New bread maker. Panasonic SD-BMS105T

I bought a bread maker.

I know, I know, it's one of those top 10 items one should never purchase because it will inevitable end up in the attic or storage, collecting dust.

Why did I buy one?

It wasn't because of some fancy ad. It wasn't because I wanted to make preservative-free bread for my child. It wasn't even because I wanted the smell of freshly baked bread in the morning!

Why, then? I don't know. It was the devil at work.

I don't have an oven at home. Like most Taiwanese families my kitchen is tiny, and all I have is a toaster oven. Maybe this was partly why I wanted a bread machine. I thought instead of a conventional oven which wouldn't fit into my kitchen, I could make good use of a bread machine.

And of course, a friend just bought one and started to tell me how wonderful her bread maker was.

So this will be interesting, seeing how long I can keep using this machine!

Here's the whole story...

Recalling that my mother-in-law has an old bread machine lying in storage (hey! this should have clued me in! But it didn't...), I asked her if I could take a look at it to see if we can use it. She was very eager and helpful, telling me stories of how she used to make fresh bread for her children (Hint No.2!! Last time she used that machine was when husband was a CHILD, wow).

It's a nice looking machine! (Hint No. 3! Looks almost brand new!) Perfectly capable of making bread. I was confident I could bring the machine back to life (and use)! But, wait... where is the manual for this machine? I'm no cook, and definitely not AT ALL familiar with making bread. I need the operating manual for the machine! Of course the manual is nowhere to be found.

Google!

After 3 days of searching and internet surfing, and joining strange memberships to sites that promise locating operating manuals for all machinery -- NO LUCK!  How can this be?  How old is this machine?

On the third day I tracked down the company that imports and sells this brand of bread machines in Taiwan. Gave them a call to find out if they would have the manual by some miracle. What I found was, of course, that the bread maker I have is so old that they've now stopped manufacturing it, and that they do not have a copy of the operating manual.

<BTW, this is the MK Seiko HB-520 bread and dough maker. If anyone has the manual, please give me a copy!>

The people at Seiko suggested that I could consider trading in my old machine for their newest model!  Obviously I would have to pay the difference, after they have evaluated the current value of my old machine. Hey! Not a bad idea at all, I thought.

So there I was, researching bread makers. The MK seiko HB-150 (their newest model) is truly splendid. But so is its price! Even with the trade in, I figure I would be paying more for this machine than the best models of other brands.

More googling, more online reading....Basically every waking moment not spent with my child or working, I was looking at bread makers.

I finally decided on the Panasonic SD-BMS105T bread maker. It is currently the newest model of Panasonic bread makers sold in Taiwan, and it is often compared with the MK seiko. Price of the Panasonic was also much more acceptable to me. (Considering this machine could possible go into storage by the end of the month, bwahahaha)

After another day of purchasing and acquiring the necessary ingredients for making my first loaf of bread, I was more than eager to begin!

And LOOK! An owner's manual complete with recipes! I decided to try my hands on the most basic bread.

Recipe called for

250g   Bread flour or high gluten flour
15 g    Butter
17 g    Sugar
6g       Whole milk powder
5 g      Salt
190ml Water
2.8g    Dry yeast

The manual also suggested that chilled water be used and decreasing the amount of water by 10ml if the machine is being operated in warm weather (room temp over 25C).

This looked pretty good. Not as nice as some of the breads made by other bloggers, but for my first attempt, I was satisfied.

But hey!!! What happened?? I sliced the bread and found a huge air pocket! That's not what other people got!

The bread tasted okay. But I was still puzzled over the huge air pocket.

More bread making to come!!!

Cold noodles - Part 1

It's that time of the year again. Cold noodles!! When the weather starts to get warm, I crave cold noodles. I don't know the origins of the dish, but I assume the Taiwanese version is an adaptation from somewhere.

The interesting thing about cold noodles is that every vendor has a different take on the taste. As a result, almost everyone has their own favourite place for cold noodles. Of course, I have mine, but it's always so much fun to try other people's favourites.

And once in a while, I'm tempted to try new places.

Today is one of those days. It always feels like taking a huge leap of faith trying new cold noodles, because I already know what I like, what I want. But there's always the faintest hope of finding a new favourite place!!

I walked past this vendor last week, but at the time I was afraid of disappointment. Today my craving won over.

 

From the appearance, I was not expecting much. Granted, most cold noodles are sold this way. It's the scarcity of cucumbers that disappoints me. Carrots are also not an "essential" element of cold noodles, in my opinion. The sauce, well, I couldn't tell much from the appearance alone.

 

This is just my habit, mixing the noodles and cucumbers/carrots before adding the sauce. Just breaking up the noodles and loosening everything makes the mixing later much easier. Plus I think the noodles are better at "absorbing" and "carrying" the sauce this way.

In goes the sauce. Notice how there's no clump of sesame paste on top. This is a good sign. I don't like it when the sesame paste separates from the rest of the sauce. Or worse, when the sesame paste is served separately!

Even coating of the noodles!! Sometimes this is not possible, if the sauce is too thick, or if there is a disproportionate amount of sauce to noodle. Also, this doesn't appear to be too oily. This is a dish for summer, so the lighter the better!

Now for the actual taste!

Surprisingly good! Yes, I was pleasantly surprised! All the flavours were nicely balanced. Not too salty, not too sweet, and just the right amount of sesame paste! The consistency of the sauce was good too. Once again, just thick enough to coat everything, and not too thick that you feel you are ingesting a mouthful of ground sesame.

Definitely returnable. I find myself wanting more. It's not my new favorite, but it is at least within my top 20s list.