Chapter 120 Bread? Isn't that something anyone can make with their hands?
At this moment, someone nearby whispered a suggestion: "Perhaps you could listen to their advice."
Hua Tianhuai immediately waved his hand to interrupt, his tone even more aggressive: "What are you listening to? Unless Su Yingxue can make bread better than our R&D department—I don't believe that a lousy advertising company can know more about baking than our group of professional R&D staff? It's a joke!"
After saying that, he slammed the proposal on the table with a "bang," his eyes full of disdain, leaving no room for negotiation.
Su Yingxue was still trying to figure out how to make bread; besides pumpkin, sweet potatoes and yams could also be used.
When Su Yingxue rolled up her sleeves and entered the kitchen, the sunlight outside the window was slanting down on the countertop, casting a warm glow on the porcelain bowls and flour sacks. She first picked up the low-sugar whole-bread that Luo Qianqian had brought, and with a pinch of her fingertips, she could tell that the crust was hard and the inside was dense. She needed to use the moistness of natural ingredients to neutralize the dryness.
Turning around, I took out an old pumpkin from the cupboard. Its orange-red skin had fine lines, and when I peeled it open, it made a crisp "crack" sound, releasing a sweet pumpkin aroma.
Cut into small pieces and arrange on a steamer rack. Steam for ten minutes after the water boils. It should be easy to pierce with a chopstick. When mashing it into a puree while it's still hot, I deliberately left some fine particles. The pumpkin puree on my fingertips has a honey-colored sheen, and even the air is filled with a refreshing sweetness.
The Chinese yam next to it was also steamed at the same time. After being mashed into a paste, it was mixed with two spoonfuls of unsweetened yogurt. The milky aroma mixed with the creamy texture of the yam, and after stirring, it became a smooth, milky white layer.
Break half a piece of Huai Tian original bread into pieces, mix it with high-gluten flour and pour it into a bowl. Add a spoonful of yeast, half a spoonful of fine salt, and then add the warm pumpkin puree in batches. Knead the dough in one direction with your fingertips. The moisture of the pumpkin puree is just right to make the dough come together. No need to add extra water. Knead until the dough can be stretched into a thin and elastic film, with a light orange-yellow color on the surface, as if a ray of sunshine has been kneaded in.
After resting for twenty minutes, the dough will puff up into a soft little pillow. Divide it into small portions, roll them into ovals, spread a layer of yam yogurt puree on them, sprinkle with crispy roasted chia seeds, roll them up, pinch the ends to seal, and place the round bread doughs into a baking pan that has been lightly oiled.
After the second proofing until it doubles in volume, the bread dough becomes light and airy, and it slowly springs back when pressed with a finger. Preheat the oven to 180℃, place the baking tray on the middle rack, and bake for ten minutes. The whole house will be filled with an enticing aroma—the scent of wheat mixed with the sweetness of pumpkin and the glutinous texture of yam.
Even Xiao Li from the next workstation peeked over and said, "Boss, this smells amazing!"
Fifteen minutes into the baking process, Su Yingxue opened the lid, mixed some warm water with the remaining pumpkin puree, and carefully brushed it onto the surface of the bread. The golden crust instantly shone with a glossy sheen. After another five minutes of baking, it was ready to be taken out of the oven.
The freshly baked bread is steaming hot, with a slightly puffed-up crust. It cracks open with a gentle snap, revealing the yam filling that flows slowly along the lines of the crust. Pumpkin pieces are embedded in the soft texture, and the crispness of chia seeds, the glutinous texture of yam, and the sweetness of pumpkin, mixed with the aroma of wheat, waft straight to your nose.
Take a bite, and you'll first feel the slightly crispy crust, followed by the soft and fluffy interior. There's no cloying sweetness from cane sugar, only the refreshing sweetness of pumpkin and the milky aroma of yam. After swallowing, a faint wheat flavor lingers in your throat. Despite being low in sugar, it's more tempting than regular bread, and you can't help but lick the crumbs off your fingertips.
Beep beep beep, Su Yingxue's phone kept vibrating, and upon closer inspection, she saw that it was Luo Qianqian calling.
