OzLady's Ramblings

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bacon used to be the name of a bun that I used to pick up at the Bread Talk here in Singapore. For those that don’t know, Bread Talk is a local bread chain that does rolls, buns, danishes and other bread assortments – like Baker’s Delight in Australia. At any rate, they stopped making this particular one, and for a while there I was popping into every Bread Talk that I passed to see if they made this bun. No luck!

Then it occurred to me that I can make it myself.

So, based on my modified Thermomix bread recipe… here goes, with a modification or two to suit my own taste!

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bacon Bread

Ingredients

The Dough:

100g Spelt Flour
300g lukewarm water
1 sachet instant yeast
salt to taste
400-420g baker;s flour
20g olive oil
Dried basil flakes (optional)
Pepper (optional)

[See my post on bread ingredients available in Singapore if you're not sure what to use here.]

The Filling:

100g Ham or Bacon
Olive oil
Pepper and salt to taste
2 eggs
Parmesan cheese
Chedder cheese

Method

1. Add (in this order) to the TM mixing bowl: spelt flour, water, yeast, salt, flour, oil, basil flakes (about 1 dessert spoon, or to taste), and pepper (1-2 tsp, or to taste).
2. Mix ingredients on Speed 7, for 5 seconds to combine.
3. Set the dial to closed lid position, and then knead the dough for 1 min and 30 secs, on Interval speed.
4. Once the dough is kneaded, place it in a slightly oiled bowl. I usually just get a paper towel and use it to wipe a dollop of olive oil around the bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap (eg. Glad wrap), and leave it to rise in a warm location for 20-30 mins. This rising process is normally called ‘proving’. It should approximately double in size.
5. Once dough has proved, lay the dough on a large flat surface sprinkled with flour (I use the baker’s flour). Roll out until it is about 20cm across and about 40cm long.
6. Grind/grate the cheeses and mix together (use as much or as little as you wish), keeping in mind if you use too much, it can leak out of the bread on to the baking tray during the baking process. About 100-150 grams is usually enough.
7. Pour the olive oil down the centre of the dough – I usually use an ‘S’ pattern (see yellow line in sketch below).
   
8. On top of the olive oil layer the various ingredients according to your taste and preference. I generally use the following order:
   • pepper
   • basil
   • salt
   • a portion of the cheese
   • ham/bacon
   • beaten eggs
   • more cheese
   • pepper
9. Roll the dough into a long roll, ensuring that the sides are sealed so that ingredients do not leak out. You are rolling the shorter sides towards each other, so you will end up with an approximately 40cm long roll.
10. Transfer the rolled dough to a floured baking tray.
11. Join the ends of the roll together so you end up with something that looks like a big donut. If pinching the ends together doesn’t hold, wet them with a pastry brush and try again. Usually wetting the dough will make it stickier. Use a pastry brush so you don’t wet it too much (which can result in the dough losing its firmness and you end up with mush).
12. I like to brush water over the top of the dough to make the crust a little crunchier. You can sprinkle seeds on top if you like. I sprinkle more flour on top as well.
13. Bake for 35 mins in a preheated oven – 180 degrees Celsius for fan forced ovens, 220 degrees C if your oven is not fan forced.
14. I usually like to open the oven door when there’s about 8-10 minutes to go and sprinkle a bit of cheese on top.
15. When done, take out of the oven, and leave to cool on a cooling rack for about 5-10 minutes. This ensures the cheese has cooled down a little.
16. Cut and serve!

Eat your heart out Bread Talk and Baker’s Delight!