Five Loaves and Two Fish

Green Tea and cranberry loaf

I knew my bread is going to turn out soft and fluffy, the way it should be when I kneaded the dough. It was so smooth and elastic and I was telling myself it's time to get a proper loaf tin.
This is the matcha powder I used, not the most expensive on the shelf, but has the intentsity of a good Japanese matcha. My friend who was back from touring the States and Canada for 2 months gave me these bags of cranberries and raisins.

Feeding of 5,000

This two loaves of bread also bring me to acknowledge the abundant generosity of God and His miraculous work in our lives as seen in the Gospel of John in the Feeding of 5,000. Jesus can work miracles with five loaves and two fish brought by a little boy as his gifts to Him and what mightly miracles God can do! God wants us to do the same, the simplicity of who we are to God, and our inadequacies, God can work miracles through them.

Ingredients

 350g Bread flour

10g  Milk powder

1 tablespoon matcha powder

I handful of dried cranberries

65g Fine sugar

1/4 Teaspoon salt

7g Instant dry yeast

1 Egg, lightly beaten

120g Tangzhong (Water Roux)

125ml Milk

30g Unsalted butter, soften

Method

• Combine all dry ingredients such as flour, milk powder, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl and mixed well.
• Make a well in the center and add in wet ingredients such as beaten egg, tangzhong and soft butter and slowly stir the mixture till it form a sticky dough by adding the milk to it. You might not use all the milk. Next turn the sticky dough out on to lightly floured surface. Stretch the dough by pushing the front half away with one hand.
• Fold the stretched part of the dough back on itself, give it a quarter turn and repeat for 5 more minutes, until the dough has been turned full circule several times and is a smooth elastic ball.
• Place the kneaded dough back into the lightly floured mixing bowl and leave it in a warm place to prove for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Test your proofed dough by pushing your floured finger deep into the risen dough whereby it will leave an indentation that does not spring back.
• Punch the risen dough with your fist to deflate it, re-shape the dough into oblong shape and let it rest for 5 minutes.
• Divide the rest dough equally into two portions, about 400g per portion, flatten one portion of the dough into a rectangle, scatter some cranberries on the dough and fold 1/3 of the top part down and follow by 1/3 of the bottom up.
• Lastly tuck in both side of the flatten dough and seal the shaped dough with your finger tips.
• Place the loaf in an oiled and lightly floured pan for second proofing for 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough rises just above the top of the tin.

Bake bread in preheated 175C for about 20-25 minutes. The bread should be well risen, golden brown and sound hollow when tapped with fingertips. Remove the loaf immediately from the pan and leave to cool for at 30 minutes before slicing.

Tangzhong (water roux method)

 25g Bread flour

125ml water

Method

Mix flour and water in a small saucepan until without any lumps. Cook over medium low heat, stirring consistently with a egg whisk or wooden spoon to prevent the mixture from burning while cooking.

The mixture will thicken up( takes about less than 2 minutes) while cooking, so once you see 'lines' appear in the mixture it starts to form a dough, it is done.Transfer the cooked dough into a clean bowl and cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface to prevent it from drying up.

Cool it completely before use.

Note: The flour to -water ratio for tangzhong is always 1(bread flour): 5(water). The recipe above make a batch of approximately 140g tangzhong. Here's a video to guide you in making the water roux starter