Pocky
Just so you know, I converted this recipe for Pocky into standard measures below:
1/4 Cup milk (lukewarm)
1 T tahini
1 T honey
1 C bread flour
2/3 C all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1 T + 2 t powdered sugar
2 t dry yeast
zest of 1/2 clementine or 1/4 orange
1 T butter1. Combine the yeast and lukewarm milk in a small bowl and stir to combine. Fit a dough hook in an electric mixer and mix the dry ingredients on a low speed.
2. In another bowl, mix the honey and tahini together. Add this mix and the milk and yeast mix to the dry ingredients. Mix together on medium speed to form a dough. Add zest and butter and 1/4 Cup water and continue mixing until the dough is firm and elastic. I needed to add a bit more flour to make the dough come together after the addition of the butter as it was a little too wet.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Divide hte dough into two and knead the dough until smooth then roll it out into a rectangle. Roll it out to 1/4 inch thick. With a ruler and a sharp knife, cut 5mmx15cms strips and carefully transfer these onto a lightly greased baking tray or greaseproof paper lined baking tray.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes (watch it, it may take a bit longer or shorter). You want it golden brown, not light yellow as it will not “snap†properly.
There’s a controversy at our house (and not just at our house) about how one should pronounce “Pocky.” My daughter and her friends rhyme it with Rocky, and I call it “poke-y,” because that’s how it’s pronounced in Japanese, and, you know Pocky is from Japan.
Whatever the pronunciation, we’re hoping that these will make good holiday gifts. I’m going to whip up a batch of dough just now. If they turn out, I’ll post some pictures.
UPDATE:
Here’s the final product. They really do taste great, but I’ll fess up to this being fairly time consuming. (It helps to channel your inner Martha Stewart at times like these.) Clockwise from the top: crushed candy canes, chopped pecans, crushed Butterfinger, coconut.
Posted on December 12, 2009, in Food. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
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Look, I enjoy a good Pocky now and then but, surely, they’re not that good are they?
I just had a couple. Yes, they are that good. We rolled them in various yummy stuff after dipping the sticks in chocolate (crushed candy canes, crushed Butterfinger, pecans, and coconut).
They don’t taste exactly like Pocky sticks, but homemade caramels aren’t exactly like the little square Kraft caramels, either. Tis the season for homemade candies, and these are definitely worth trying.
Sounds fun, how did it come out?
Oh didn’t see your comment Allison. I think it’s a great idea for a gift.
This is hilarious and wonderful. We ate Pocky’s constantly when we lived in Japan – all different flavors, but I never thought of homemade Pockys!! I love love love this!
These also look a lot like this beautiful little treat I bought when I went to France a couple months ago. There was a chocolate shop that made sticks out of pure chocolate (like the Pocky sticks but chocolate only) and then rolled or sprinkled them with candied roses, violets, jasmine petals etc. They really do look like this, and they tasted Great! Mmm. Pocky goodness…
A few comments for those of you out there who might be wacky enough to try this:
* The dough is really easy to make in a stand mixer. The recipe doesn’t really say how long you should have the dough hook knead the dough after mixing, but I probably left it in for 5 minutes or so, taking it out every once in a while to check to see if it had attained that “smooth and elastic” state that you typically want from a good yeast bread before the first rise. (At some point, I might start blogging about my recent bread-making obsession.)
* These came out looking not very uniform, obviously. It’s not a huge deal because even the ugly ones taste great. But I got much better at it toward the end of the batch. Here’s the method I used: roll the dough as thin as you can get it. It’s a fairly dense dough, so it will take a little work. If the dough springs back to much, let it rest for a minute or so and try again. Go for a long rectangle shape about six inches wide or so. Then use a sharp chef’s knife to cut off thin strips (less less than a 1/4 inch if you can manage it). Each time you cut off a strip, use the knife to slight it out ffom the dough, then roll it lightly across the cutting board with your fingers. You get decent-looking Pocky that way.
* I used a commercial dipping chocolate for the dipping, and I recommend it. They are loaded up with emulsifiers (soy lecithin) so they melt easily and reach the right consistency.
* Other great toppings if you feel like sprinkling are toffee (Heath or Skor, for example) and bits of honeycomb. You might try some toasted sesame seeds as well.
* Although the recipe calls for a mixture of all-purpose and bread flour, I used all bread flour (from a 50-lbs bag of ConAgra Harvest bread flour I bought at Costco) and it turned out fine. You probably do want to used bread flour at least if you have it. Bread flour has a higher gluten content, and it’s useful for making stiff dough such as this.