Matcha, the vibrant finely ground green powder traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, is becoming increasingly popular in the baking world. Matcha powder isn't just about trendy aesthetics; it boasts a unique flavour profile, a delightful blend of sweetness and earthiness, that elevates classic treats.
What is Matcha?
Matcha, a shade-grown and processed green tea powder boasts a rich history and potential health benefits. Unlike regular green tea where you steep the leaves and discard them, matcha involves consuming the entire ground leaf, giving it a more concentrated flavor and nutrient profile with higher antioxidant. Let's delve deeper into the world of matcha.
Matcha 'VS' Green Tea
Matcha and green tea, both boasting green hues and a reputation for health benefits, are often mistaken for the same thing. While they share a common origin, their processing methods and resulting properties create distinct differences.
Let's explore the key differences between matcha and green tea.
Matcha Beyond Tea
Not only is this green superfood packed with antioxidants and is good for you, but it's also profoundly versatile! From cakes and cookies to breads and mousses, this green tea powder can be incorporated into a wide range of baked goods. Let's explore the many ways matcha can transform your kitchen creations!
In this article, we'll be featuring Matcha Morihan-C, our highest grade matcha sourced from Uji, Kyoto. This premium matcha, crafted from the delicate first harvest of young green tea leaves, boasts a mild and mellow character with a hint of sweetness that lingers on the palate.
To ensure even distribution into your baked goods, start by whisking the matcha powder into a liquid before incorporating into your dough or cake batter. Matcha also has a slightly alkaline nature, so using milk helps to balance the pH level.
When using matcha in bread recipes, it is recommended to knead until gluten has developed first. This means kneading the dough until smooth and elastic before adding the matcha. This is because matcha powder can interfere with gluten formation if incorporated too early.
Matcha takes a different approach in laminated doughs like croissants. Unlike bread, where gluten development is key, matcha gets incorporated with the flour at the beginning.
As matcha is highly alkaline, adding matcha to pastry dough can affect its structure, therefore adding sugar and milk alongside it is recommended. This helps balance the dough's pH level, improving texture and flavor.
Matcha elevates classic desserts to new heights. The tea's unique flavour profile, a captivating blend of sweetness and earthy depth, harmonizes beautifully with an array of pastries. Plus, matcha naturally delivers a stunning vibrant green hue, ditching the need for artificial coloring.
The matcha croissant is a delightful marriage of cultures. It brings together the airy, buttery flakiness of a classic French croissant with the smooth, umami richness of Japanese matcha powder.
There's so much more that can be done with matcha, such as incorporating into cake batter, or even cream or ganaches.
The Thousand Layer Milk Bread that has gone viral and is now available at most bakeries around town... We decided to make our own Matcha version of it too!
Yeast leavened bread dough flavoured with matcha, and layered with butter.
As you can imagine, the matcha bread layers are super soft, airy, moist, with a slightly umami aftertaste. The thin layers can be peeled to enjoy, layer by layer.
This layered milk bread, with its irresistible combination of crispiness, light texture, and buttery flavor can be incorporated with matcha for a stunning green twist and a touch of umami depth!
Take it up the next level by folding in some whole red bean for a delightful surprise in every bite.
The sweetness of red bean beautifully complements matcha's subtle bitterness. The red bean cuts through the richness of matcha, creating a balanced and complex flavor experience.
Matcha's vibrant green hue, paired with the deep red of red bean also creates a stunning visual contrast.
Matcha bread dotted with pops of red bean, make your bakes as captivating to look at as they are to devour. We recommend our Hashimoto Japanese Whole Red Bean and Red Bean Paste.
Should you wish to try, you may also click on the product image below to purchase the matcha and red bean directly on our e-commerce store:
