butterfly pea powder | Bewitching Kitchen

I am so thrilled with this recipe! You can use different ingredients to obtain the bicolor effect: charcoal powder, carrot powder, ube, sweet potato powder, just keep in mind that it needs to be concentrated enough not to mess up with the dough, so liquid things won’t work well. Stick to powder and thick pastes. I used butterfly pea flower powder from Selefina (click here for ordering info).

ACCORDION BREAD
(adapted from this recipe)

180 ml warm milk
4g instant yeast
375g bread flour
18g dry milk powder
7g salt
50g sugar
1 large egg
56g softened butter
5g butterfly pea flower powder dissolved in 2 tsp milk
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp milk)

Combine yeast, warm milk, and 5 g of the sugar in a small measuring cup or bowl. Stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

In a stand mixing bowl fitted with the dough hook, add the flour, salt, milk powder, egg, yeast mixture, and knead on med-low speed until dough comes together and no dry flour is visible. Add in remaining 45g of sugar. Incorporate all the butter, little by little. Knead on med-high for 8-10 mins, or until dough is smooth and releases from the sides of the bowl.

Split dough into two, placing one half the dough back in the mixer, adding the dissolved butterfly pea powder over it. Knead until color is well combined. Cover both doughs in clean bowls, and let rise 1.5 to 2 hours or until they have doubled in size.

Punch and degas doughs. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough into an oblong shape. Layer the two doughs with colored dough on the top. Perform an envelope fold meeting both sides in the center. Wrap dough in cling wrap and chill in fridge for 15 minutes.
Unwrap dough and roll out into a long even rectangle. Staring from one end, roll in dough to create a swirl, making sure colored dough is inside while regular dough is facing out. Using a sharp blade or razor, score the dough evenly across the top to create “accordion” effect. Lines should be approx 1/4 inch apart and 1/8 inch deep to reveal the colored dough. Place in 450g Pullman loaf pan, cover, and let proof for 45 mins.

Heat oven to 355 F. Brush egg wash and bake for 40-42 mins until loaf is golden brown. Release bread from pan after 10 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack before slicing and smiling at the swirl…

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The dough, like most enriched doughs, is a pleasure to work with, rolls very easily and you can stretch it and adjust so that both layers sit perfectly on top of each other.

Make sure to slice the external layer with a sharp razor blade and all the way through to see the colored dough underneath. The sugar and milk in the recipe give it a nice brown color after baking.

But the best part? That swirl revealed once you slice through!

The bread has a very mild flavor, the butterfly pea flower does not contribute much in terms of flavor, just color. I will be making other versions for sure…

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Have you heard of butterfly pea flower? Apparently it is a big thing now, or at least I see it everywhere, popping up in all kinds of preparations. It is a beautiful little flower, with an intense blue color, common in Thailand and Vietnam. You can use the flowers of the Clitoria ternatea plant (yes, that is the scientific name) to brew a beautiful tea, or you can also get it in powder form. The color changes according to the pH, so if you add lemon juice it will be pinkish purple, whereas baking soda gives a deeper blue. Of course, the possibilities are endless to explore this ingredient. I’ve seen it used in breads (even croissants!), in cocktails and buttercreams, but today I share with you a very simple way to enjoy it, which I first saw in Lindsay’s blog, Love and Olive Oil.

BLUE MOON MILK
(slightly modified from Love and Olive Oil)

1 cup almond milk (or any milk you prefer)
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon butterfly pea flower powder (or adjust according to preference)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch freshly ground nutmeg

In a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, whisk together milk with honey, butterfly pea powder, and spices until powder is dissolved and milk is warm but not yet simmering.

Whisk to create a fine froth using either a wire whisk, a milk-frother, or an immersion blender.

Pour into warm mug, relax and…

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: For this preparation, I think the powder is a must, as it is very concentrated and you don’t really need to boil the almond milk in order to get it properly dissolved. Another thing to keep in mind is that different brands of the butterfly pea powder have different strengths, mine is definitely stronger than Lindsay’s. I am now using 1/4 tsp of the powder for 1 cup of almond milk, and like the flavor better. It is hard to describe it, actually. Earthy, maybe? Along the lines of green tea but less sharp. I also liked it very much with cardamon instead of nutmeg. Below is a picture of a version with reduced amount of powder (1/4 tsp instead of 1 full tsp).

Some say this beverage helps combat insomnia. I am an excellent subject to test the hypothesis, and I can tell you it failed big time to have any positive effect. But I like the flavor, the color, and the soothing atmosphere that holding the cup with the hot, light blue liquid provides. Of course, I intend to play with it in the near future. Macarons? You’d think?