Charcoal Dough Sticks (Charcoal You Tiao)

Adapted from Octaphilosophy by André Chiang. 

Ingredients

Vegetable Ash

1. Carrot, 1
2. Onion, 1

Dough

1. Plain/all-purpose flour, 300g
2. Vegetable ash, 7.5g
3. Caster sugar, 40g
4. Active dried yeast, 5g
5. Water, 175ml + 10ml
6. Baking soda, 1g
7. Salt, 5g
8. Oil, for frying

Instructions

Vegetable Ash

1. Grill carrot and onion until completely blackened.
2. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 100C for 8-10h until dehydrated.
3. Let cool and process to a fine powder by pounding with a mortar and pestle/using a food processor.

Dough

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, vegetable ash, sugar, yeast and 175ml of water. 
2. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to prove for 30 min, until doubled in size.
3. In a separate small bowl, mix 10ml of water with baking soda and salt. 
4. Knead the mixture into the dough, then return the dough to the bowl, cover and prove for another 45min.
5. Flatten the dough, and cut into 40 strips.
6. Take two strips and twist them together.
7. Heat oil to 190C and deep-fry the strips until crisp.
8. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Chinese Sausage Focaccia

Ingredients

1. 340g Chinese sausages
2. 8 garlic cloves
3. 150g grapeseed oil
4. 90g doubanjiang
5. 1 recipe Mother Dough, proofed

Instructions

1. With a sharp knife, cut each sausage link lengthwise in half, then slice each half into 12 half-moons. Cut garlic cloves into thin slicers on a bias (the thinner the better).
2. Combine oil, doubanjiang, sausage and garlic in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 15 min. Strain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, saving for later. Set the sausage aside.
3. Punch down and flatten the dough on a smooth, dry surface. Stretch the dough out gently by hand until it is slightly longer and wider than a quarter sheet pan.
4. Visualize dividing the dough lengthwise into thirds. Spread half of the sausage and garlic down the center third of the dough. Fold the right third over, cover with remaining sausage-garlic filling, then fold the left third of dough over.
5. Gently lift the dough at both ends and transfer to the baking pan. Cover loosely with plastic and allow to rise at room temp until doubled in size, about 45 min.
6. Heat oven to 375F.
7. Once dough has doubled in size and filled the baking pan, use fingers to gently dimple the dop of the dough to make small indentations. Pour the oil around, not on top of, the dough.
8. Bake for 15 min, or until the focaccia is golden brown.
9. Let cool to room temp in pan before serving, 
10. Slice into 6 pieces and serve at room temp, or toast by flashing in a warm oven. The focaccia will keep, wrapped well in plastic, for up to 3 days.

Mother Dough

From Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi.

Ingredients

1. 550g flour
2. 1 tbsp kosher salt
3. 3.5g or 1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
4. 370g water, room temp

Instructions

1. Stir tgt flour, salt and yeast in bowl of stand mixer by hand, using the dough hook like a spoon. Continue stirring by hand as you add water, mixing for 1 min, until mixture comes tgt into a shaggy mass.
2. Engage the bowl and hook and have the machine mix the dough on lowest speed for 3 min, or until the ball of dough is smoother and more cohesive. Then knead for 4 more min on lowest speed. The dough shld look like a wet ball and bounce back softly when prodded.
3. Brush a large bowl with oil and dump dough into it. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof at room temp for 45 min.
4. The dough is ready to be used. If you do not plan to use on the day you make it, you can store the dough in an airtight container at least twice its size in fridge for up to 3 days. Take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temp 30-45 min before using.