That’s right, we’re doing reviews now.

This one is a recipe for tofu bread, and comes from the Japanese cookbook Yasai no gohan (ISBN 9784594056186)

The description is for a sweet snack, a light bread that you would serve with preserves. The recipe is titled tofu bread, but the picture looks more like a fluffy biscuit or a scone.

The recipe is exceedingly simple: 100g hard tofu, 1/2 to 2/3 cup flour, pinch of salt and small teaspoon of baking powder. Mix together and bake at 180℃/350℉ for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

We made the recipe as directed, scaled up to use a whole (400g) package of tofu, which we crushed by hand. There was not enough liquid, even using the lower amount of flour, so we added about three tablespoons of soy milk, shaped into biscuit shapes and baked.

After fifteen minutes, they were clearly not done, so we added time at five minute increments until at 25 minutes we thought they felt reasonably hollow when tapped (aka, done).

The result was – not bad. They were still a bit heavy, and rather than browning (even after spraying with oil), the outside had become chewy. To our surprise, there was no tofu taste, or really much taste at all. Butter and preserves improved things immensely.

The verdict: In retrospect, adding the soy milk was a mistake. Without it, the mixture did not properly blend by hand, but a table mixer might have done the job, and a bit of oil would have been a much better choice if more liquid was needed. If anything, taste was what was missing. This recipe would be a great platform for other flavors, either a sweetener such as honey, or a savory one such as grated parmesan. Still, this easy recipe is one we would try again. A little trial and error seems likely to go a long way.