When Su Yingxue received Luo Qianqian's aggrieved phone call, she was packing the cooled pumpkin noodles into a food storage box. Luo Qianqian's voice sounded muffled on the phone, relaying Hua Tianhuai's words verbatim.
The phrases "broken advertising company" and "R&D staff are just freeloaders" made her pause for a moment, but she didn't get angry; instead, she smiled.
"Luo Qianqian, tell President Hua that I'm taking two things to Huaitian tomorrow morning—one is the adjusted pumpkin low-sugar bread and sweet potato low-sugar bread, and the other is the food traceability solution we found from the organic farm." Her voice was very steady.
"Don't argue with him about the formula, just let him try it. The R&D staff are professionals, but we in advertising understand best how consumers feel when they take their first bite—what he wants is 'low sugar yet still sells well,' not 'clinging to the formula,' right?"
After hanging up the phone, she turned and went into the kitchen, taking out half a yam from the refrigerator—since Hua Tianhuai didn't trust the "recipe modification," she would "upgrade" it by adding ingredients: steaming the yam until soft, mashing it into a puree, mixing it with a small amount of unsweetened yogurt, spreading it in the layers of pumpkin bread, and then sprinkling on a layer of crispy roasted chia seeds. This way, she didn't change the core recipe of Huai Tian's original bread, but used natural ingredients to supplement the moisture and flavor, perfectly hitting the consumer pain point of "low sugar and not dry."
The next morning, Su Yingxue carried a food container and farm information into Huai Tian's conference room. As expected, Hua Tianhuai sat in the main seat with a frown, with two researchers in white coats sitting next to him, their faces showing some disdain.
“President Su, it’s not that I’m being disrespectful,” Hua Tianhuai said bluntly, pointing to Huai Tian’s low-sugar sample on the table, “Our R&D department has been working on it for three months, but it’s just that it’s hard to balance low sugar and good taste. You’re an advertising company…”
"President Hua, please have a bite first." Su Yingxue didn't reply, but pushed the pumpkin and yam bread she made over. "This is made from your original dough, without changing the main ingredients. I just added organic pumpkin and yam. Try it and see if it's softer than your sample, and without any extra sugar."
Hua Tianhuai took a bite with some skepticism, first raising an eyebrow, then chewing twice more—there was no dry, choking sensation like the original sample. The sweetness of the pumpkin spread along with the wheat aroma of the bread, the yam puree in the middle was soft and chewy, and the chia seeds had a slightly crunchy texture. After swallowing, a faint fragrance lingered in his mouth, completely unlike the bland taste of a "low-sugar healthy meal."
The researchers next to me also came over and tasted a piece. They exchanged a few words in hushed tones, and their expressions changed visibly. It wasn't that they couldn't make it; they had been so focused on reducing sugar that they hadn't thought about using natural ingredients to "add flavor."
Su Yingxue slowly spoke: "President Hua, I'm not here to tell you what to do or change the recipe. Your R&D staff understand the technology, but we understand the market—consumers buy low-sugar bread because they want it to taste good and not feel guilty, not because they look at the sugar content numbers on the ingredient list."
She pushed the farm's information over, saying, "This is the organic farm we've contacted. Their pumpkins and yams are all freshly harvested in season, and they can provide traceability codes for each batch. Printing this on your new product packaging, 'low sugar + organic traceability,' is more convincing than simply saying 'healthy.'"
Hua Tianhuai held the bread in his hand, staring at the pesticide residue test report on the document, and remained silent for half a minute—he wasn't being stubborn, but he was afraid that laymen would mess around and ruin the new product, but Su Yingxue's bread was indeed delicious, and the idea of tracing the source just made up for the shortcomings of the new product's selling points.
"How much budget do you need?" he finally asked, his tone much gentler.
Su Yingxue smiled: "President Hua, no need for much—we can use the farm's traceability resources to connect with free venues in the cultural and tourism district for tasting events, and then have the farm provide some ingredients as souvenirs. The budget only needs to be spent on promotional materials."
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