I’ve still got the baking bug & I’m happy to say- today I made my best bread yet! Yeh, I’m pretty excited about it.

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As promised a couple of weeks ago (I know, I’m slack) I’m finally posting some photos of our climb up the boulders near our place…

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I’m really gonna miss all this space one day when we leave. I never thought I’d love living out here, but now I don’t know how I’ll adjust back to city life, running on a treadmill like another mouse on a wheel. I’m sure all this fresh air & running around with the rabbits like a feral child has added years to my lifespan. This week has been extra beautiful, watching the desert come alive suddenly for the start of spring. Yesterday I even saw a snake! & can you believe I’m getting a tan?

Some photos for me to remember this time… one day when I’m nature-deficient, jogging through traffic & breathing smog.

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As promised, I present..

Custard Buns

This is something I’ve wanted to try making for a long time. Living in Brisbane I would routinely stop at the Asian bakery in Chinatown. I loved their custard buns. I’d guess it’s not a very traditional Asian dessert, but so simple, insanely cheap & my gods they were yummy (I can thank my brother Nathan for introducing me to them one day in my teens we were feeling particularly poor). I wonder if that place is still open these days…

Anyway, with the big yeast purchase this week I was trying to think of recipes to try, so I sought a sweet dough recipe online (actually used one from a cream cheese bread recipe that I’d like to make one day, but since I didn’t have cream cheese I thought I’d replace it with a custard filling). I then found a simple custard recipe that looked good & here we are making custard buns!

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Yesterday I had the baking bug. I caught it when we went to Winco & bought a generous bag of bulk yeast from the big vats (I love scooping the big vats). Up until yesterday I’d only used the little sachets of yeast, forcing myself to ration the portions & plan recipes carefully. This time I felt liberated, free to experiment on new recipes with a jar of yeast at my disposal.

I actually made two different recipes while I was getting down & dirty with the dough so I’ll have two posts for you today.

Firstly, I wanted to try the famed “no knead bread” recipe that’s been passed around the internet a kazillion times, originally from the NY Times I believe. Now, I didn’t find the original post, so no doubt this has had a few changes.. & I’ve already added changes myself. I am making a caramelized onion cob, or more acurately a “coburg” with the dough.

The other recipe which I’ll post after is a custard-filled bread, so stay tuned if you have a sweet tooth.

Ok team, let’s get to work!

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