Before Chen Ji could think it over, Xu Ruantang rushed in again, took out an empty bowl, and left.
Before leaving, she said to Chen Ji, "Chen Ji, you should read to Xiao Bao more often; she can understand."
Even if you don't understand it, there are still some benefits to being exposed to it over time.
Xu Ruantang returned to the kitchen and looked for ingredients, only to find that in addition to milk, there was also honey!
Xu Ruantang had worked part-time at an off-campus dessert shop for a while, and she wanted to recreate the honey bread from her school.
I didn't know I had honey and was planning to make milk bread rolls, but now that I have honey, it's even better.
Without yeast, Xu Ruantang went to Aunt Wang's house to borrow a piece of starter dough.
Aunt Wang had no smile on her face today, but she managed to cheer up when she saw Xu Ruantang. Xu Ruantang followed behind her and asked, "Auntie, what's wrong? What happened?"
As Aunt Wang handed her the starter, she sighed, "Don't even mention it! Wang Jian scalded himself while taking a bath last night, and now he's all red. He screams and screams if you touch him, and he can't move at all. It's driving me crazy!"
Xu Ruantang returned to her kitchen and began making honey bread rolls.
She was still unsure how to face Aunt Wang. Aunt Wang was a good aunt, but her son was just too unruly.
She had no choice but to treat them differently.
Xu Ruantang first poured a small half bowl of milk, then scooped a spoonful of white sugar and a spoonful of honey, mixed the three thoroughly, and poured them into the prepared flour.
She added an egg and started kneading the dough with the starter. Since she didn't have corn oil, she used cooking oil instead. She stirred the dough until the oil was completely absorbed by the dough, and then Xu Ruantang found a cutting cloth to cover it.
All of Chen Ji's kitchen utensils were brand new, as if they had never been used and had just been purchased.
While waiting for the dough to rise, Xu Ruantang took out a bag of dried noodles. Dried noodles in this era had no additives, and she wanted to break them up and cook them as a complementary food for Xiaobao's lunch.
The baby was too young, so she broke the noodles into very small pieces. Remembering that the baby had just drunk milk, she set them aside for later use.
Making bread is different from making steamed buns. You can't knead the dough too hard. You need to fold the dough multiple times and then slap it a few times until it becomes smooth.
Xu Ruantang heated the water in the pot until it was warm, then put the bowl of dough into the pot to let it rise.
It takes about half an hour to forty minutes for the hair to wake up. Xu Ruantang had nothing to do in the kitchen, so she turned around and went back to the room to play with Xiaobao.
Chen Ji speaks very little and rarely interacts with Xiao Bao.
On the contrary, Xu Ruantang was very talkative. The two of them, one big and one small, had a lot of fun. Xiao Bao was even amused by Xu Ruantang and laughed out loud.
She can describe a very dry and boring book in vivid language and translate it into simple words to tell Xiaobao.
When it was almost time, Xu Ruantang turned around and went back to the kitchen.
Chen Ji watched her go back and forth many times and became curious about what she was doing.
He tried to tease Xiaobao, but Xiaobao kept his head down, engrossed in his book, and completely ignored him.
Xu Ruantang took out the dough that had doubled in size, pressed it on the work surface to release the air, divided it into equal portions, and then kneaded each portion into a ball and let it rest for about twenty minutes.
She borrowed Chen Ji's watch and placed it on the table, glancing at it from time to time.
When the time came, she would take out a rolling pin and roll the ball into an oval shape, peel the bottom into a thin sheet with her hands, roll it up from top to bottom, and then cut it in half with a knife.
When Xu Ruantang was looking for Aunt Wang, she saw that her family had sesame seeds, so she borrowed some.
Mix honey, water, and sesame seeds to make a paste, then dip the rolled-up dough strips into it.
There was no oven here, so she planned to try it directly in the large pot.
The small rolls were neatly arranged into a pan that had been dried and coated with oil for a final proofing.
After the dough had risen properly, Xu Ruantang lit a small fire under the stove and fried it for twenty minutes.
As time went on, the aroma of bread mixed with honey and sesame wafted out, filling the entire kitchen with a sweet fragrance.
Even Chen Ji, who was inside the house, could smell it.
With a bright smile on her face, Xu Ruantang hummed a little tune as she opened the pot lid, flipped the food over, and roasted it over low heat for another two minutes.
Finally, pour the remaining honey water into the pot and heat it for a while before taking it out of the pot.
The fragrant honey cupcakes came out of the oven, and Xu Ruantang couldn't wait to pick one up and break it open. To her surprise, it was even stretchy! Both bottoms were crispy and incredibly delicious!
Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, it also looks very appealing.
This was Xu Ruantang's first time doing it on her own. Before, she had always assisted her master. She never expected it to be so successful, and she was quite proud of herself.
She counted them; one pot yielded eighteen small bread rolls.
Xu Ruantang put some of it into a bowl, intending to take it to Aunt Wang. The starter dough belonged to her, the sesame seeds belonged to her, and besides, Aunt Wang had helped her a lot.
She took the rest into the house, intending to eat it with Chen Ji.
Chen Ji looked at the portion in her hand and asked involuntarily, his voice softening, "Who is this for?"
"I plan to deliver this one to Aunt Wang's house." With that, she turned to leave.
Chen Ji stood up and pointed behind the door, "There's an umbrella, take it."
"Okay, thank you. You eat first. This tastes best when it's hot!"
Xu Ruantang desperately needed praise from someone knowledgeable, and Aunt Wang was a good choice.
Seeing the golden, tempting bread rolls, Aunt Wang's smile deepened, because Wang Jiansheng's anger vanished instantly.
"Wow! Xiao Xu, you're so skillful! This tastes even better than what you buy at the market!"
Aunt Wang gave a thumbs up, praising him sincerely.
Xu Ruantang revealed a sly smile unique to young girls and asked, "Auntie, do you think anyone would buy honey bread rolls if I went to the market to sell them?"
"They'll definitely be scrambling to buy it; such delicious food is a rare treat!"
Whether it's true or not, Xu Ruantang appreciates such straightforward praise; she's the type who responds better to gentleness than force. If someone speaks to her kindly, she's happy to help if she can.
But if someone acts arrogantly, no matter who the other person is, Xu Ruantang will never give them a kind look.
Xu Ruantang happily returned to the Chen family home, only to find two pieces of bread missing from the table. She cheerfully approached Chen Ji and asked, "How was it? Was it good?"
Chen Ji nodded. "Mmm, it's delicious."
Although he still had a cold expression, getting a word of affirmation from him proved that what she did was really good!
Xu Ruantang was spinning like a top all morning, never stopping for a moment.
Because she was happy, she played with Xiaobao for a while and then went to the kitchen again.
She crushed the noodles into very fine pieces, then made cross-shaped cuts on the tomatoes, blanched them in water for two minutes, and took them out.
I took another spinach, washed it, and blanched it.
The seeds in tomatoes are hard for babies to digest, so Xu Ruantang tried to avoid eating the middle part and put the rest into her own mouth.
When I used to take care of my niece, I would always put the tomatoes into a baby food processor and blend them. Now that we don't have a baby food processor, she has to chop them very finely by hand.
Spinach too.
Boil tomato puree in water, then add crushed noodles and cook until soft. Finally, add chopped spinach and cook for a little while longer.
Chen Ji frowned when he saw the noodles in the small bowl.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
