By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, March 3, 1999

"Electric Bread"
Tropical fruit flavors are brought to bread-machine
bread through dried fruit combinations.

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Machine baking
with local flair

Verna and Dennis Kido are a mother-son bread-baking duo. The two share a bread machine and are in search of recipes with a local flair, particularly Portuguese sweet bread and fruit breads.

The best I could do for fruit bread is a recipe using dried fruits. That and a sweet bread recipe -- the real deal, with potatoes -- follow.

The most intriguing recipe I could find, though, is for mochiko bread and comes from "A Tradition of Aloha," the 45th anniversary cookbook from the Japanese Women's Society of Honolulu. The book is available at gift shops at the Japanese Cultural Center, Kuakini Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Nuimono-Hawaii in Moiliili. Proceeds benefit grants and scholarships for University of Hawaii graduate students in gerontology and geriatrics.

To order by mail, write JWS, P.O. Box 3233, Honolulu 96801. Include $15 plus $2.50 for postage.

Bread Machine Mochiko Bread

"A Tradition of Aloha," 1998, $15

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 cups bread flour
1/3 cup mochiko
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons powdered milk or coffee creamer
1-1/2 teaspoons (1/2 packet) active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine in the order listed. Bake according to manufacturer's directions. Makes 16 1-slice servings

Approximate nutritional analysis per slice: 90 calories, 1.5 g total fat, 1 g. saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium.*

Tropical Medley

"Electric Bread," second edition, Suzan Nightingale,
Innovative Cooking Enterprises, 1997, $29.95

3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups white bread flour
1 tablespoon dry milk
1-1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried fruit (see note)
1 teaspoon fast rise or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Combine all ingredients in bread machine, following manufacturers directions. Dry fruit may be added at the same time as the other ingredients, rather than during the fruit/nut cycle.

Note: Use a mix of dried papaya, mango and pineapple, cut in small chunks. Coconut, raisins and apricots are also suggested. Pre-made tropical fruit mixes may also be used.

Approximate nutritional information, per slice: 189 calories, 14 percent fat, 6 mg cholesterol, 298 mg sodium.*

Portuguese Sweet Bread

"Whole Grain Breads by Machine or Hand,"
Beatrice Ojakangas, MacMillan, 1998, $27.50

3 tablespoons water, room temperature
2/3 cup warm, cooked, finely diced potato (see note)
3 eggs, warmed
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2-1/3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons rapid-rising or active dry yeast

Pour water into the bread-machine pan. Add remaining ingredients in the order listed. Make an indentation in the dry ingredients and add yeast. Select "dough" and press start. If dough is too wet and sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is smooth and soft. If dough is too firm, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Continue baking according to manufacturers directions. Makes 16 1-slice servings.

(This bread is trickier than most bread-machine recipes because of the varying water content of potatoes. If you're not happy with the results, try finishing your loaf in the oven: Place dough on a lightly floured surface and punch down. Shape into a round loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, 30-45 minutes. Brush with one beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees 50-60 minutes.)

Approximate nutritional analysis, per slice, without glaze: 165 calories, 5.5 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium.*

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.