Baking has always been a passion for me. At a point in my life in school, i had to make a decision concerning what i would really love to study and practice. When i was convinced, i had to change my course from optometry to food science and technology.
It has been awesome since then and it has helped my baking business and the outcome of the products i make.
Chinchin as been a very big part of my life growing up. Back then in Cameroon, it was a norm to be served with chinchin when you visit someone.
Back then, we knew chinchin to be hard but it should not be so.
Over time with technology, food scientist have been able to find out some of the reasons behind faulty baked products. And that is why today, we have a better more crunchy chinchin.
I descovered that, in every step you take in trying to bake or fry a product, a chemical reaction occurs. This is the reason why, some times people use the same recipe but come out with different results.
You need to know what is happening behind the scenes and that is what i have come to show you. This topic is very broad but i will just talk on an aspect of it.
This chinchin taste like cake or cookies only that it is fried.
THE BAKING PROCESS
INGREDIENTS
Eggs
Margerine
Powdered milk flavour
Baking powder
Flour
Evapourated milk
Granulated Sugar
I make use of this mixer to make things easier and faster.
You can as well use your hands if you do not have one.
THE PROCESS
Pour in the flour in the mixing bowl
Add in the milk flavour and baking powder
This next step is very important. It is called the rubbing in stage.
Flour has a protien called the gluten protien. This protien is what gives flour it's stretchy nature. Gluten formation is needed in some baked and fried products like bread while it may not be needed in some like cookies and chin chin. Rubbing in fats into flour, what this does is that it coats the gluten protien, making it more difficult for water to get through to it, therefore reducing its formation. This step will give your baked product a more flaky, crunchy and melt in the mouth feel.
So this is when some persons get it wrong, they just want to mix everything at ones and their end product either becomes too hard or too soft or too brittle and all that. Butter also gives the chinchin structure. It act as a shotening and it is the reason behind the melt in the mouth texture Gluten protien increases with kneeding or mixing. So mixing or kneeding should be done when necessary.
I used this paddle attachement to rub in the fat and flour but it is also okay to use your hands.
In a seperate bowl, mix in the sugar, egg, milk and any other flavour of your choice.
Mixing dry ingredients seperately and wet separately allows all ingredienrs to mix properly before mixing to combine. This in return will make you spend less time in kneeding trying to make all ingredients to combine, therefore preventing gluten formation.
Adding in the milk to the eggs.
The function of the milk and egg is that the egg adds structure and stability to the dough. It also make the chinchin more brittle.
The milk is a source of moisture. It also helps to add richness to the chinchin, increasing flavour and mouth feel. If you notice, there is no water in this recipe and that is because i prefer the rich taste and aroma the milk brings.
Adding in sugar
Mix together
- Add in the liquid mix into the dry mixture.
At this point, you have to switch to a hook attachement to mix into a dough.
The aim here is just to make all ingredients combine properly and not to over kneed.
You could just use your hands to kneed too.
Gently roll out the dought and use a pizza cutter to cut into any desired shape.
Now rolling out the dough and cutting them not too thick, just about half an inch will make it more crunchy
Sprinkle some flour on the surface of a tray to avoid the chinchin cuts sticking to it.
FRYING
Pour in some oil into a pot. This is deep frying so you might need more oil to allow the dough float. Touching the surface will make it burn easily.
I usually use one of the slices to check if my oil is hot enough to begin.
Your full attention is needed when you start frying and also, it is required that you stir continuously. What you should look for is a golden brown colour.
Drain out the fried chinchin and place it in a sieve to cool.
PACKAGING
Chinchin should be stored in an air tight container.
I had to recycle some of my coffee and jamb bottles for packaging and it looked beautiful.
Thankyou for reading. Hope this was helpful.