Artisan chocolate makers like to make their own chocolate from bean and deal with the farmer. Simply 

see the range of cacao

Grinding, Refining, Conching, and Tempering

Cacao paste tastes the most like a chocolate bar (without the sugar) compared to all other cacao products. Cacao is believed to contain high amounts of antioxidants such as flavonoids, and many other nutrients and minerals like stearic and oleic fatty acid, anandamide (the bliss chemical), theobromine, manganese, zinc, copper, sulfur, PEA, and tryptophan. The list of cacao’s acclaimed health benefits is lengthy and includes anti-inflammatory and heart-protective properties, calming hormones, restoration of feelings of well-being, increased energy, fighting chronic fatigue, anti-aging, and appetite-suppressing properties, improved kidney and cognitive functions, skin and tooth protection, and more. 

Cacao paste often comes molded into blocks or pieces and is also known as unsweetened baking chocolate or bitter chocolate. It can be eaten as is, or it can easily be transformed into dipping chocolate or chocolate treats.

Storage: Best kept at room temperatures around 20C (68F), away from direct sunlight, protected from moisture, and tightly sealed. 

Chocolate mold 

A Professional praline chocolate mold with a popular ganach filling, need to take a right tempering of converture molding to get a shining surface. 

Another way to make a delicious snack with using cacao paste and make a healthy chocolate snacks.

Ingredients: Dates, sunflower seeds, raisins, cacao powder, cacao paste, apricots, sesame seeds, coconut flake, goji, and amazing special aroma Tonka bean 

Quick and easy to make cashew cheese, takes less than 10 mins

Prepare time 1 h

Ingredients: 

1. Soak the Cashew for a hour

2. Blend the Cashew smooth with Garlic, Lemon Juice, ,paparika, Tumeric powder, Cayenne, Salt, Maple syrup (or sugar), Nutritional Yeast and 200ml of water. 

3. Rest (150ml) water cook with the Agar Agar in a bowl, pour the above mixture to this Agar Agar water and cook and stir for  around 3-4 mins.

4. Pour in to a mould (souffle cup) which coated with coconut oil. And set in fridge for 2 hours cover with a plastic flim.

5. This cheese can keep in fridge for 2 months.

*You can taste it and add more acid or salt to seasoning the mixture.

Nutritional yeast it's rich in B vitamins and B12. It's an inactive yeast that is made from sugar cane or beet molasses that have been grown for their nutritional properties.

#vegancheese

Here is the recipe for Swiss königs kuchen (kings cake(bread))

Middle part 160g 8 pieces@40g

Cake shouldn't be off the menu just because you have a gluten-free diet so why not enjoy these moist and absolutely delicious chocolate cake.

Many people think the gluten free /egg free cake are not delicious, as a baker my aim is how to make it delicious like a regular cake. This is the time i bake this chocolate cake in 3 versions, one at a time, only few ingredients has change to GF ingredients. Let's see the cake you never know it is made with Gluten free and Gluten and Egg free cake when you taste it.

Prepare time : 1hours

Baking time: 45-50mins

Quantity: 1 piece (bakeform for 600g-650g)

CUP4CUP Multipurpose flour 1 :1 (rice flour base GF flour)

Neat egg - a egg replacer (chia seed and bean)

Trimoline - invert sugar (creating a smoother mouth feel and control the moisture)

How easy to make any recipe to be a Gluten free recipe with the 1 : 1 gluten free multipurpose flour. Just few ingredients replace and easy make a gluten free cake and the taste is so good until i don't telling you it is Gluten free

All come out nicely, moist in texture, rich of chocolate, You'd never guess that it's free from eggs, wheat. Yummy. 

non-gluten free cake isn't big difference compare the gluten free in taste texture. Due this gluten free flour are based from rice flour and starch.

The last one is Egg free and Gluten free,  stretchy texture and dense as the neat egg ingredients are chia seed and garbanzo beans, sticky egg-like substitute. And you can see in the recipe is half weight from regular recipe on fresh egg. The garbanzo bean enhance a extra special flavor in this cake. worth to try!

