How to make puto

Making and selling puto and kutsinta are hit business opportunities because (1)
they are ridiculously easy to make; (2) they require very little capital; (3) you can
mark them up to as high as 300 percent but (4) they will still be affordable to the
masses.

Materials needed:

Steamer

Mixing bowl

Strainer

Muffin pan

Measuring cups and spoons

Wooden spoon or wire whisk

2 cups rice flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon anise seeds (optional)

1 cup grated coconut (or coconut flakes)

Getting started:

1. Sift the rice flour, salt, baking powder and white sugar together.
2. In a bowl, add the coconut milk to the sifted ingredients and blend until the
mixture is smooth.
3. Add anise seeds or whatever flavoring you wish (i.e. vanilla, pandan, etc.) Mix
and blend thoroughly.
4. Carefully pour the mixture into the muffi n pans (greased with butter
beforehand), making sure you leave 1/3 space at the top. This is to give the puto
space to expand upon cooking.
5. Steam for about 30 minutes.
6. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of each putothe
toothpick must come out clean.
7. Top with grated coconut.


How to make donuts
Doughnuts are so easy to make and sell, says Erlinda Ferrer-Soriano, lecturer at
the ESF Cakes and Bread House. Mothers who usually prepare their kids
merienda can shoot two birds with one stone by preparing more than their kids
needs to earn more.

Only a few utensils and ingredients are needed to make dough and icing. If you
dont have the utensils, you need to buy the following: bowls and measuring cups
rolling pin, cutter, doughnut cutter, weighing scale, baking trays, spatula, plastic
pastry bag with tips, manual whips, stir-fry pan, long chopsticks, strainer, serving
trays, and gas stove.

To make dough, you need a kilo of bread flour, 160 grams of white sugar, 10
grams of iodized salt, 20 grams of instant yeast, 0.5 liter of drinking water, and 50
grams of lard. To make icing and powder coating, set aside two sets of 227
grams powered sugar, and 1/4 cup of powdered milk. You would need 500 ml of
cooking oil for frying.

The first process is preparing the dough. Sift a kilo of bread flour on a clean
tabletop. Create a valley in the center and pour in the water in which you dissolve
white sugar, iodized salt, and instant yeast. Then carefully mix in the flour by
scraping the inner part until everything is mixed.
Start kneading the dough by folding it toward you, then pushing it down and away
from you with the heel of your hand. You may also use a mixer if you have one.
Add the lard while continuously kneading the dough until its surface becomes
smooth and no longer sticky. Set aside and cover the dough with a bowl for 30
minutes to prevent it from having a dry or scaly surface.

While waiting, make the sugar icing by mixing powdered milk, powdered sugar,
and 1/2 cup of water. Beat the mixture using manual whips until its consistency is
similar to a condensed milk. Set aside and go back to your dough.
Also, prepare the powder coating by mixing powdered sugar and powdered milk
until the consistency is even.

After 30 minutes, get dough and sprinkle flour on top of it. Then flatten it using a
rolling pin until it is half an inch thick. Cut pieces using a doughnut cutter. Before
putting aside, prick the doughnuts with a barbecue stick or a fork to avoid surface
swelling during frying. Place the doughnut cuts in the baking tray and allow it to
expand for 30 minutes or until it attains the desired size and volume, but not
more than an hour.

Pour cooking oil into pan. When oil is hot enough, fry doughnuts until golden
brown, but remember to keep distance between pieces. Use chopsticks to flip
them over to cook the other side and to get them out of the pan. Use chopsticks
to pick up the fried doughnuts to keep from distorting their shape. Drip the oil
from the doughnuts before placing them on a serving tray. For munchkins, use a
strainer to turn them, to get them from the pan, and to drip the oil.

For a simple doughnut, just dip in powder coating. For white frost doughnut, dip
one side in sugar icing prepared earlier. For a fancier doughnut, add
marshmallow or candy sprinkles on top. Serve or pack in boxes to sell.

Doughnut dos and donts
Do measure the ingredients precisely to avoid cooking problems.
Dont over-knead the dough or the bread would become tough.
Do clock the rising time, for over-risen dough will collapse or deflate.
Dont hold the cut doughnuts firmly to fry or they will collapse or deflate.
Do add candy sprinkles or chocolate chips onto your white frost doughnut.
Do make other flavors simply by adding food flavorings like buko pandan,
ube, mocha, or melted chocolate bar to a mixture of sugar icing.
Do make a butter icing. Mix 400 grams of powdered sugar, 200 grams of
margarine, 50 grams of oil, and 100 grams of shortening or lard using a
spatula.
Do make various icings for your munchkins.
Do cut cost. Use an improvised doughnut cutter made from an empty tin can
of milk and a cap of plastic bottle for the hole. You may also use barbecue
sticks instead of chopsticks in cooking doughnuts.


How to make polvoron
Just like pastillas, polvoron has become a favorite gift to give to overseas friends
and family. Goldilocks Bakeshop named polvoron as their top-selling item
selling more than their cakes.

Materials needed:

Mixing bowl

Measuring cups and spoons

Wooden spoon

Saucepan

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups powdered milk

1 1/2 cup melted butter

2 cups sugar

Japanese paper or cellophane

Polvoron molder, P24

(All available in supermarkets)
Getting started:

1. On a pan, toast flour in moderate heat for about 15 minutes, or until light
brown, stirring constantly to avoid burning.
2. Remove the pan and transfer the mixture into a big bowl.
3. Add the powdered milk, and toss for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Add sugar and melted butter. Mix well.
5. Fill the polvoron mould with the mixture, press it hard by using a spoon, then
release it. If it is still too loose, add more butter or olive oil. Make sure that you
could pick up the polvoron without it crumbling straight away.
6. Place the polvoron in an airtight container, then chill in the fridge until firm.
7. Carefully wrap the polvoron individually in japanese paper or cellophane.
8. Keep the polvoron refrigerated until you want to eat them. You can store them
on the fridge for about a week, or you can freeze them.