Cinnamon roll

I've been crave for cinnamon roll for long time. I only ate once in my lifetime but after that I never seen them before. So i decided to make myself.

Using the rice cooker bread as base, I add some cinnamon powder and raisins during the preparation of second base.

Ingredient:

Bread dough (for more information click here)

Sugar 1 tablespoon

Cinnamon powder 1 table spoon

Raisin

Butter

1. Mix the sugar and cinnamon powder thoroughly.

2.Spread the bread dough on a surface, spread a layer of butter thinly and sprinkle the cinnamon powder sugar mix and raisin on top.

3. Roll the dough and cut into small piece (about 2 inches).

4. Put the rolls into the greased pot and let it raise for another one to two hours until the desired size.

Before raise

After raise

5. Let it cook for 30 min (about 2 to 3 cook warm cycle)

6. Flip the rolls and let it cook for another 20 min (about 1 to 2 cook warm cycle)

So here you have it. The rice cooker raisin cinnamon rolls.

Great for breakfast and tea time. =D

Steamed rice

Living in a single dwelling, without refrigerator, food preparation is always a great challenge to me. Rice is my favourite staple but if I cook with the conventional way, I will have a lot of left overs and waste due to the dried rice sticks on the pot. I have been practicing steam rice for a few years and the result were better than cooking directly from the rice cooker pot.

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 15-20 min

Yield: 1 bowl of cooked rice

1. Wash a rice with a small stainless steel bowl.

2. Put the stainless steel bowl in the rice cooker with 0.5 cm above the water (or just dip your finger inside the bowl, water level same as the first section of your finger).

3. Fill the rice cooker with 1/2 inches.

(This is actually double boiling the rice. If you have a steam tray, just put the stainless steel bowl on the steam tray and steam the rice. The result will be same.

Today I add in one potato into the steam pot, and I add extra water (1 inches) and let it cook for 30 minutes.

Potato is fully cooked when you can pierce or cut the potato with little or no pressure.

So here you have it. Single serving plain rice, with every single rice have the same soft and firm texture.

In the single pot, you can add a pair of chopstick to steam another dishes. Steam chicken with vegetables will be a healthy and delicious choice. =)

Rice cooker bread

Inspired by the pizza I made last time, I imagined if I let the crust to have some more time to rise, perhaps it will become like a bread? I start to google-ing up those bread recipe, and I came across this website, describing how to outsmart the rice cooker.

Surprising things you can make in a rice cooker

With the ingredients left, I decided to try on the rice cooker bread, and this is my recipe after some improvisation from other recipe and 2 trials.

Total time: approximately 4 hr 

Prep: 30 min

Inactive: 2 hr 30 min

Cooking time: 1 hr

Yield: 8 2 inches small buns

Serving: 2 to 3 person

Ingredient:

1 to 2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cups water

1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp milk powder (replace 1/2 cup of milk)

1. Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk powder and 1/2 tbsp of butter in a bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.

2. Mix the ingredients all together. Slowly add in water and start kneading (do not pour all water in once. This can control the moisture of the dough and no need to add in extra flour to adjust the moisture. If using milk, the amount of water shall be reduced.)

3. When all the flour has form a smooth, firm non- sticky ball, put inside a bowl and let it rest for 1 hour until it doubles it's size (first rise).

(*notice: almost same procedure as making pizza dough. The sugar content is higher to facilitate the yeast fermentation and produce a more spongy and soft bread.)

4. Knead the dough after the first rise.

5. Grease the rice cooker with butter or cooking oil. Shape the dough into desired shape and place inside the rice cooker pot. (I made them in bun shape because I don't have bread knife to slice the bread. It would be easier for me to handle)

6. Let it set for another 1 hour 30 min (more or less, until it rises to the desired size).

7. Start the rice cooker and let it cook for 30 minute (2 to 3 cook and warm setting cycle).

8. Flip over the dough and let the other side cook for another 20 minute (1 to 2 cook and warm setting cycle). Do not cook too long for the other side because it might cause the other side to become too dry and hard.

After that it will be ready to serve.

**About rising the bread

Rising is important to give a better texture for the bread. My first trial only involve one rising cycle.

First trial

 Second trial.

First trial is more compact and is tasted more like a scone than bread. Yeast will metabolize (eat up) the sugar and produce carbon dioxide which traps in the bread and make the bread spongy. The second kneading helps improve the texture by mixing the dough more thoroughly and helps the yeast in producing finer air bubbles in the bread. Make sure after the second kneading you shaped the dough into the desired shape and put into the greased pot (or pan or baking tray) you used to cook. Kneading will cause the air bubble to escape. So you wouldn't want to knead the dough again after the final raise.

You can try other variations too. Perhaps you can add in raisins, nuts, cheese, cinnamon powder and other ingredients.

Good luck and have fun trying =D

Homemade Pizza

Sometimes life does not goes as what we want. So everyone should have their own hobby or interest that can really brings up the passion in life, to dedicate time to oneself, and share the happiness with others.

I love to eat. Especially eating things I made myself. I feel great when I can cook something from scraps, and the feeling of accomplishment is greater when I compare my own cooked meals with outside food, which is over priced, lack of freshness and taste and less healthy.

I am just an ordinary university student rely on my parents pocket money. Due to all sorts of limitation in hostel and budget constrain, I cook all my food with a simple rice cooker, with ingredients relatively cheaper and easily accessible alternatives in local supermarkets.

I always crave for pizza. I made my first pizza two days ago, by improvising Bobby Flay pizza dough. 

Total time: 2 hr 15 min

Prep: 45 min

Inactive: 1hr

Cooking time: 30 min

Yield: 1 7-inch pizza crust (to fit in my rice cooker)

Serving: 1 to 2 person

Crust ingredient:

1 to 2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cups water

1/2 tbsp butter

1. Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and 1/2 tbsp of butter in a bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.

2. Mix the ingredients all together. Slowly add in water and start kneading (do not pour all water in once. This can control the moisture of the dough and no need to add in extra flour to adjust the moisture)

3. When all the flour has form a smooth, firm non- sticky ball, put inside a bowl and let it rest for 1 hour until it doubles it's size.

We have no refrigerator in hostel. So it is easier for me to prepare a vegetarian meal.

Toppings:

1/2 tbsp bolognese mushroom spaghetti sauce

1/2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 slice of cheddar cheese
1/2 tbsp of butter

a little bit of parsley

(Ingredients below total up not more than 1 rice bowl)

Shittake mushroom

Tomato

Broccoli 

Onion

Capsicum

(Other variation - egg, eggplant, tuna, pineapple, and whatever you like)

4. Cut all the ingredients in desired shape (Do not cut too much. You will be surprised by how little amount of toppings can fully load on the crust).

5. Spread the spaghetti sauce and mayonnaise on top of the pizza.

6. Put all the toppings on the sauce.

7. Spread the cheese and parsley on top.
8. Heat the rice cooker and spread the butter in the pot. Make sure the butter covers all of the flat pot surface.

8. Put inside the rice cooker and cook for 20 minutes.

Maybe you thought I was just kidding to cook a pizza in a rice cooker. But the effect of rice cooker was unexpectedly good. The tomato and mushroom were juicy and the crust is crispy. Another point to cook with rice cooker is it will never get burnt. 

Here you go~