In Germany, potato bread rolls are also called kartoffelbrot. These little rolls are made by combining bread flour, spelt flour, and mashed potatoes.  The combination of ingredients makes the rolls, with a springy texture and a wonderful crust.

They’re best enjoyed with one-pot meals such as cabbage soup, beef stew, butter chicken stew in tomato sauce, etc.

Ingredients:
400gm bread flour
50gm All purpose flour
50gm spelt flour
300gm mashed potatoes
150gm natural yeast / sourdough starter
10gm salt
10gm honey
20gm olive oil
130gm potato water

Instructions:

Boil 300g of peeled potatoes in slightly salted water and cook for 20 minutes over low heat with the lid closed.

Scoop out 130g of potato water and set aside to cool.  Drain the potatoes using a colander and let them cool down to room temperature.  

Mash the potatoes and set aside. Combine the potato water, sugar, and natural yeast in a tall cup, stir with a whisk until completely dissolved, and set aside.

Mix the mashed potatoes, flour, yeast water mixture, oil, and salt in a mixing bowl and knead until the dough is smooth and less sticky.

Afterwards, transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and sprinkle some flour on the dough.   

Thoroughly knead the dough with your hands until it is covered all around with a light flour layer. 

Cover with a cloth and let rise for an hour until doubled in size.

After an hour, transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and briefly knead it. Shape into a ball and divide it into 9 large or 16 small portions. 

Shape each portion into an oval or round shape and place them on a baking tray.

Sprinkle some flour, cover, and proof for 30 minutes until the volume has doubled in size. Place a baking tray at the bottom of the oven. 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Score the rolls and place them in the hot oven.  Pour 1 cup of hot water into the baking tray. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are nicely golden brown and crisp.

Homemade burger buns are rich in taste, soft, and have a beautiful golden-brown look with roasted white sesame sprinkled on top. These buns are perfect for kids’ birthday parties or picnics. The original brioche buns are sweet and have more butter for the flavors.

I personally prefer them to be less sweet and with less butter in the dough, yet the buns still taste good with a nice soft texture. Making them into petite sized buns makes it easier for kids to eat too.

Original recipe adapted from:

https://jernejkitchen.com/recipes/bread-and-doughs/buns-sesame

Ingredients:
430gm All Purpose Flour
20gm Whole Wheat Flour
3gm Baking Yeast
240gm Full Cream Milk
35gm Unsalted Butter, room temperature
10gm Sugar
5gm Salt

Sprinkle / Topping
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp Cold Milk
Toasted White Sesame Seed (optional)

Instructions:
In a big measurement cup, combine baking yeast, milk and sugar. Set aside and let the yeast mixture rise for about 10 minutes.

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl, except butter. Using a wooden spoon to combine and form a dough.

Transfer dough onto a lightly floured counter top and knead until come together and smooth.

Add in butter and continue to knead until dough reach window pane . This step is very important.

Lightly grease your mixing bowl and put your dough in. Cover with kitchen towel or cling wrap and let it rest for 60 minutes or almost double in size.

Be careful not to over proof at this stage. I only leave it on the counter for an hour at room temperature 28°C.

After an hour, transfer the dough on a lightly floured countertop and briefly knead the dough. Shape into a ball and divide it into 8 large or 12 small portions. Shape each portion into round shape, place them on a baking pan.

Brush each bun with egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk). Cover with cling wrap or clean damp cloth and let it proof at room temperature for 35-45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Remove the cover and brush each bun with egg wash again. For topping, sprinkle some white sesame seeds on top the buns.

To create some steam in the oven, spray some water into the pre heated oven before placing the baking pan in the oven. Place the baking pan in middle rack of your oven.

Set your oven to 190°C and bake it for 20 minutes or golden brown in color. Remove baking pan from the oven and transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool.

My family loves to eat Dim Sum. We always order Radish Cake whenever we are out for Dim Sum. We also call this savory cake ‘Lo Bak Go’ in Cantonese, and it’s often served on the second day of Chinese New Year for lunch or snacks. It is worth making at home because we can chose good quality ingredients such as Chinese sausage, dried flower mushrooms, dried scallops, dried shrimps and radish. As most radishes are bitter, it is best to cook the radish with some yellow rock sugar to neutralize the bitterness and enhance the sweetness of the vegetables.

Recipe

Ingredients:
1 medium radish (550gm -700gm after grated)
250gm water
(You can use chicken broth or the water that you soaked the dried shrimp, dried scallop & dried mushroom)
1 Chinese sausage (cut into small cubes)
4 gloves chopped garlic
6 chopped shallots
3 nos dried flower mushroom
3tbsp dried shrimp
4 nos dried scallops
1/2 tsp white pepper

Instructions:

Rinse dried shrimp, dried scallops, and dried mushrooms, and soak them in warm water for 2 hours, each in an individual bowl. Drain the water and keep it for later use. Chop the dried shrimp into smaller pieces. Cut the dried mushrooms into small cubes. Separate the dried scallops with a fork or use your fingers to shred the scallops.

In a mixing bowl, combine rice flour, salt and 250gm of water. Mix well with a wooden spoon and set aside. Wash the radish and trim away the top and bottom parts. Use a peeler to remove the radish skin and a mandolin to grate the radish. Set aside.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat. Add the grated radish, white pepper, rock sugar and 50gm of water. Let it cook for about 10-15 minutes until the radish turns tender and translucent.

Pour it into a big strainer and press out all the water. Make sure the radish is dry; otherwise, the radish cake will be very soft and wet. Set aside.

In the same wok, add 1 tsp of oil over medium heat. Add the Chinese sausage and fry until fragrant, then add the garlic, shallots, dried shrimp, and dried scallops and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add dried mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Pour the mixture onto a plate and set aside.

Add the cooked ingredients and radish into the flour batter. Mic well and transfer to a lightly greased 2lb loaf pan or 7X7 inch square baking pan. Use a spatula to smooth the top. Place the pan into a steamer and steam for 50 minutes over medium heat. Insert a chopstick to test if the cake is done. If it comes out clean, then it is ready.

Set aside and let it cool completely. Wrap with cling fir and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before cutting it.

To serve:
Cut the radish into pieces. Pan frying them with some oil and garnish with fried shallots, sliced chilli and chopped spring onion.

Fried Radish Cake / Chai Tao Kway 菜头粿

Fried radish cake is one of the famous street foods in Malaysia and Singapore.  We eat it for breakfast, lunch, or as a tea break. Fried radish cake is prepared in two versions:  fried with dark black sweet soy sauce or plain.

Ingredients (for 2-3 persons):

• 300g cooked radish cake
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp chopped sweet preserved turnip
• 2 tbsp chopped salty preserved turnip
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• White pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp dark sweet soy sauce (optional for plain fried radish)
• Some chopped spring onion, coriander, and sliced chili for garnish

Methods:

1. Cut the steamed radish cake into small cubes.
2. Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the radish cake and cook until  lightly browned. Add garlic and preserved turnip, fry until fragrant.
3. Add dark sweet soy sauce and white pepper. Stir to ensure the radish cake is evenly coated with  the dark sauce.
4. Pour lightly beaten eggs over the radish cake and let it cook for 1 minute without stirring.  Flip it over to cook for another minute until done.
5. Transfer to a plate and garnish with fried shallots, chopped spring onion, coriander, and sliced chili.