Not too surprising for those who bake frequently, a higher hydration mochi dough yields a softer mochi. In looking at some mochi recipes, the volume ratio is noted as 1:1:1 mochiko to water to sugar. From a weight perspective, this is about 1:1.6 mochiko to water ratio. To make it easier for me, I settled on 1:1.5. And since equal ratio of sugar seemed too extreme for me, I went with 0.5.

The result was a dough that had similar consistency to pancake batter pre microwave. Since there was less mass than my earlier attempts, total microwave time was reduced to 3 minutes. And finally the end product was more tender. This is a nice consistency if I wanted to have filled mochi, but as a stand alone product, it’s a touch too soft for me.

Ingredients

• 100 g mochiko
• 150 g water
• 50 g sugar
• couple of drops of rice wine vinegar
• Potato starch for dusting
• 2 g of matcha (optional)

Procedure

1. Generously dust the bottom of a 9×9 pan with potato starch.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine mochiko, water, sugar, and vinegar and mix until thoroughly combined (I used a rubbermade spatula).
3. Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Knead/fold with spatula.
4. Microwave on High for 1 minute, parts should be translucent. Knead/fold with spatula.
5. Pour the dough on the potato starch covered pan. Generously dust the top of the mochi dough with potato starch.
6. While still warm, but not blazing hot that it’ll burn your hands, flatten the mochi.
7. Allow to cool, and cut into bit size pieces. Dust edges of each piece in potato start to prevent sticking.

Plenty of mochi recipes in the Internet, but unfortunately being in the US, the measurements are all in cup measurement. Attempts to search for recipes in grams yields surprisingly no results so I had to create my own based on recipes available.

For simplicity, I based this recipe on a microwave mochi recipe, probably the #1 result of a search query. The original recipe had a larger % of water, but it was easier for me to remember 1:1 and the update worked fine. Changes I made: (1) convert to grams and (2) reduce the amount of ingredients as mochi is perishable and I wanted enough for the family to snack on for the next day or two, not for large potluck or for sale.

Ingredients

• 150 g mochiko
• 150 g water
• 75 g sugar
• couple of drops of rice wine vinegar
• Potato starch for dusting

Procedure

1. Generously dust the bottom of a 9×9 pan with potato starch.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine mochiko, water, sugar, and vinegar and mix until thoroughly combined (I used a rubbermade spatula).
3. Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Knead/fold with spatula.
4. Microwave on High for 1 minute, parts should be translucent. Knead/fold with spatula.
5. Microwave on High for 1 minute, all translucent. Knead/fold with spatula.
6. Pour the dough on the potato starch covered pan. Generously dust the top of the mochi dough with potato starch.
7. While still warm, but not blazing hot that it’ll burn your hands, flatten the mochi.
8. Allow to cool, and cut into bit size pieces. Dust edges of each piece in potato start to prevent sticking.

The Village at Northstar has a lot of things going for it, but for the little ones, Le Waf is at the top of the list. After a few hours on the mountain, their attention is towards caramelized waffle goodness.

Fortunately, the good peeps at Euro Snack provided Food Network with their Le Waf recipe. Being the diligent home baker, I had to reproduce at home. In making the recipe, a couple of changes were required: (1) converted fresh yeast to instant yeast and (2) the dough proved too wet with the original commercial recipe (for me), so added 10% more flour.

Ingredients

• 275 g all-purpose flour
  
• 100 g milk at 105 degrees
• 5 g instant yeast
• 1 egg
  
• 150 g butter, at room temperature 
• 20 g sugar
• 3 g salt 
• 175 g pearl sugar

Procedure

1. Combine 125 g flour, milk and yeast. Let rest for 20 minutes
2. Add remaining 150 g flour, egg, butter, sugar and salt. Knead until smooth.
3. Knead in pearl sugar. Form a ball and rest for 10 minutes.
4. Divide into 8 equal pieces, forming each into a ball. The dough is will soft and supple, and full of butter. Like a 80% hydration dough. Rest for at min. 40 minutes.
5. 2-3 min per waffle in a waffle iron until well color.