Lasagna

This recipe calls for a 21cm square oven-proof glass dish. 

Meat sauce ingredients:

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

300g minced beef

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 bottle of 400g pasta sauce (I use Barilla's  bolognese base)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 dried bay leave

salt and black pepper

30g milk

Bechamel sauce ingredients:

16g butter

16g flour

200ml milk

Pinch of salt

13g Parmasen cheese

Other ingredients:

Cheese e.g. Mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar

10 lasagna sheets

Method:

1. Make the meat sauce.

Heat oil in wok over medium heat.

Add onion and cook until softened, stirring constantly.

Add the meat and cook until it changes it colour, break up any lumps of meat. Don't overcook the meat. Remove from wok.

Add tomato puree, paste, sugar, oregano, basil, water/wine, salt and pepper to taste.

Return the meat to the wok and mix into the tomato mixture.

Cover with lid and bring to a boil.

Simmer over low heat for an hour. Stir in milk to balance the acidity. Set aside.

2. Make the bechamel sauce. 

Pour milk into saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 4-5minutes until the flour has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Add butter, a pinch of salt and parmasen cheese. Whisk until mixture thickens (thick enough to coat the back of the spoon but not too thick that it won't pour).

If not using the sauce immediately, cover the sauce with a clingwrap, pressing directly onto the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming. Alternatively, give the sauce a stir from time to time to prevent a skin from forming over the sauce.

3. Cook the lasagna sheets.

If the sheet requires cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1 lasagna sheets at a time and cook until al dente. Remove the cooked sheet from the pot and put in a pot with cold water to stop the cooking. Then lay them on a lightly oiled tray (no overlapping) and cover with a cloth.

4. Assemble

Watch this video. Spread meat sauce into the base of the baking tray. Then add lasagna sheet, followed by meat sauce, bechamel sauce and cheese. Repeat for next 4 to 5 layers of lasagna sheets, ending with bechamel sauce and cheese. 

5. Baking

Preheat oven to 200C (180C with fan). Cover loosely with aluminium foil and bake it in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Remove the aluminium foil and bake for another 10-25 minutes until the cheese has the desired golden brown look.

6. Resting

Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes before slicing. This allows the bechamel to firm up, the layers settle and you will get clean slices instead of the meat sauce running across the plate.

Anzac biscuit

Anzac biscuits are a classic Australian and New Zealand treat known for their chewy texture and toasted coconut flavour. They are unique because they do not contain eggs, which originally allowed them to stay fresh during long voyages. 

Ingredients:

75g rolled oats

80g plain flour

40g caster sugar

45g desiccated coconut

65g butter

20g golden syrup

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp boiling water

Method:

1. Place flour, coconut, sugar and oats in a bowl. Mix well.

2. Place butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over medium heat and melt. Once melted, remove from heat.

3. Place baking soda in a small bowl and add boiling water to activate the baking soda. Stir to combine and immediately add into the warm butter mixture in the saucepan. It will foam up. Pour this over oat mixture and mix using dough scrapper until everything is well coated and holds together when pressed.

4. Measure 20g of biscuit mixture and shape into balls.  Place on a baking tray lined parchment paper. Flatten each ball gently with dough scrapper. The thinner the biscuit, the crunchier it will be.

5. Bake biscuits at 150C for 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly on tray for 5 minutes b4 transferring to wire rack. Store in airtight container thereafter.

Sourdough Discard Milk Bread

 

This is a good way to use up some of the sourdough discard. The bread stays soft for up to 3 days! Whether there is no sourdough tang in the bread depends on how old the discard is - for fresh discard (made within a day or two), there is no/slight sourdough tang. For older discard made more than a few days' ago, there will be some sourdough tang. 

Ingredients 

For 1.5kin Japanese bread tin (4.7 x 7.8 x 5.1 in. )(12 x 20 x 13 cm)

335g bread flour

20g milk powder

2g instant yeast

5.5g salt

40g sugar

37g egg (white or yolk)

111g water

75g milk

27g butter

90g starter/discard 

For 490g loaf tin

221g bread flour

13g milk powder

1.3g instant yeast

3.3g salt

26g sugar

24g egg (white or yolk)

73g water

50g milk

18g butter

59g starter/discard

Method

1. Combine all ingredients, except butter and salt, in mixer and knead at medium speed until it comes together in a ball of dough and is smooth and shiny.

