Anything can be made in a rice cooker? Right? Well, I don’t know about that. But I do know it can bake a nice loaf of bread!
It’s honestly a pretty ideal place for bread to be made. It provides a nice and toasty proofing station for the bread, it's the perfect “loaf pan” shape and size, and the cooking process is fuss-free.
For this recipe, I was inspired by the look and texture of Japanese Milk Bread. Soft, fluffy, airy, stretchy––basically all the adjectives I look for in a bread.
It has a light hint of sweetness, reminiscent of the dinner rolls I grew up with. It's actually a perfect addition to your dinner plate. Pull apart a portion for everyone, and slather on some vegan butter while it's still warm.
It's also delicious for breakfast, with some vegan cheese and jam.
Let's get to baking in a rice cooker, shall we?
RECIPE
Makes 1 loaf, or 10 individual pieces
Video:
Ingredients
1/2 cup water, warmed (about lukewarm)
2 tablespoons cane sugar
just about a half block of fresh yeast (20g) or 7g instant yeast
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup barista oat milk (unsweetened)
1 tablespoon vegan butter, softened
neutral oil for coating rice cooker
Instructions
Add the warm water, sugar, and yeast to a bowl. Gently stir it a little then set aside for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Slowly stir in the yeast mixture and then the oat milk. When the dough starts getting more difficult to mix, place it on a clean, floured surface. Add the vegan butter then begin kneading and folding the dough, evenly distributing the butter throughout the dough. Knead and fold for about 5 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly-greased rice cooker. Close the lid and turn the cooker on the “warm” setting for 10 minutes.
Turn the rice cooker off and keep the lid closed with the dough in it to rise for another 30 mins.
Once proofed (about double in size), place the dough on a floured surface and roll it into a log shape. Divide the log into 10 equal pieces.
Separately knead each piece for about 15 seconds, forming them into smooth balls. Lightly grease the rice cooker again and place them inside (tightly filling the empty gaps with them). Close the lid and let proof for another 10 mins on the "warm" setting.
Turn the rice cooker off and let proof for another 20 mins.
When proofed, switch on the rice cooker the “cook” setting. Cook until the cook cycle completes. Flip the bread and repeat on the other side.
Remove the bread from the rice cooker. Pull off a piece and enjoy with some vegan butter or whatever toppings you'd like!
Note:
* If your rice cooker switches to the “warm” setting after not cooking for that long:
Let it sit on "warm" for a few minutes so the machine can cool down a bit. In addition, add 2 tablespoons of water down the side of the bread and turn it on “cook” again. When it switches back to the “warm” setting, let it sit in there for few minutes to finish baking (it will continue to bake in the warmth and steam!).
Lots of love,
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