Parma for Parmesan, Bagelen for Bagelen!

Oh, how I miss this event! Zorra hosts the World Bread Day annually and this year I just couldn’t afford to miss it again. I haven’t been making bread for quite some time, so this is about time to roll my sleeves and dig into the flour.

The Italians have biscotti, we Indonesians have Bagelen. A twice baked bread with extreme crispiness, you’ll find yourself covered in all crumbs after you finished one. Bagelen is simply a dinner roll cut in half, spread with lots of whipped butter and powdered sugar then baked again until very crisp and the sweet butter melted to a perfect shine. The trick is after you cut the roll in half, you have to let it stale overnight. A stale bread is dryer than the fresh one, this guarantees the crispiness of the Bagelen when baked again later the second time. Yes, you’re thinking someone in the past just couldn’t let any bread go wasted, hence this bread was created. I wondered where the name Bagelen came from, so I Googled it and discovered that we have an area in Purworejo, Central Java, named Bagelen! Seriously, never heard about it before! So this nibble was originated there and naturally came the name. Parmesan for Parma, Bagelen for Bagelen. Sweet.

Now, let’s bake. Here I used basic soft bread recipe and real butter for the spread. You can use any bread recipe you fancy, or just buy one, then whip up the spread. That simple. And that good.

Going Bananas!

 
Posted for NCC Banana Week
 
I really, really, really, enjoy making breads. It’s fun, it’s therapeutic, it’s satisfying. The simpler the better. This one is a very simple bread modified from very basic bread recipe, the one with only flour, water, yeast, a little sugar and salt. No eggs, no milk, no fat. You know you’re alright without all those.
 
What I like about this bread is that it is flavored with natural ingredients called the mighty banana and honey. No filling needed, the bananas turned into one whole bread boasting nice aroma and naturally sweet flavor, at the same time it adds moisture in your bread that makes you go mmm..
 
You can use any bread recipe you like. Matter of fact, I encourage you to use your favorite one instead of my simple version. Just substitute the liquid with banana puree and you’re good to go.
 

 

One Tower Coming Up!

 

“Something whose form is reminiscent of a ring-shaped cake.”
(Definition by Answers.com)

Well, that will do.

So my brownie can be a donut, too, as long it is ring-shaped. Yay.

PennyLane’s Brownies
(Published in the book of “18 Cakes & Cookies” by NCC)

Ingredients:
4 eggs
400 g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla
60 g cocoa powder
210 g plain flour
225 g vegetable oil
85 g chocolate chips
120 g any roasted nuts to your liking