2. Add butter and salt, and knead for until dough is smooth and flaps against the mixing bowl.

3. Do window pane test (for gluten development) and proof for 1 hour or until double in size.

4. Transfer the dough to work surface and gently deflate it. Divide into 2 or 3 equal pieces and roll in balls. Cover and rest 15 minutes.

5. Take each dough ball and deflate it with your hand. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough ball flat.  Shape dough (swiss roll method) and place in pullman tin until dough reaches 90% of tin capacity - around 1.5 hour. To check readiness, press dough lightly with your finger - if the dent stays, it means ready to bake.

6. Egg or milk wash, then bake 170deg cel for 20 minutes at lowest rack in oven. No fan mode.

7. Once baked, remove tin from the oven and gently drop the tin on a surface to release steam. Re,ove the loaf from the pan, place it on a wire rack and let it cool completely before cutting. 

Cheddar Bacon Scones

Ingredients (6 scones)

120g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder (omit if using self raising flour)

80g sourdough starter, discard/unfed, straight from fridge

1 tsp sugar (optional)

40g whipped cream

50g unsalted butter (very cold)

1/4 tsp salt 

130g smoked bacon (6 strips, before cooking)

70g cheddar cheese (grated)

Method:

1. Cut the bacon into small bit (about 1cm pieces) and pan fry it for 8 to 10minutes until it is crispy with golden-brown edges. Drain the cooked bacon thoroughly on paper towels. Press another paper towel on top to blot off as much residual grease as possible. Spread the bacon pieces out so they cool down fast to room temperature. Chill in fridge if necessary.

2. Sieve flour and baking powder into mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt and mix roughly with dough scrapper.

3. Add cold butter and use the dough scrapper to cut the butter into the flour until the mix looks like breadcrumbs.

4. Add the bacon and cheese and mix in using dough scrapper. Add whipped cream and starter, and use the dough scrapper to mix until dough just come together (ok to have small bits of flour). Don't overmix or knead the dough. 

5. Lightly flatten the dough. Then use dough scrapper to divide the dough into two, stack one half over the other and flatten the dough again. Repeat this a few times. This method of stacking dough over itself will result in flaky scone texture. After the final stacking, flatten the dough to about 3cm thick disc. Use dough scrapper to cut into 6 pieces (you can also roll out the dough and cut into smaller pieces, refer to bottom most picture). Arrange the scones 1 inch apart in the baking pan.

6. [optional] Wrap the dough with cling wrap and chill in fridge for 30minutes. 

7. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil and bake in 200 deg celcius pre heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes (middle rack, fan mode). 

 

Bouchon Brownie

Thomas Keller’s legendary chocolate bouchons from Bouchon Bakery are the ultimate elevated brownie. Named after the French word for "cork" due to their traditional cylindrical shape, these treats are deeply rich, intensely fudgy, and packed with pockets of chocolate chips. I don't have the specific cylindrical mold so I bake them in my financier and mini muffin molds.

​The secret to their signature texture lies in two critical steps: a precise alternating mixing method that balances structure and tenderness, and a mandatory two-hour rest time at cool room temperature before baking to hydrate the dry ingredients fully.

Ingredients (makes 14 pieces)

141g unsalted butter

50g plain flour

50g unsweetened cocoa powder (alkalized)

1/2 tsp salt

75g egg

110g sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla paste (1g)  or 1 tsp vanilla extract

80g dark chox chips

Method

1. Divide butter into two halves. Melt one half in a small pan over medium heat, then stir in the remaining cold butter chunks off-heat until completely smooth and creamy but opaque (with small bits of unmelred butter). Set aside.

2. Sift the flour and cocoa powder onto a big piece of parchment paper.  Add salt and whisk together.

3. Combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium-low speed for about 3 minutes until the mixture turns pale, thick, voluminous and reached "ribbon stage"*. It took me 10minutes to hand whisk.

4. Fold the flour mixture and the melted butter to the egg mixture, alternating between the two (dry, wet, dry, wet...) in 3 to 4 additions. Mix just until everything is combined to avoid overworking the flour. 