Chocolate cake recipe:

150g (3)	Eggs		Eggs	21g Neat Egg +42ml water
45g	Trimoline		Trimoline	Trimoline
75g	Caster Sugar	beat together with eggs	Caster Sugar	Caster Sugar
		until light yellow
45g	Hazelnut Meal GF		Hazelnut Meal GF	Hazelnut Meal GF
73g	Pastry cake Flour		Gluten free flour by CUP4cup	Gluten free flour by CUP4cup
15g	Cacao powder		Cacao Powder GF	Cacao Powder GF
4.5g	Baking powder GF	Sifted all dry ingredients(2)	Baking powder GF	Baking powder GF
		finish the mix
72g	Cream 35%		Cream 35%	Cream 35%
45g	Butter	melt @45°C	Butter	Butter
1 pinch	salt		salt	salt
88g	70% Dark Chocolate GF	melt @37°C add to	70% Dark Chocolate GF	70% Dark Chocolate GF
Total	620g		620g	520g
weight after baking	587g		570g	499g
Baking Time & Temp.	45mins@165°C		50mins@165°C	50mins@165°C

well beat the egg until fluffy and light yellow

• (Egg free version)

• pipping butter on the cake to get a nice crack.
•  checking with bamboo skewer

Photos; Author by May Leung

Product find in section here

Taste of Italy - Panettone

Prepare Time: 48 hours

Quantity: 2 pieces 17 cm

Ambient Temperature: 29°C

Difficulty : ***** (experience making sourdough bread)

[Day 1: #1Levain(3hours)>#2Levain(3hours)>#3Levain(3hours)>predough(12hours)]

Day 1 at 6am

#1 Levain

• How make a natural yeast (your own starter  >>
• From starter to Levain>>
• fast way to use Lievito Madre

Why bob's red mill artisan bread flour?

Artisan bread flour is good to make a long fermentation bread dough, as it is high gluten protein to 13.5%, you may use T80, as i use both before in bakery (see flour protein comparison>>) 

*if you have a stronger starter(age starter) you can start from #2 : )

Day 1 at 10 am

#2 Levain

Day 1 at 2 pm

#3 Levain

 Point:

1.Each part refresh levain allow to rise for approx. 3 hours and tripled in volume (the method is similar same as the "Build a Leavain")

2. check the temperature to adjust the time or volume. 

3. Stir the dough for around 5 mins and cover in a container and the refresh levain need to be waited until tripled in volume.

4. Take out the butter in room temperature, prepare for the predough in next step.

REMARK: If your starter is store in fridge, take out from fridge at night before you start to make the #1 Levain. Otherwise from #1>#2>#3 between refreshing time is longer that 3 hours.

Panettone Predough: (The time is around 6-7pm. check and until the levain is tripled in volume, before to make the dough.)

Point:

1. Melt the caster sugar in the water over a low heat(don't boil), then add the flour and half of egg yolk combine in a stand mixer and mix thoroughly to obtain a smooth an elastic dough.

2.  Add the #3Levain with remain egg yolks, mixing until combined. Finish by adding the soft butter a little at a time. 

3. Let them ferment for 12 hours @ 28°C cover with plastic wrapper. 

Day 2: 2nd dough(1 hours)>Cut it half and proofing(6 hours)>Icing topping> Bake(50mins)>Up side down(6-12 hours) 

Day 2 at 7:00am

1. Knead the dough with day 1 pre-dough for about 10-15 mins

2. Add the sugar and egg yolks x 3 into the dough when kneading

3. Add honey, vanilla pod(seeds), orange and lemon zests. 

4. Butter little by little add to the dough and mix until smooth, shiny and elastic. Mix together the candied oranges cube and raisins in finally. Allow to rest for one hour with cover. 

5. divide the dough 1.5 hours later, cut in 2 pieces approx. 1000g in the Panettone mold Leave to rise for another 5-6 hours@28°C

6. AT around 3.30pm. Bake in a preheat oven @180°C for 20 Mins 170°C 30Mins

Icing Topping

•  Recipe and Author by Bakingwarehouse | see more Blog post

SAY NO TO PLASTIC

Everyday changes you can make to help save our planet,
plastic is non-biodegradable substance that can harm flora and fauna for decades, a small change you can make is to use reusable bags instead of plastic bags, which can be cost-effective, durable and most importantly, harmless to the environment.

Real chain supermarket in German(Dusseldorf) is staring banishes plastic bags for fruit and vegetables.(detail) UK, US's supermarket to get rid of plastic bag.

Hong Kong some supermarket are stop providing single-use plastic produce bags --Finally... and that plastic is non-recyclable.

Choose to use reusable shopping bags and produce bag for your vegetable and fruit .

We can do more to save our Earth

running out vanilla extract in kitchen.... you can make your own vanilla extract! Even as a gift for your friends and families

Easy 3 steps- slice , shake , wait ...

Vanilla bean - slice the vanilla bean each

Alcohol - Vodka, rum, bourbon, brandy

easy to pour an alcohol in ready use Infusion kit with a ready swing top bottle.

