The Great British Bake Off is one my favorite shows, inspiring new bakes, new flavors, and new techniques! Join me on my journey to bake through all the Season 13 Challenges.
Since replicating Season 8 of the Great British Bake Off wasn’t enough, I decided to try my hand at a different season! This time, I am working on season 13 which is the most recent season! This season had some great bake ideas as well as some not-so-great ones (but we’ll get there when we get there).
So, I figured, let’s do this all again! One of the big challenges I wanted to attempt this time around was coming up with original ideas for the signature and showstopper challenges instead of doing a recreation. On your mark… Get set… Bake!
It is time for the pastry technical: spring rolls! This one felt a little weird to me as this feels more like a meal than a bake-off challenge. Kind of like the tacos from Mexican week. Or the burgers from seasons past. I know that there was a lot of mixed feelings online about this challenge (leaning toward negative).
But here we are, the recipe is there so I am going to do it! This recipe was interesting because it required a lot of ingredients that I could not find at my local grocery store. And the process was fun even though it almost killed me.
And the result was delicious. While I might not make the filling in the same way again, the wrapped were a delight to make. They were delicious, crunchy, and something that I am still craving.
Check out the Season 13 Great British Bake Off Page to see other bakes from this series or the Make section for more recipes! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think and how the recipe works for you!
Content
Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Like I said above, there was a lot of… interesting… ingredients in this recipe. I did have to go on a bit of a hunt to find quite a few of the ingredients. I ended up going to three different grocery stores and I still have to put in some substitutes.
One thing that I kind of missed was that the recipe called for dried woodear or shiitake mushrooms. I ended up getting fresh shiitake mushrooms. Instead of shimeji mushrooms, I used blue oyster mushrooms. From what I could find, there mushrooms are different in color but have a similar taste.
The last big substitute that I used was for the bean sprouts. I was honestly really surprised that I could not find bean sprouts in any of the stores that I visited. There was a couple of empty slots on the shelf, so maybe they were just out of stock. So, instead of using bean sprouts, I ended up using onion sprouts.
Process
Wrapper Dough
The first step of making the spring rolls was making the wrapper dough. This was interesting because I am not used to putting oil in my dough. To start, I sifted the flour, cornstarch, and salt together. I like to sift the dry ingredients because it prevents pockets of flour.
Then I create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and poured in the oil and water. I used my hands to bring the dough together. The dough went through several different phases. It was scraggly and then became a smooth dough. I did knead the dough because the recipe told me to
Once the dough because smooth, I placed it in the bowl, put a cover over the top, and placed the whole thing into the fridge. While the dough was chilling, I moved onto make the filling.
The Filling
The first step for making the filling for the spring rolls is to soak the noodles and the woodear / shiitake mushrooms if they are dried. I think this is why I was fine using normal shiitake mushrooms because the dried ones are just going to be rehydrated anyway.
Then I decided to prep all the vegetables. I find having them prepped before hand is necessary because the cooking time for the stir fry is very small. It’s better to have everything prepped and ready on the side.
Finally, it was time to cook. I started by heating up the pan and then adding chili oil. This quickly developed into an ordeal, but I will talk more about that in Lessons section. After the oil heated up, I added in the garlic, ginger, and spring onions.
They cooked a lot faster than I was expecting. I was a little surprised by how quickly they turned brown. As I saw this, I quickly threw the mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and mange touts into the pan. This is why prepping the food in advance was so important. This whole process moves quickly.
I stir fried the vegetables for about 2 minutes before adding in a mixture of cornstarch and soy sauce, the sprouts, and the oyster sauce. This cooked for another two minutes. For the final touch, I added in some sesame oil before removing the pan from the heat and letting the filling cool.
Prepping the Wrappers
The next step was prepping the wrappers. I needed to roll out the dough and do a light cook on the wrappers before they are ready to be made into spring rolls. The first part of this process is dividing the dough. I decided to be meticulous about this and measured out the dough before dividing it into eight pieces.
After I had my eight pieces, I took two and rolled each one out into an 8-cm circle (ish) shape. I was not the best about keeping the dough in a perfect circle. Dough does not always act how you want it to.
Then I sprinkled a little bit of cornstarch on one side of one of the discs. The cornstarch acts like a barrier between the layers of dough. Because I put the other disc on top of the first one. Then I rolled the stack out into one 20-cm circle. Again, it was more circle inspired than an actual circle.
I heated a round flat griddle and just let it come up to a nice hot temperature. Then I put down the wrapper. I cooked it for thirty seconds before flipping the wrapper over. And again, I cooked it for about thirty seconds.
I pulled apart the wrapper back into it’s two halves before placing them on a plate and keeping them moist with a wet tea towel. Okay, I used a paper towel but who is really keeping track of these things?
Then I repeated this roll and stack and roll and cook and pull apart process with the remaining six pieces. At the end, I had eight wrappers that were ready to be made into spring rolls.
Assembly
The last step of making spring rolls is placing the filling inside of the wrapper and then frying each one. Each wrapper needs to be cut into a square shape. Since each wrapper is a different general size, the cuts on the wrappers might not all be even.
