Gingerbread Man Bread

SMALL FAN has been asking me bake cake with him and he was hoping to make some Gingerbread Man Cookies. However as the weather here was quite hot and cookies was too heaty to eat during this period, I decided to make him some Gingerbread Man Bread instead. It was a little messy as the dough turns out to be quite sticky, I think I never knead it long enough although I was perspiring all over after kneading the bread. SMALL FAN helped me to put the raisins. Here's the finish product.

GingerBread Man Bread/ Tortise Bread

Ingredients & Directions

• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup hot milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (to increase the nutritional value of the bread - I added 1 tbs of soy flour, 1 tbs of wheat germ, 1 tbs of formula milk powder, 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour and top up the rest with unbleached flour)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tablespoon raisins for decorating

1. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the cooled milk, butter, egg, 2 cups flour and salt; beat well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Divide dough into seven pieces. One round 2 inches in diameter, five rounds 1 inch in diameter and the remainder in one large round.
5. Place the large round on a lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Shape four of the 1 inch rounds into 'feet' and one into a 'tail' for the turtle. Shape the two inch round into a 'head' for the turtle Attach each piece by flattening the end which attaches to the body, wetting it slightly with water and pinching it under the turtle's 'body'. Press raisins into the turtle's head for 'eyes'. For the Gingerbread Man, shape five 1 inch rounds for the feet and hands, and head and one 2 inch rounds for the body. Attach each piece by flattening the end and wetting it slightly with water. Press raisins into the eyes and buttons.
   
6. Cover the turtle/gingerbread man with as damp cloth and let rise for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
7. With a sharp knife, make crisscross cuts in the turtle's body to make the 'shell'. Finally, use a scissors to make a cut for the turtle's mouth. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Miracle Honey

Baby FAN developed a viral fever the past 2 weeks which lasted for almost 7 days...poor girl was really getting skinny. Her fever went up to 39.3 and we have to bring her to KKH for a blood test just to make sure she has not contacted H1N1 or other disease. On day 3 of her fever, I also developed fever. I started researching for natural fever cure and found it in www.earthclinic.com. So I quickly made a whole big bottle of honey and lemon water and just drank it like plain water. The honey works like miracle, my fever never went beyond 37.5 deg celsius and the fever went down on the second day and never came back. Then I started developing cough, so I started drinking Apple Cider Vinegar with Honey 3 times a day and my cough subsided in 3 days. Poor Baby FAN has runny nose and cough til today. I didn't dare to give her too much ACV & Honey as I wasn't sure if her small intestine could take it, but I'm giving her like half a teaspoon each day now, hopefully she will recover soon. By the way, with all these diseases in the house, my SMALL FAN seems to be doing fine and growing strong. I was thinking it could be due to the 2 teaspoons of honey mix with water that I gave him everyday. His persistent sinus cough has also seems to be under control now. So I guess Honey is just a wonderful miracle drug. 3 cheers to the bees for making such a wonderful product!