UPGRADED CHINCHIN RECIPE. KNOWING THE SCIENCE BEHIND BAKING TO GET A BETTER RESULT. @irene-hic
Hello ladies in the steemwomen community.
Baking has always been a passion for me. At a point in my life in school, i had to make a decision concerning what i would really love to study and practice. When i was convinced, i had to change my course from optometry to food science and technology.
It has been awsome since then and it has helped my baking business and the outcome of the products i make.
Chinchin as been a very big part of my life growing up. Back then in Cameroon, it was a norm to be served with chinchin when you visit someone.
Back then, we knew chinchin to be hard but it should not be so.
Over time with technology, food scientist have been able to find out some of the reasons behind faulty baked products. And that is why today, we have a better more crunchy chinchin.
I descovered that, in every step you take in trying to bake or fry a product, a chemical reaction occurs. This is the reason why, some times people use the same recipe but come out with different results.
You need to know what is happening behind the scenes and that is what i have come to show you. This topic is very broad but i will just talk on an aspect of it.
This chinchin taste like cake or cookies only that it is fried.
THE BAKING PROCESS
INGREDIENTS
Eggs
Margerine
Powdered milk flavour
Baking powder
Flour
Evapourated milk
Granulated Sugar
I make use of this mixer to make things easier and faster.
You can as well use your hands if you do not have one.
THE PROCESS
Pour in the flour in the mixing bowl
Add in the milk flavour and baking powder
This next step is very important. It is called the rubbing in stage.
Flour has a protien called the gluten protien. This protien is what gives flour it's stretchy nature.
Gluten formation is needed in some baked and fried products like bread while it may not be needed in some like cookies and chin chin.
Rubbing in fats into flour, what this does is that it coats the gluten protien, making it more difficult for water to get through to it, therefore reducing its formation.
This step will give your baked product a more flaky, crunchy and melt in the mouth feel.
So this is when some persons get it wrong, they just want to mix everything at ones and their end product either becomes too hard or too soft or too brittle and all that.
Butter also gives the chinchin structure. It act as a shotening and it is the reason behind the melt in the mouth texture
Gluten protien increases with kneeding or mixing. So mixing or kneeding should be done when necessary.
I used this paddle attachement to rub in the fat and flour but it is also okay to use your hands.
Below is a difference of the effect before and after rubbing in.
In a seperate bowl, mix in the sugar, egg, milk and any other flavour of your choice.
Mixing dry ingredients seperately and wet separately allows all ingredienrs to mix properly before mixing to combine. This in return will make you spend less time in kneeding trying to make all ingredients to combine, therefore preventing gluten formation.
Adding in the milk to the eggs.
The function of the milk and egg is that the egg adds structure and stability to the dough. It also make the chinchin more brittle.
The milk is a source of moisture. It also helps to add richness to the chinchin, increasing flavour and mouth feel. If you notice, there is no water in this recipe and that is because i prefer the rich taste and aroma the milk brings.
Adding in sugar
Mix together
Add in the liquid mix into the dry mixture.
At this point, you have to switch to a hook attachement to mix into a dough.
The aim here is just to make all ingredients combine properly and not to over kneed.
You could just use your hands to kneed too.
Gently roll out the dought and use a pizza cutter to cut into any desired shape.
Now rolling out the dough and cutting them not too thick, just about half an inch will make it more crunchy
Sprinkle some flour on the surface of a tray to avoid the chinchin cuts sticking to it.
FRYING
Pour in some oil into a pot. This is deep frying so you might need more oil to allow the dough float. Touching the surface will make it burn easily.
I usually use one of the slices to check if my oil is hot enough to begin.
Your full attention is needed when you start frying and also, it is required that you stir continuously. What you should look for is a golden brown colour.
Drain out the fried chinchin and place it in a sieve to cool.
PACKAGING
Chinchin should be stored in an air tight container.
I had to recycle some of my coffee and jamb bottles for packaging and it looked beautiful.
Thankyou for reading. Hope this was helpful.
Thankyou @steemwomensclub for this oppotunity to share my ideas.
Hello @irene-hic, how are you doing today, I hope your day went well. I will love us to be friends so you can teach me more about this baking on how you do it on Steemit, I really admire those that cake and I always love to be friends with them.if you don’t mind, I will love us to chat on WhatsApp or telegram.
Smiles.... alright then.
Okay Drop you’re WhatsApp or telegram
Thank you for sharing your delicious chin chin with us
It is not wise to mention the curators in your posts. Not even booming. Please remove
Ok ma @ngoenyi. Thankyou.
Done ma
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
The main problem I have is with the mixing , seems like I have to start making plans to get a bigger mixer.
Your chinchin looks really tasty
Yea, u really have to start planing big, but its still ok to start small. Its a gradual process🙂
Have a small one already but it isn't serving me well.
That looks really crunchy, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading
Beautiful,,,, I love this packaging.
Do you sell them? Or its just for munching?
Please I need some....
Thankyou ma.
No ma i dont sell for now
Thank you for sharing the science behind baking and frying, I look forward to try this recipe. However I noticed no measurement of the ingredients. Can you please share with us? Thanks
Ok @peachyladiva i will make another post and include measurements.
Thanks for reading too
You are welcome.
Waoooo this is good, keep it up
Thanks
This is great @irene-hic, you have a very nice skill
Thanks
You are welcome @irene-hic
I love this, I will practice this one day..thanks for sharing
Thanks for reading
Me i want chinchin ooo, all i see is the end product. Nice write up.😋😋😋😋😋😋
Hahahaha. Thankyou ma