For this next section, imagine working with the square wrappers in a diamond like position. The points with be at the top, right, left, and bottom.
I started by placing the filling near the top. I tried to use about three tablespoons of filling but measuring out a tablespoon of filling felt difficult. It was more of a guestimating process. Then I took the top corner and folded it down over the filling.
Next, I folded in the left and right side. The seam where the top meets the side should be closed and no filling should be exposed. I brushed the bottom with a little egg before the final fold. The egg will help keep the wrapper closed.
Finally, I took the top of the roll (which was currently encasing the filling) and continued to roll it down over the bottom corner. And with that, the spring rolls were ready to be cooked.
Frying
I do think that I made a teeny tiny mistake in the frying process. I put the oil into the pan and turned on the heat. And completely forgot about my temperature goals. So, I might have heated the oil closer to 500° Fahrenheit before adding in the spring rolls.
Which means they cooked fast and they turned dark quickly. But I kind of liked them that way. Either way, frying up these spring rolls was quick and easier. As always when deep frying something, make sure to protect your skin against oil splatter. Oil burns are no joke.
Reflections
While this felt like an unconventional bake-off challenge, I did really enjoy making these spring rolls. I probably enjoyed eating the spring rolls even more. I gave half of them to someone else because I was afraid, I would eat all of them right then and there.
The only downside of this recipe is the chili oil. Not because of the spice but because of the undesired side effects from heating oil to a really high temperature (see lessons below). But otherwise, it was a smooth process that I would gladly do again.
Lessons
Cooking with Chili Oil
While this felt like an unconventional bake-off challenge, I did really enjoy making these spring rolls. I probably enjoyed eating the spring rolls even more. I gave half of them to someone else because I was afraid, I would eat all of them right then and there.
The only downside of this recipe is the chili oil. Not because of the spice but because of the undesired side effects from heating oil to a really high temperature (see lessons below). But otherwise, it was a smooth process that I would gladly do again.
recipe
Spring Rolls
Ingredients
Spring Roll Wrappers
- ¾ Heaping Cup Bread Flour
- 3 Tablespoon Cornstarch plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 Egg beaten
- Vegetable Oil for Frying
Filling
- ¼ Cup Dried Woodear or Shiitake Mushrooms
- ¼ Cup Vermicelli Noodles
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Oil or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Garlic Clove minced
- 3 cm Ginger minced
- ¼ Cup Spring Onions finely chopped
- 1 ½ Cup Shimeji Mushrooms or Blue Oyster Mushrooms
- ½ Cup Carrots Matchsticks
- ½ Cup Chinese Cabbage Matchsticks
- ½ Cup Mange Tout Snow Peas, Matchsticks
- 1 Teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 ½ Cup Bean Sprouts
- 1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- ½ Teaspoon Sesame Oil
Dipping Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce
- Juice of ½ Lime
- 1 Teaspoon Palm Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Sesame Oil
Instructions
Prepping the Dough
- Sift together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the bowl.
- In the well, add sesame oil, vegetable oil, and 5 Tablespoons of water. Using your hands, mix into a stiff dough and knead until smooth. Place in bowl and cover. Chill for 30 minutes.
Making the Filling
- In a medium bowl, place noodles and dried mushrooms (if using dried instead of fresh) and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 15 minutes. Drain and slice the mushrooms into think slices. The noodles should be cut to be 5-cm in length.
- Heat a large pan and then add chili oil. Heat until hot and quickly add garlic, ginger, and spring onions. Be careful not to breath in the fumes from the chili oil. Stir for 10 seconds.
- Add woodear (or shiitake) mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, carrots, Chinese cabbage, and mange touts. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Mix cornstarch and soy sauce together. Add to stir fry with bean sprouts and oyster sauce. Stir fry for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in sesame oil and noodles. Remove from heat and leave the filling to cool.
Making the Wrappers
- Lightly knead the wrapper dough for two minutes. Divide into eight (8) equal pieces.
- Roll out two discs into an 8-cm disc (roughly shaped). Sprinkle one disc with some cornstarch and place the other disc on top. Roll out stack into a 20-cm circle (roughly shaped).
- Heat up a flat frying pan or griddle. Place down the 20-cm circle and cook for 30 seconds. Flip and cook for another 20 seconds. Peel the two layers apart and place on a flat surface. Cover with a wet tea towel.
- Repeat the last two steps, stacking the wrappers as they are being made. Trim each wrapper into a square shape (make them as similar as possible)
Assemble
- One wrapper at a time, place the wrapper on a diagonal (it should look like a diamond), place 3 tablespoon of filling about 5-cm from the top corner.
- Roll the top corner over the filling, fold the left and right corner toward the center. Brush the bottom corner with the beaten egg and then roll the top down to seal.
- In a deep pan, heat oil until it reached 350° Fahrenheit. Fry two or three rolls at a time for about 3 to 4 minutes. Flipping as needed.
Dipping sauce
- Mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, and sesame oil together.