Gourmet Emperor: Master Of Culinary World 116 Making Bread

From the storage room, I take some dried birds nest, some fruits and vegetables, spices and some seaweeds. I already promised the cooks in the kitchen how to process these ingredients, and that I will do this morning. Especially this birds nest, it said that it good to consume in morning or evening. What I want to make this morning is soft bread which later will be used to make the hamburger, birds nest soup, and wakame salad.

The cooks in the kitchen are busy preparing breakfast when I arrive there. They look surprised when seeing I already visit the kitchen early in the morning. I approaching Mrs. Martina that busy supervise and directing her subordinates

"Mrs. Martina, how did my father usually get his breakfast?"

"When the breakfast is ready, we inform your highness that breakfast is ready and he will go to the dining room"

"Alright, for my father's breakfast this morning I will personally prepare it. Please inform him when I'm done cooking the breakfast"

"Yes, young master Henry"

I s.h.i.+ft my eyes to the cooks that still busy in the kitchen, it seems they make bread first.

"Are you making bread this morning?"

I ask the nearby cooks that busy kneading dough.

"Yes, young master. We already run out of bread"

"Have you already baked the bread yet?"

"We just start baking some…the dough is not all kneaded well yet"

"Okay, stop baked the bread for a moment. Give me the dough to make bread"

The bread that made in the castle kitchen is the hard bread which needs to dip on the soup first before eating. This time I want to make soft bread that can be eaten directly without the need to dip on soup first. Besides, with this soft bread, I already have food to make in my head, HAMBURGER!.

I pull a wide handkerchief from my pocket and tied it on my head like a bandana. I already told the cooks how to keep the hygiene and I should give them an example. I also put a bar of soap near the was.h.i.+ng place for them to use. Now it's time to give the example of using soap to clean up the hands.

"Gentlemen, what I put here is soap, use this to wash your hand before and after you cook something or whenever you feel your hand dirty"

I give them an example by wash my hand with soap and rinse with water afterward. I really don't want to imagine their use their finger to scratch their nose or scratch their itchy back and then use that hand to knead the dough. Only one word can describe that feeling: YUCK!

After was.h.i.+ng my hands, I start to knead the dough after adding some yeast into the dough. The cooks look curious with something that I add to the dough, but they say nothing. They know I will explain to them later. When I feel the dough already well kneaded, I divide the dough into some small portion and put it on the basin.

"Guys, today I will make different bread from the bread that usually made in this castle. You must notice I add something in the dough before I knead it again, right?

"Yes, young master!"

"Unfortunately, that ingredient that I add to the dough is limited. I only make the sample for today and use it during Earl Stamfort visit in our castle. But don't worry, I will find a way to make that ingredient can be produced in ma.s.s quant.i.ty and we all can eat the same bread that I made today"

"We understand that, young master"

"Thank you, now can you give me a damp cloth to cover this basin?"

One cooks give me what I ask.

"Look carefully on the size of the dough in this basin before I put this cloth to cover the basin"

After the cooks already see the size of the dough I put in the basin, I cover the basin with a damp cloth.

"Alright, we wait for a while before I open that cloth, you will surprise when this cloth removed. Now, do we have meat here? Minced meat if possible"

"Yes, young master. We have minced meat for sausage"

"What kind of meat?"

"Beef meats, young master"

"Excellent! Give me around half pound beef meat that already minced"

"Right away, young master"

"Also get me breadcrumbs, two crushed garlic clove, grated onion, pepper, an egg that already whisked, and some salt too"

The cooks immediately prepare the ingredients that I ask. I will use the available time to make patties for the hamburger while waiting for the yeast effect to kick in.

After the cooks give me what I need to make patties, I start to make the patties by place the beef mince, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, garlic, in a large bowl. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then mix with my hands until evenly combined. The time I need to make patties is about the time needed by the yeast to make the effect. So after finish makes the patties mixture, I wash my hand and ready to continue making bread again.

"Gentlemen, it's time to remove the cloth from dough basin. See what happen with the dough"

I remove the cloth that covers the dough basin and shows the content to the cooks.

"It's getting bigger!"

"How come those small dough become that big?"

"Is this some kind of magic?"

The cooks start to make hot discussion among them about that dough.

No, this is not magic. This is how yeast effect to the dough after they mix together. The yeast will release carbon dioxide within the dough which makes the dough inflated and become bigger.

"No gentlemen, that's not magic. It's the effect of the ingredient that I put on the dough before. You'll be surprised after this dough baked and turn into bread later"

I knead that dough again to remove the air inside the dough and let the yeast reproduce it's effect again, which will make the bread produced have soft texture later. After divided the dough into some small round shape dough and put in the baking plate, I told the cooks to start baking the dough

"Alright, it's time to bake this dough. Please put this dough in the oven and don't let it burnt okay?"

"Yes, young master, we will make sure this dough baked perfectly"

One cooks take the baking plate and insert it in the oven and close the door. I wait anxiously for the result of this bread because of my next step in making hamburger depend on this first step.