spanish Rolls

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Prep time

90 mins

Cook time

18 mins

Total time

1 hour 48 mins

Soft, fluffy rolls with a buttery sugar filling and topped with a crunchy, sweet sugar-bread crumb topping

Author: Annie @ Annie's Chamorro Kitchen

Recipe type: Yeast Bread

Serves: 24

Ingredients

Dough:

1¼ cup milk
½ cup sugar
2 packets active dry yeast
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1½ teaspoons salt
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
4½ cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

2 sticks softened butter
1 cup white sugar

Topping:

1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup turbinado sugar (also called sugar in the raw)

Instructions

Place the milk into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Pour the hot milk into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar to the milk, mixing until the sugar is dissolved, about one minute.
Add the yeast to the milk-sugar mixture then mix until dissolved. Let the yeast stand for about 10 minutes to proof (the mixture should become very foamy).
Let the melted butter cool down a bit then mix it with the salt, egg and egg yolks. Pour the butter mixture into the mixing bowl with the yeast mixture.
Mix in the flour, a half cup at a time until you've used four cups of flour.
Change the paddle to the dough hook then add the last half cup of flour. Knead with the dough hook for about 5 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Spray the ball of dough with butter cooking spray then cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes to an hour).
After the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down then place it onto a clean countertop. Knead gently for 1 minute. Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into ovals.
Prepare the filling by mixing the softened butter and sugar together until creamy.
Evenly spread about a tablespoon of the butter and sugar mixture over each piece of flattened dough (you will have some of the mixture leftover; save this for use later).
Roll the dough, jellyroll-style. Place onto a baking sheet about one inch apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; place the pan in a warm place to rise for about 20 minutes.
While the rolls are rising, mix the breadcrumbs and turbinado sugar together.
After the rolls have risen, gently spread some of the remaining butter-sugar mixture on top of the rolls. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top of the buttered rolls.
Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm from the oven and ENJOY!

Posted in BREADS, DESSERTS, Other Desserts, Yeast Bread

Siopao

Posted on June 23, 2014 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 5 comments

Siopao is a favorite snack on Guam that is of Chinese (Cha Siu Bao, or Chinese BBQ Pork Buns) or Philippine origin (Siopao Asado). The Philippine version of these buns are normally steamed, while the Chinese version of these delicious snacks are also baked.

You can prepare siopao COMPLETELY from scratch, but there are a couple of shortcuts I take to make the preparation quicker and easier. I do make the dough from scratch, but I save a whole lot of time by using leftover pulled pork from my Hawaiian Pulled Pork recipe. Unless you are feeding a large crowd, you will most certainly have enough pulled pork leftover to make siopao (I use a 9-10 pound pork shoulder to make my pulled pork). All I do is add a few more ingredients to the pulled pork to turn it into a sweet pork filling for my siopao.

Give my recipe a try. I think you’ll like it. 🙂

Pork Siopao

Dough:

A doubled batch of my yeast donuts dough recipe (find it here)

Filling:

About 4 cups leftover Hawaiian Pulled Pork (find my recipe here)
NOTE: To make chicken siopao, use shredded cooked chicken (I like to use a rotisserie chicken) instead of pulled pork
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water mixed with 2 tablespoons corn starch
Optional: 6 hard boiled eggs, quartered (so you have 24 pieces of boiled eggs)

Materials:

Parchment paper, cut into 3-inch squares, 24-36 pieces (amount depends on the size of your siopao)
Steamer basket or pot

Directions:

Make my Hawaiian Pulled Pork recipe, then set aside about 4 cups of pulled pork. Enjoy the rest of the pulled pork for your dinner. In the next day or two, used the leftover pulled pork to make siopao. 🙂

Prepare the dough using my yeast donuts recipe. Ensure you double all of the ingredients required for my yeast donuts recipe. Follow the directions up to step number 5 (letting the dough rise).

While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, prepare the filling. Place the leftover pulled pork into a medium sized pot. Add the garlic, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil then quickly stir in the water-corn starch mixture. Return the mixture to a boil, cooking until it thickens. Set the pork filling aside to cool (I placed the filling into a bowl and placed it in the freezer to cool while my dough was rising).

Cut the dough into 24 pieces (for larger siopao) or 36 pieces (for smaller siopao). I made 24 larger pieces that measured about 4 inches in diameter after it was cooked/steamed.

Use a rolling pin to flatten each piece of dough into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Keep the center of the circle slightly thicker than the edge. Place two tablespoons of filling in the middle of the dough. Optional: Add a piece of egg on top of the filling.

Pull the dough up around the filling, pinching to seal. The sealed part becomes the bottom of the siopao.

Place the siopao on a piece of parchment paper, pinched side down. Continue filling the remaining pieces of dough.

After all the dough is filled, place in your steamer basket. I can fit about 6 large siopao in mine. Don’t let the siopao touch the sides of the steamer, and leave about an inch or two between each one. Place a clean kitchen towel between the steamer pot and the lid to prevent the condensation from dripping back onto the siopao. Steam for 20 minutes then remove from the steamer to cool.