Look! after 8 weeks vanilla extract!

Prepare time: 1 day for sourdough , half day bulk ferment and folding, retard the dough approx. 8-12 hours. 

Recipe

Utensil: Proofing Basket, scraper, Dough whisk 

A Golden gorgeous loaf today. Adding turmeric to the dough is not only healthy, it makes the bread look nice too. This was using basic sourdough bread that needs a pinch Turmeric powder you easy found in kitchen. 

Bakes into a beautiful color, crunchy crust , moist,  spiced loaf. Prepare the sourdough one day before. feeding twice. Hand mix all ingredients in a dough except the salt.  Rest around 2-3 hours for autolyse, sprinkle the salt in the first flow.

I mostly doing the way:  folding 2 times in bulk > (divide) shape > retard the dough* in the basket 14 hours in fridge, then for next day for baking straight in the preheat oven 250°C for 35 mins with steam.

For this time i make a bit different (bulk) folding 3 times every 1-1.25 hours > shape > form in proofing basket with plastic cover for 2.5 hours at room temperature and bake in a preheat oven with steam. 

What does "retarding the dough" mean? D. Monsborough from https://www.goodfood.com.au

Yeast is a single-celled organism that converts sugar into carbon dioxide, water and alcohol. It also produces enzymes that convert the starch in flour (polysaccharides) into simple sugars (monosaccharides) that are in turn converted into CO₂ and alcohol. Modern bread mixes contain bread improvers, such as the enzyme amylase, and malt to give the yeast something to eat while the enzymes work. If bakers don't want to add improvers, they can slow the fermentation to allow the yeast to create enough enzymes to convert the starch to sugar. Bakers do this by allowing the bread dough to ferment, forming it into loaves, then placing the unbaked loaves in a cooler. This is retarding the dough. Yeast is still active at low temperatures, but it works very, very slowly. While it is working, it also produces other organic compounds that give subtle aromas to the bread. You can do this at home. Make bread according to the recipe, form the loaves, place them on the tray, dust them with flour, and wrap them in plastic. Refrigerate overnight. Allow the loaves to rise again in a warm place until they double in size – about two hours – and bake according to the instructions.

German type rye flour vs rye flour from US 

Just trying to make both in a simple traditional Roggenbrot mit sauerteig (Ryebread with sourdough) 

Sour culture - In a glass jar/ bowl, combine flour and water , cover and ferment at room temperature (25-28°C) 16-24 hours. The sponge will have a strong sour aroma in following day 2

Using the 1:1 rye flour , water as sourdough, feeding 2 times a day continue feeding for 2-3 days

1	Mix the dough with all ingredients, Cover and ferment at room temperature until the dough has visibly expanded and shows broken bubbles on the surface, 30-40 minutes.
2	take out the dough and roll it in ball shape, like in my video below, put it in well-floured proofing baskets.
3	cover and proof for another 40-50 mins
4	Turn it out and bake with a preheat oven 250°C with the baking surface in the middle bake on a pizza stone for 15mins ( in dutch oven take out the cover after 15 mins) , then reduce the temperature to 220°C and continue baking for 15 mins . Transfer to a rack and cool thoroughly before slicing.

Once you have the sourdough starter, you can ready to build a Levain for your bread dough. 

Feed it 3 days in advance. (i like to feed it 3 days for a stronger stiff levain, specially in winter)

you can feed it for 2 days. click to download the time schedule with step by step and easy bake your  sourdough bread! 

Gelatin used in food usually runs from 125 Bloom to 250 Bloom.

Add gelatin into other ingredient, first hydrate and soften it (called blooming) in cold liquid. 

• soak the gelatin sheet in cold water for around few minute. squeeze the water out. Melt in a bain-marie stir until dissolve or add softened gelatin in hot liquid.(like pudding/jelly)

You can use the exciting gelatin sheet to converting into other gelatin grade if need.

following is the conversion formula allow us to use in different recipe.

example you have 5 g of silver grade 160 bloom want to convert to gold 200 bloom gelatin

160>200 bloom convert factor 1.12 =1.12 x 5 = 5.6g  (5.6 g silver = 5 g 200 bloom gold grade)

if to exchange the covert from 200 > 160 bloom

0.89 x 5 =4.45g (4.45g gold = 5 g silver 160 bloom grade)

gelatin mass

• 100 g Gelatin
• 50 g Water

Hydrate gelatin in cold water. Allow to set in cooler.
Melt gelatin. Allow to set and cut to scale as needed