5. Gently fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

6. Cover the mixing bowl tightly with cling weap Set aside in a cool spot (not refrigerator) for 2 hours. This resting period allows the starch molecules in the flour and cocoa to thoroughly absorb the liquids, resulting in a significantly richer texture and a shinier baked crust. Note: The batter can be refrigerated for up to 2 days but should be returned to room temperature before filling the molds.

7. Preheat oven to 170°C (internal), fan mode, middle rack. Coat the cavities of the baking mold well with baking spray. Scoop the rested batter evenly into the molds, filling them roughly three-quarters full. Bake for 10 minutes. The tops should look shiny and set like a perfectly baked brownie. Test with a skewer which should come up clean.

8. Let the brownies rest inside the mold for 10 minutes (so that they will hold their shape) on a wire rack. Place the cooling rack over the top of the pan, carefully flip the whole setup over, and allow them to cool upside down inside the molds for a few minutes before gently lifting the pan away.

9. The brownies can be kept in a covered container for up to 3 days.

* Visual cue for ribbon stage:

When you lift the paddle attachment out of the bowl, the batter should fall back down slowly in a thick, continuous, ribbon-like trailing fold.

​The 3-Second Rule: The trail that lands on the surface should hold its shape and remain visible for a full 3 seconds before slowly melting back into the rest of the batter.

​Texture & Color: The sugar should be mostly dissolved, and the mixture will look pale ivory, glossy, and highly aerated (similar to a soft, fluid marshmallow fluff).

Cheese Cookie

Ingredients:

89g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated

89g plain flour

60g unsalted butter, cold

11g egg white (about 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon), lightly whisked. 

1g salt

Method:

1. Place flour and butter in a mixing bowl. Use a dough scrapper to cut the butter into the flour. Keep 'chopping' and tossing the flour over the butter until the pieces are about the size of small peas.

2. Add the cheese and use the dough scrapper to fold and cut the cheese into the butter-flour mixture until it looks uniform and crumbly.

3. Add egg white and continue to use the dough scrapper to fold and cut into the mixture. The dough should hold together when squeezed. Otherwise, add a little more egg white.

4. Transfer the dough to work surface and use the heel of your hand to smear the dough away from you once or twice. This is called frisage, it will create very thin layers of butter and cheese. Use the scrapper to bring the dough together and form a log about 4-5cm in diameter. Wrap the log tightly in clingwrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

5. Preheat oven to 160 degree celcius, fan mode. Using a sharp knife, slice the log into rounds of 5mm thick. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. The sliced rounds should be cold when they go into the oven. If they have warmed up while you were slicing, put the entire tray of sliced rounds into the fridge for 10minutes before putting into the oven.

6. Bake the cookies for 10minutes until they are a deep golden brown. Let them sit on the tray for a few minutes to crisp up before moving them to a rack. As soon as the cookies have cooled down, transfer them to an airtight container.

Sourdough Discard Crackers With Seeds

 

Below recipe from Bake With Paws. My adapted recipe for small quantity is in brackets.

Ingredients:

300g sourdough discard (100g)

75g olive oil or melted butter (25g)

180g plain flour (60g)

1 tsp salt (1/3 tsp, 1g)

2 tsp baking powder (2/3 tsp, 1.3g)

4 tsp toasted black sesame seeds (2 tsp)

or

4 tsp herbs

or 

1 Tbsp poppy seeds + 20 chia seeds + 20g flax seeds + 50g sesame seeds

Method

1. Mix the dry ingredients.

2. Add olive oil and use dough scrapper to combine.

3. Add sourdough discard and mix in. It will be very wet at first, but don't panic, continue to use the dough scrapper to fold and mix in. Once a dough is formed, cover and rest the dough for 30mins. (Note: The dough can be chilled in fridge overnight.) Divide into small pieces (depends on the size of your baking pan). Place one piece of dough between 2 parchment paper and roll as thin as possible. Use pizza cutter or dough scrapper to cut into strips. 

4. Transfer the dough to a baking pan. Bake at 170C for 15mins until light golden brown. Rotate the pan if necessary, for even baking. Cool on rack and store in airtight container.