Chapter 193: Expansion is normal
Feeling that the dough should be almost risen, Sang Yu just entered the kitchen and had not yet had time to lift the lid of the pot. Sang Yongjing, who had been paying attention to this side, immediately put down what he was doing and quickly followed.
"Dad?" What happened?
"Well, well, let me help." Sang Yongjing was embarrassed to say directly that he wanted to see what the dough would look like after he kneaded it, so he just said that he was there to help.
It is always easier to have more people help than to do it alone. Sang Yu raised her eyebrows and did not expose him, but reached out to lift the lid of the pot.
As soon as the lid of the pot was opened, a fermented smell with a hint of alcohol instantly rushed into the nostrils of both people.
Then I noticed that the dough in the basin had swollen to the extreme. After kneading, there was only two-thirds of the dough in the basin, but now it had doubled in size.
“So big!”
Sang Yongjing was shocked when he saw the dough filling up the basin, the bulging part of which was much higher than the basin.
He looked at the dough in the bowl and then at the pot, feeling as if some magical trick had happened that he could not understand.
"Come on, let's keep kneading. We'll make some sweet buns and then some savory flower rolls later."
Sang Yu was not surprised. It was normal for dough to expand when it was rising.
Taking the bowl out of the pot and placing it on the table, Sang Yu gently lifted the dough on the top, revealing the honeycomb structure full of pores inside.
Then she pinched off another piece of dough and stuffed it into the jar that originally held the leavening dough. This small piece of dough would become the new leavening dough, commonly known as old dough.
Sprinkle a layer of dry flour on the table to prevent the dough from sticking to the table, then take out all the dough in the bowl and divide it in two.
Sang Yu kept half for herself and gave the other half to Sang Yongjing, asking him to knead it like her and release the air from the dough.
After being kneaded twice, the originally swollen dough gradually shrinks in volume and returns to its original size.
After kneading the dough until it was smooth and no longer sticky to the hands, Sang Yu divided the dough into two again, planning to make white flour buns with one half and sugar triangles with the other half.
As for the dough in Sang Yongjing's hand, half of it was made into steamed buns and the other half was made into pancakes.
She even felt that with this pile of noodles, she didn't need to cook dinner.
White flour steamed buns are the easiest to make. Divide the dough into several even pieces, then knead them into round shapes, and then put them in a steamer and wait to be steamed.
Sugar triangles are a little more troublesome. First, divide the dough into small pieces, then flatten them. Dip your fingers in clean water and brush them on the edge of the dough to increase stickiness.
Then use a spoon to scoop half a spoonful of sugar, lift the three points of the dough and pinch them towards the middle to form a triangle.
Seeing her skillfully shaping the dough into triangles, Sang Yongjing was also eager to try it out. He reached out and took one, learning how to flatten it, dip it in water, scoop sugar, and knead it...
But before he could shape the dough into a triangle, a big crack appeared at the bottom of the dough, and the sugar cube that had just been scooped in fell "plop" on the table.
“…”
He clearly saw Sang Yu wrapping it like this just now!
"Pfft," Sang Yu almost couldn't hold back his laughter, but he suppressed his laughter and patiently instructed, "Dad, when you knead it, you have to press it down firmly from the bottom edge of the dough, don't just pull it up hard."
As she spoke, she deliberately slowed down her movements to demonstrate to Sang Yongjing.
Sang Yongjing thought it was very simple and he could learn it at a glance, but when he tried to do it himself, nothing felt right no matter how he pinched it.
He clearly wanted to lift it up and pinch it, but his fingers got stuck together and ended up turning a good sugar triangle into a crooked pyramid.
Looking at the triangle whose three sides were not straight at all and seemed to be about to collapse, Sang Yongjing finally realized that he was not a very dexterous person.
"...Yu'er, you should pack it."
Sang Yu skillfully wrapped the sugar triangles and put them into the steamer. The two layers of the steamer were stuffed full, and she immediately boiled water in the pot to start steaming.
She used a tinder to light a handful of dry grass and stuffed it into the stove, then stuffed a few thin dry branches in. When the fire gradually grew bigger, she stuffed a few thick branches in and then left it alone for the time being.
"Dad, let me teach you how to make flower rolls. This is easier than sugar triangles."
The onions that were previously planted in the vegetable garden next to the kitchen are growing well, slowly growing from a small cluster to a large cluster.
Sang Yu cut a handful of green onions with a kitchen knife, washed them, chopped them, added oil and salt, mixed them evenly, and sprinkled them on the dough rolled into rectangular slices.
Then roll the dough from the bottom up into strips and cut into pieces two fingers wide.
After all the dough was cut, Sang Yu took out two chopsticks, washed and dried them, and gave one to Sang Yongjing.
He held the chopsticks, feeling somewhat bewildered: "What is this?"
"Here's the secret weapon, Dad. Learn from me. Press the chopsticks horizontally into the middle of the dough and pull the two ends to stretch it slightly..."
Sang Yu moved each step very slowly, fearing that he wouldn't be able to learn. She waited until he finished before moving on to the next step.
"Now place the chopsticks under the dough, pinch the ends with both hands, circle the chopsticks, press down firmly and pull out the chopsticks."
Sang Yongjing's movements were slow, but he replicated her movements precisely, meticulously imitating her movements: circling, pressing, pulling out the chopsticks...
As he tentatively pulled out the chopsticks, a steamed bun with chopped green onions on the surface suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Looking at the steamed bun with full layers and the fresh and oily chopped green onions on the surface, Sang Yongjing was stunned. Did he succeed?
"Dad, you made something really beautiful. I feel like you can even sell it." Sang Yu was not stingy with his praise and started praising him right away.
Sang Yongjing, who was already excited about his success at once, became even more elated after hearing her flattery.
He patted his chest and made a big promise: "Yu'er, go and do something else. Let Dad make these steamed buns."
"Okay, I'll leave it to you, Dad." Sang Yu was waiting for this sentence and agreed immediately.
She took the remaining dough and prepared the flatbread along the edge of the pot of simmering salted fish and tofu soup.
Fish soup with pancakes is actually fish stewed in an iron pot with pancakes, which is a traditional cooking method in the north.
The fish soup is stewed and the noodles are stuck in the pot at the same time. The bottom of the noodles is crispy and the top is full of the delicious fish soup. It can be used as a staple food and one pot is a meal.
Normally, flatbreads need to be made by mixing cornmeal and white flour, but in this era, even corn is hard to find, so we can only make do with white flour.
Before pressing the pancake, Sang Yu added some water to the kneaded dough and kneaded it into a soft and sticky state.
First brush a thin layer of oil on the edge of the pan to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan and being unable to be removed.
Then dip your hands in cold water, take a ball of dough the size of a ping-pong ball, flatten it into a pancake, and quickly place it on the edge of the pot.
At this time, the dough will slowly slide down due to its soft state, and finally half of it will be soaked in the fish soup, which is very tasty.
After putting the last piece of dough on the edge of the pot and covering it with the lid, Sang Yu was about to wash his hands when he turned around and saw Sang Yongjing still busy rolling steamed buns.
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