Batgung

Hi there,

Would you consider investing on one of those semi-automatic machines and bake your own?  All you have to do is a little bit of time throwing in the raw materials within the acceptable approximate mix and let it cook for itself overnight.

Hong Kong's humid climate is just not suitable for storing bread except in the freezer.

Some other points to ponder:

1.  The bakery in Oliver's/Three-Sixty should be the Rose Noir, which is also availble in some bigger Welcome stores like the one in Causeway Bay.  The price tag there is a bit lower than the one in Oliver's and/or Three-Sixty.

2.  Gardens also have some whole grained bread and they are available in bigger super markets around.

3.  You might like to find out if there is a Das Gute around the place you work or your home.   Their bread and cake are also a bit pricy but they are good.  Did the German name ring a bell?  And they have Sour Dough too.

4.   One thing I'd like to rant about is that close to nobody has decent Bagels in town.

Oh, BTW, by favourite is Rye bread.

Best Regards,

T

I have tried bread machines but the result is mediocre at best. For a good baguette (not manly, I am afraid!) - I like l'Atelier de Robuchon and DONQ. The latter is in the basement of SOGO and there is a branch in Tin Hau or Fortress Hill, I can't remember. Both l'Atelier and DONQ are on the pricey side, unfortunately. 

Hi there,

There is an A-1 Bakery inside the Jusco Super Market in APM, Kwun Tong.  They also used to have a Das Gute on the MTR level, but  it is no longer there now.

As for the store in the Holiday Inn Golden Mile, it would be the Delicateseen Corner.  They also have decent German Mustads, sausages, ham..... 

Best Regards,

T

Yep, they sit in their poly-bagged glory, rubbing shoulders with Life Bread, Crustless Sandwich Bread, and the other wonders of the Hong Kong baking world.

Hi Mr Tall,

I have to admit I have not tried all the bread available in Das Gute.  However I found their Rye Bread & Walnut/Rasin bread alright.  Just a bit pricy.  As the family only occasionally take on bread at home so that isn't an issue.

As for la Rose Noir, the one in Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, appeared to be baking on-site as well.  I'll confirm after checking them out again.

Best Regards,

T

I bought my first bread machine either at Jusco or Fortress.  After 4 years of basically daily use, it died.  Bought my second one at Patsy House Electronics (or Electric, not sure) in Sai Kung.  Like I said, we make probably 5-6 loaves a week.  Because our oven is a tiny, microwave-sized one, I don't try it in the oven.  And sometimes the humidity does affect the bread machine's operation.  But that's my solution to bread.  After about 3-4 weeks here, I had had it with the bread selection and bought the machine.  You can make it as "manly" as you wish.

 M

When I lived in Kowloon City Police Flats in Argle St we used to buy our bread from the Army bakery in the camp opposite.  The gate was immediately opposite the Station and you walked up a slope into the camp and the bakery was on the RHS.  The camp was wooden huts.  They sold bread by the pound and the full size tin loaf  had 5 portions, each of 1 lb.

I had forgotten this until I saw your quest for bread.  Not much help.

You should give the bread machine a try. I'm in UK but a frequent visitor to HK. I've used one for years at home and bake 5-6 loaves a week. It takes less than 5 mins to throw all of the ingredients in and the machine does the rest.

Hmmm. You all have just about convinced me, but inertia is a terrible force . . . .

My own kitchen appliances notwithstanding, SKMama is certainly on to something in that Ali-Oli's the place to stock up on good flours. I think you can more or less try your hand at replicating their breads, since I believe they sell the same ingredients that they use. 

mom2twoboys and SKMama, do you find that the variation in how your bread turns out depending on the humidity, temperature, etc is a significant problem, i.e. does it actually ruin the bread, or does it just make it look funny? 

Hi there,

There are Japanese brands around.  This Zojirushi one could make 2 pounders.   I am uncertain about it's programming, however.  These semi-automatic machines tends to have some limitations one way or the other and are usually not as flexible as traditional ovens.  The advantage of these machines is there won't be powders everywhere..........

Best Regards,

T

The Bread Machine Digest website looks worth a visit:

• Mr T, their 'your first loaf' page answers your question about the effects of humidity. They recommend a quick check and adjustment after about 10 minute: "These types of adjustments aren’t unusual and don’t mean there is something wrong with the recipe. What is happening is that depending on the weather the flour has more or less moisture in it."
• Sophia, their recipes page lists over 100 different breads to try, so maybe there'll be a good one for you there.

Also an update from our baker friend: Das Gute & A-1 are part of the same group. They also run shops under other names, so you might want to try some of them and see if they have any breads that are grainy enough.

Basically, the variation ends up being raising too high or falling or not raising high enough.  Affects the texture somewhat, the taste not at all.

 I'm like SKMama--raised watching and helping my mom make huge batches of delicious whole wheat bread.

The bread machine is so convenient to have things timed for when you need the bread.  They do each take some figuring out, and each brand makes the bread just a little differently.  The new machine I just got is the one I have to use the 1/2 and 1/2 whole/white flour--it just doesn't turn out very nicely otherwise (with too much wholemeal flour).  

And I have a book of bread machine whole grain recipes--has some really hearty breads in it (some of which work better than others, depending on the size of the machine and how it works).

I know that there are many people who say you really don't need a bread machine to make your own great bread, but I've used one for about 17 years (well, not the same one, LOL--have worn out more than a few) and swear by it.

m

Hi there,

I saved this one back in 2007 but still have not made up my mind to give it a try.  Maybe those of you who have an oven would like to try it out.

Best Regards,

T

Coincidentally (or maybe not!) la Familia Tall had afternoon tea this past Saturday in the simplylife in Tai Koo Shing. We've also eaten a couple times in the one in Festival Walk. It's a fine recommendation: nice food, very reasonable prices, and yes, pretty good bread (and cakes!).

In fact I bought some of their bread to take home on Saturday, i.e. a loaf of the 'Dark grain and seed' bread on sale up at the bakery counter. I froze it, so I don't have the verdict on it yet. I was a bit taken aback to realize that its name is meant very literally: the bread looks like ordinary multigrain bread on the outside, but when you cut into it, it's almost purple inside. 

Oh, and the price: HKD22 for a medium-to-small-sized loaf, so not terribly cheap.

T and Odaiwai, I read this in the NYT 2 years ago but never bothered to try. Urged by your posts, I started the dough last night and what a gorgeous loaf it turned out to be - very much the Artisan bread that you find in Europe. I am eating it now while enjoying a most beautiful clear night with a magnificent sunset. La dolce vita!