Enjoy while still warm. 🙂

Freeze any uneaten (and already steamed) siopao. To reheat, defrost the siopao in the refrigerator then reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Posted in BREADS, Chinese, ETHNIC, Filipino, MEAT, Pork, SNACKS, Yeast Bread

King Cake

Posted on March 1, 2014 by AnniesChamorroKitchen 6 comments

King Cakes are part of a popular tradition that celebrates the 12th day following the birth of Christ, during which the 3 Wise Men or Kings visited the Christ Child. The celebrations continue sometimes up to Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras, in French), the day before Ash Wednesday when the Lenten Season begins. The custom of baking these “cakes” is in honor of the Three Kings, hence the name, “A King’s Cake.”

The custom includes baking a tiny porcelain or plastic baby inside the cake. King Cakes are usually served at parties, and the person who finds the baby in their slice of cake is supposed to host the party the next year. Instead of having a party, you could bake several smaller King Cakes and give them to your neighbors. The neighbor who receives the King Cake with the baby gets to bake them for the neighbors the following year.

King Cakes aren’t really cakes, but a rich danish (I’ll keep calling them cakes, though). Some King Cakes are baked without adding a filling, but I like to make mine with a rich and luscious cream cheese and cinnamon filling. After the cake is baked, the baby is inserted. Then the top of the cake is covered with a rich glaze and decorated in the traditional colors of purple, green and gold.

These colors have a special meaning as well. One explanation is that the official Mardi Gras colors were selected in 1872 to honor the visiting Russian Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovich Romanoff, whose house colors were purple, green and gold. Another explanation is that the colors purple, green and gold were used by Catholic Church throughout history, and the colors represent Justice (Purple), Faith (Green), and Power (Gold).

This recipe takes some time to make, but it’s worth it in the end. Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

King Cake

Dough Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white, granulated sugar
8 oz. sour cream
1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (98-105 degrees)
1 1/2 teaspoons white, granulated sugar
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/8 cup white, granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Glaze Ingredients:

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup orange juice or milk

Decoration Ingredients:

Green sugar sprinkles
Purple sugar sprinkles
Yellow sugar sprinkles
One tiny plastic or porcelain baby (about 2 inches long)

Directions:

Make the dough:

In a small microwave-safe bowl, place the butter and sugar. Cook for 1-2 minutes in the microwave until the butter melts. Transfer to a small mixing bowl. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the sour cream. Set aside to cool.

In another small bowl, mix together the yeast, warm water and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar. Set aside to allow the yeast to proof. It should be very bubbly after five minutes; if not, then discard the mixture and start over. NOTE: Water that is too hot will kill the yeast. The water should feel as warm as the temperature of your skin.

Place the egg into the bowl of a large stand mixer (such as a KitchenAid). Use the paddle attachment to slightly beat the egg.

The photo below shows two eggs–I doubled my recipe when I made this so I had enough cakes to give away to friends.

Mix in the sour cream mixture and proofed yeast.

Slowly mix in the flour, one cup at a time. NOTE: If you live in a low humidity environment, you may need less flour, about 2 1/2 cups. If you live in humid area, you may need slightly more than 3 cups of flour.

After the flour has been roughly mixed with the wet ingredients, switch to the dough hook.

Turn your mixer to medium-high speed and knead for 5 minutes. NOTE: If you are kneading by hand, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. After kneading, place the dough into a greased bowl (clear works best so you can see if the dough has doubled in size); place in a warm place to rise until doubled.

While the dough is rising, make the cream cheese and cinnamon fillings.

Make the Cream Cheese Filling:

In a small mixing bowl, beat together the egg, sugar and cream cheese. Mix on high until there are no more lumps and the filling is smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Cinnamon filling: In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon filling ingredients together. Set aside.

Make the Glaze:

Mix together the sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and just half of the orange juice. Mix until smooth.

You want the glaze to be slightly thin but not runny. Add more orange juice if you need to thin it out more.

Set aside.

Put it all together:

After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Place onto a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle, roughly 18×12 inches.

Roughly mark lines in the dough to separate it into thirds (do NOT cut through the dough). Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the OUTER sections into diagonal strips about 1 inch wide; these strips are what you will use to create a woven or braided look for the top of the King Cake. NOTE: Make sure you do not cut through the middle third of the rectangle.

Spread the cream cheese mixture down the middle of the rectangle. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture.

Fold the strips of dough over the fillings, alternating sides. Overlap the strips to form a braided or woven look.

Tuck the ends of the dough underneath the end; use any extra dough to ensure both ends of the King Cake are sealed (to keep the filling in while baking).

This is how you’d make a round King Cake.

Roll out two pieces of dough about 16 inches in diameter.

Cut one piece of dough into strips, like you’re cutting a pizza.

Place the uncut round piece onto a baking sheet. Place the cut pieces of dough underneath the edge of the uncut piece (pointed part facing out), going all around the side (it will look like a large sun with rays pointing out). Press along the edges of the cut pieces to the seal them to the uncut circle.

Spread the cream cheese filling around the edge of the uncut circle of dough. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar filling on top of the cream cheese. Fold each cut piece inward, pressing down at the pointed tip to seal the dough (you will have a small “well” of dough in the middle).

Into the small well, pour more cream cheese filling. Top with cinnamon filling.

Carefully lift the shaped dough and place onto a large baking sheet. Spray the top of the King Cake (dough) lightly with butter flavored cooking spray, then cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise again until doubled.