2012 JET Bakers?

[smstack]

Hello All,

Since we're all playing the waiting game and some other interest groups seem to have threads, I thought I'd see if there are any other JETs that share my favorite hobby: baking! I personally work on-call at a little pie bakery and also like to experiment at home. I would love to see what anyone else has to say about baking in Japan. I hear ovens can be hard to come by... Also, are there any Japanese baked goods that you want to try to make while you're there? Also, homemade baked goods (from my experience) make you pretty popular with neighbors and students alike. Are there any baked goods you would want to bring to class? Any fun ideas?

Bonus Question: What's your favorite thing to bake? Mine is either a pumpkin amaretto cheesecake or spiced pear crumble pie!

[Trudi]

You could probably set up a business selling baked goods to vegetarians, as apparently all the baked goods in Japan are made with lard!

[smstack]

You could probably set up a business selling baked goods to vegetarians, as apparently all the baked goods in Japan are made with lard!

Really? I am not a vegetarian personally, but adding lard to baked goods sounds pretty gross. I can definitely bake without lard (or any animal product at all!). Maybe I'll have to exchange services with some hungry, sweet-tooth vegetarians and vegans (or really just anyone who's hungry).

[nicole.ai]

I love baking. Most of my dishes I like to make here need an oven, so I'm probably going to have to buy at least a convection oven when I get there. I was going to order a US one on Amazon and have it shipped to Japan, but then I wondered if the wattage would be okay with a Japanese outlet. Anyway, I'll probably just look at different convection ovens at stores nearby where-ever I end up. If I were to bake something for class, it'd probably just be cookies, since they are probably the easiest baked good to transport from home to the classroom.

My favorite thing to bake is a peach cobbler. I unfortunately do not the skills to bake anything too complicated.

[Loerian]

I was wondering about baking over in Japan and if it was possible. Personally I love to bake cupcakes in all types of flavors from lemon to Irish cream the cuter the better and lately I have been experimenting with different kinds of Icing. It is a hope of mine to make Hanami cupcakes in Japan if I could I think cupcakes decorated with cherry blossoms would look super kiwaii

[nicole.ai]

I was wondering about baking over in Japan and if it was possible. Personally I love to bake cupcakes in all types of flavors from lemon to Irish cream the cuter the better and lately I have been experimenting with different kinds of Icing. It is a hope of mine to make Hanami cupcakes in Japan if I could I think cupcakes decorated with cherry blossoms would look super kiwaii

It's totally possible to bake there. But, your apartment probably won't have an oven, you'll have to buy one on your own. If you could afford it, you could get a full oven, but your best option is to buy a convection oven that could be anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 yen.

[Loerian]

hmm that sounds like a plan I think I will definitely look into that once I get over as I find baking super relaxing I'm almost done with all my finals and I have been officially banned from baking as everyone is complaining they are getting fat ha ha

[happytofu]

I loooove baking! And I'm vegan! So it will be SUPER HARD to do my thing without copious care packages.

[Loerian]

Aww no I'm sorry to hear that Omnom I hope it won't be too difficult for you !

[Liz-chan]

So glad someone created this topic!

Baking is one of my hobbies too, and hopefully I'll save up for a small oven so I can continue to bake in Japan! Pumpkin amaretto cheesecake sounds amazing!

Currently my favourite things to bake are welsh cakes, oaty bread, gluten free muffins (as one of my best friends has coeliac disease, I've been experimenting) and millionaire's shortbread.

I'm hoping I can make goodies for school, specifically scones... Quintessentially British and delicious at that! With a cup of tea, heavenly.

...I'm such a stereotype

P.S Omnomnom I've made a super delicious vegan chocolate cake for a friend in the past... Happy to send you the recipe (though getting the ingredients in Japan may be tricky )

[happytofu]

Oh, and if we're placed near one another...

<genius> Oven Timeshare!! </genius>

PS: I have some fantastic books, but I'm always looking for new recipes!

PPS: Actually, most vegan baking staples are dreadfully normal (apple sauce, bananas, soy milk)... I'm just going to need to ship in things if I feel like gettin' fancy.

[Loerian]

millionaires short bread is sooooooo good especially when you make too much caramel and have some left over to make banoffi pie. As for dairy free / gluten free recipes i have a few that even include scones cause no one should be deprived of scones !!

[Butonz]

I like to make Quiche whenever the opportunity presents itself.

It's never anything fancy as I tend to stick to a few simple ingredients like spinach or imitation crab.

Eggs will be easy to find but I may have to learn how to make my own crust, as the ready made ones I normally use might be in short supply =/.

[Liz-chan]

Oh, and if we're placed near one another...

<genius> Oven Timeshare!! </genius>

That is genius!

Or alternatively we could try something like this... http://youtu.be/Ow5n1NvS0f8

millionaires short bread is sooooooo good especially when you make too much caramel and have some left over to make banoffi pie. As for dairy free / gluten free recipes i have a few that even include scones cause no one should be deprived of scones !!

True words were never spoken! Though my friend who has coeliac disease doesn't actually like them (and didn't before she developed the disease! o.O)

Ooh quiche is yummy! Yeah, not sure how easy it'd be to get pre-made crusts but I think it's fairly straightforward to do yourself... Only a few ingredients to find too.

[dtrue]

This thread is making me hungry.........