liege waffles are a type of belgian waffle, yeast-risen with pearl sugar added to give it a distinctive crunch. pearl sugar, unlike normal sugar, are larger, coarser and do not melt on high heat therefore they retain their shape after baking. in the past when i didn't have much baking experience, i've always thought there's only one type of waffle and thats the liquidy kind you normally make in a waffle maker and eaten with syrup or ice cream. so when i came across this type of cutesy belgian waffle at starbucks, i tried to replicate it by making it in my waffle maker and was dismayed that it could not "retain" its shape! it was only much later that i realized that this sort of waffle are yeast-risen and are made from a round dough. very silly of me.


i therefore went out to buy a stove-top waffle maker and with the swedish pearl sugar i got from the baking supplies store, i made these. there were a plethora of recipes out there, very happy to come across this one because it was really very good. the waffles were slightly more work since you need to knead it like you would a bread dough and proof it but the texture was great - crisp on the outside, soft and crunchy on the inside and it smells amazing of vanilla and butter. definitely making these again! my only gripe was that dividing the dough into 6 equal portions were still rather large in my opinion so i would probably do 8 portions next time.

on an unrelated note, just a friendly reminder to remind you guys to save recipes onto your OWN pc/tablet/email whenever you come across any that you'd like to try. don't just bookmark the site or blog thinking that you'll just refer to the recipe from there later on. i've come across blogs that are put private without any warning, leaving readers to beg to be invited back in because "my family's favorites are in there and i can't access your blog now. send me an invitation, pretty please?" sort of thing. don't expect blogs or websites to be up there forever because anything that can happen, will. murphy's law. you know it too, right?

not sure if anyone has tried it but this is pretty awesome stuff. these sandwiches are filled with sweetened whipped cream and fruit. think of it like the bread version of a strawberry/fruit shortcake and the best thing is, its breakfast, snack and dessert all in one. i've never really been a fan of sweet accompaniments like jam or nutella. instead, give me a BLT anyday! but the moment i sank my teeth into these, i was sold. they tasted soooo good. fruit sandwiches are really big in japan and don't come cheap because the fruits are so expensive over there but i can see why they're so popular. they taste really amazing. even hubby who's not a fan of white bread nor whipped cream asked for second helpings!

i've neglected my blog for so long, sorry about that. i just haven't had much time on hand. macaron orders aside, i'm also working on something (which i will reveal later here!). meanwhile, i made few days ago. having made croissants and had considerably successful results, i'm now more confident in laminating dough so i thought i wanted to give this a try. my first attempt at marbled bread looked horrible and to think of it, it was pretty embarrassing. i thought this attempt was way better, in terms of height, swirl pattern and texture. the only problem was letting my mind wander off and i actually made 4 bookturns instead of 3 so the swirls weren't that distinctive.

the first time i made croissants was two years ago. i took a random recipe off a blog and it turned out very badly - leaking butter, layers not distinctive, blisters on the surface after baking. i wasn't sure if it were due to my lack of skill or what but after that i was pretty scarred i felt i just wasn't cut out to make laminated dough of any sort. i've been getting my fix from paul and maison kayser and recently, JOHAN, a japanese bakery inside isetan. since japanese recipes all worked out for me somehow and never once had i failed from it, i decided to try out once more. japanese are damn good at making artisan breads by the way, their standard is on par with the european counterparts, if not better.

finally, i managed to make a decent loaf of bread. i didn't like how my breads used to turn out in the past. they always had this really dense and undercooked texture no matter how much i knead or proof them. i found out the culprit was actually the yeast. i used to use this french brand called saf-instant but somehow it didn't work well for me. changed to another brand and had considerably better results! the dough was so much quicker to rise and the texture was light and fluffy.

this is one of my favorite breads from the japanese bakeries and i had been very intrigued with the swirly pattern. as i read the step-by-step instructions, i realized this is pretty similar to making croissants hence i felt this would be a good opportunity to experience the folding first. truth be told, it wasn't easy at all since along the way i lost count of the total number of folds i did and had the chocolate insert oozing out everywhere - on the countertop, rolling pin and all over my hands. it was messy indeed and i felt that i would have an even bigger problem making croissants since butter would be so much more difficult to handle, but this is such a fantastic recipe it made every effort worthwhile. i had my kitchen smelling like a bakery and the aroma was intoxicating! it was so good i made them twice in a span of one week and the second time was much better after making some minor adjustments.

pão de queijo is brazilian cheese bun made from tapioca flour (manioc starch). these are gluten-free and by far my utmost favorite snack coz they're so cheesy, chewy and savory! its impossible to just stop at one, two, or even three. i've made these countless times but never got to blog it coz they're just too good to have to wait. best served piping hot, these are dangerously addicting and all too easy to overindulge. so far i've experimented with different recipes, such as one where you just blend everything in a food processor but it was too bland and tasteless for my liking. another one i tried used too much milk and butter and the mixture was so oily you could practically drain the melted butter off when you take them out from the oven. so this recipe by king arthur flour is by far the best i've tried and i'm sticking to it in future!

if there's anything thing good about the annoyingly hot & humid weather in singapore, its that the weather is perfect for making bread. i'm not exactly a fan of sweet buns and sandwich loaves (i'm really more of a ciabatta/baguette person) but when they're made with my favorite cinnamon sugar its a different story entirely. so while browsing foodgawker the other day, i came across this recipe and immediately set out to make it. looking at the title makes me wonder about the difference between gourmet and non-gourmet cinnamon rolls, and since its said to be a replica of cinnabon's, the famous bakery chain specializing in cinnamon rolls, i just didn't wanna miss it.

it must hv been more than two years since i last baked bread. even after i got my kitchenaid more than a year ago, i haven't started on using the dough hook yet. i wished i had used it sooner to knead dough coz it was such a breeze to do so. kitchenaid has been my best kitchen investment so far, followed by the immersion hand blender :p those two really made my life alot easier. and so, i came across this from donna hay magazine and the recipe looked real enticing. the thought of dipping the flatbread in olive oil & balsamic vinegar got me drooling. moreover, the recipe looked simple enough to follow (not that i'm intimidated by complicated recipes heh), just that i don't wanna spend time proofing the dough for 2 hours. this one only requires 30 mins of proofing.