50% Sprouted Spelt Thai Basil Sun-Dried Tomatoes Walnuts SD

as long as you come along with a loaf of bread :) Just kidding: I won't mind if you come empty-handed... Oh but I won't stop you either if you insist on bringing some kind of desserts like sweet buns or pies!

Not sure if you're able to tell: I usually aim to include a mix of colours, textures and tastes to maximize the pleasure one gets with his/her five senses. I'm glad you love the combo, Danni! Looking forward to your next post!

I came across a post about this recently and it looks super easy. Basically you just poke holes at the bottom of a large coke bottle and put the soaked mung beans inside. Weight the beans down with a piece of moistened cloth. You can cut off the cap of it and place it under the bottom to collect the water that drips down. Wrap the bottle in a tea towel or foil so that the beans stays out of light and drain them a few times over a couple of days until they're ready to harvest. I haven't tried it myself but it does look pretty promising. It should save you a trip to the market and perhaps some money too! 

SD noodles are indeed terrific: it's especially satisfying to see them puffing up in the bubbling water :) I totally understand your urge to add in SD whenever you're given the chance. The bread is pretty tasty and I particularly like the fresh note the Thai basil added. 

I can't wait to see what you'll come up with after your trip to the Chinese market! Hopefully, Lucy'll make something that's both mouth-watering and inspiring!

It's sweeter but not as strong as red wheat when left unsprouted. Yet, not only is its sweetness intensified but it also turns malty after sprouting. It was my favourite sprouted grain before I discovered sprouted quinoa! Do try baking with spelt (and super nutty sprouted quinoa!) if you can get your hands on it. I swear you won't regret this!

In fact, I didn't make up the combination of five spice and Thai basil myself but instead took the idea from Taiwanese 鹽酥雞 (I don't think there's a proper English name for it, some call it Taiwanese popcorn chicken/ chicken nuggets). The basil supposedly lightens the greasy, and heavily salted and spiced fried chicken up. I was a bit heavy-handed with the basil so it kind of toned the flavor of the five spice down... I found that I actually prefer herbs that have been ground and mixed with other aromatics rather than being used whole in a dish.

I think the reason why the jian bao looks dark is that it was leavened with raisin yeast water :) I made up a batch of 55% hydration dough with bread flour and YW, which was supplemented with 1/4 tsp of instant yeast and 1/8 tsp of salt per 100 g of flour. It wasn't kneaded at all but was allowed a 30 minutes autolysis, followed by a few sets of stretch and fold every 20 minutes or so afterwards. I retarded it overnight after it rose by 50%. The next day, the dough was divided into smaller portions that weighted 16 g-17 g. I let them rest for 30 minutes before wrapping them. The filling was composed of equal weight of garlic chives and shrimps. After filling the buns, I dipped the bottom of them in water and place them in a plate of raw white sesame seeds. The jian bao I'm used to eating uses 半發麵, which means the dough was not fully fermented like that of steamed buns. It was final proofed for 20 minutes only before pan frying + steaming so the dough is denser and chewier: think of it as the hybrid of dumplings dough and steamed buns dough. 

Our thoughts are in-line: I was craving Italian food when I came up with this formula :) Thanks for the compliment, Pal! You too, are a great cook and baker!