Raisin Buns

It has been quite some time since I blogged about food. Destinee loves to eat raisin buns so I purposely went to my friend's (Ah Nee) place to learn how to make them.

a

Recipe and method of making Raisin Buns:

Ingredients A:
300 g. High Protein Flour
5 g. Milk Powder (u can always curi from ur kid)
3 g. Bread Improver (optional)

Ingredients B:
50 g. Castor Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
30 g. Egg (don't throw away the extra, need it later for brushing on buns)
180 g. cold water (from the fridge)
7.5 g. Instant Yeast

Ingedients C:
15 g. Butter
15 g. Shortening
Raisins (amount, up to u), I added 3x the amount stated in the recipe.

Method:
1) Preheat oven at 180 degrees C.
2) Combine ingredients A & B to form a dough.
3) Add C, knead until smooth and elastic.
4) Mix in raisins and combine.
5) Divide into 40 g. each. Let them prove for 10 mins. Roll and shape into balls.
6) Arrange them into greased tin. Cover and let them prove till double in size.
7) Brush buns with egg.
8) Bake at 180 degrees C for 20-25 mins.

Easy, rite? The only thing u need is to spend time waiting for the dough and buns to be proved.

Destinee presenting the ingredients.

Cannot see? The top picture was a request from Des to take a pic together with the ingredients. Okay, a closer look here:

Front: salt, butter, shortening, yeast, egg, sugar

Back: Flour, milk powder, cold water, raisins.

Kneaded dough

Proved dough

Dough divided into 40 g. each.

Buns placed into greased tin to be proved further.

Buns proved to double in size.

Baked raisin buns.

Yummy, yummy raisin buns

The extra big bun is from the extra dough.

Too lazy to shape it into balls,

so just dump the whole dough onto a plate and bake.

a

a

p/s: Ah Nee, thank u so much (muaks). The buns were still soft the day after.

Bits here bits there

'Chui Mei' 吹梅 - What's dat? I've never heard of the term until Destinee took part in the event. Direct translation is 'blowing plums'. To my understanding, it's blowing Chinese ink with a straw onto a piece of red paper. The blown ink is supposed to be the branches. After the ink dries up, small pieces of cotton wool are to be glued onto the 'branches' to make them look like the plum flowers (梅花）。This kind of art is usually done during the Chinese New Year (correct me if I'm wrong).

I did ask Pappy if he knew what 'chui mei' meant and he said he had no idea *duh*.

Destinee was very excited on the morning of the competition (before the Chinese New Year) and kept telling me dat she couldn't blow nicely cos she didn't do well during Art class (the Art teacher might have made them practise before the actual day). I consoled her by telling her to try her best and didn't matter if she didn't win.

See my girl? So happy.

Teng ... teng ... teng ... teng ....

The 1st prize goes to DESTINEE LEE!

I really didn't expect her to win. A 'banana' like me who knows nothing about the Chinese Art ...... in a way it was a good experience for her.

I really don't know what he wrote. The writings look so 'stiff'. He said he hasn't written for ages and forgot how to hold the brush properly. *kakaka*

This was how she coloured her Art during the exam.

Nice and colourful hor? She got A*star star* leh.

In her favourite Baju Kurung and dancing to the tune of

'Ikan Kek Kek'.

This is how Des naps in the office after school if she's too tired.

Half of her body rests on my director "ah sei" (阿四) chair

and the other half on another chair.

- reminds me of how Kylie (Laundryamah's princess)

sleeps in the office.