The Tan Tans' Life Begins

This sweet, tangy and soft orange bread makes a refreshing, healthy breakfast. We made it using the orange juice and marmalade pressies from our Japanese friends, and it's one of our favourite breads so far. Ingredients 250g strong flour 5g dry yeast 2 tablespoons sugar 160ml orange juice 2 knobs of butter orange marmalade Method 1. Pour the flour into a mixing bowl, and make a well in the middle. 2. Pour the orange juice into the well and add the sugar, yeast and butter. 3. Using a fork, blend in the mixture with the flour slowly until all or most of the flour is mixed in with the mixture. 4. Then using your hands, push and fold the dough until it becomes smooth and silky. 5. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the dough to proof for an hour or when the dough has doubled its size. 6. Knock the air out with your fist, bashing and squashing it for about 30 seconds. 7. Shape the dough into your preferred shape (small balls, twists etc) and leave it to proof for another 40 minutes

During the golden week, we travelled to Kyushu and Shikoku and met a fantastic family, on the ferry from Oita to Matsuyama. The Kimuras live in the Ehime prefecture in Shikoku and run an electrical appliance business there. I guess we were extremely lucky that day, because they are some of the nicest folks we've ever met in Japan - extremely warm and down-to-earth. It reaffirms the popular Japanese belief that the southerners are the friendliest lot in Japan. Even though we had to bid farewell to them at the end of the 3.5 hour ferry ride, our friendship didn't just stop there. Little did we know that a pleasant surprise was in store for us when we got home. A day after we returned to Owase, we received from them a carton (12 large bottles no doubt) of 1-litre mandarin orange (mikan) juice that the Ehime prefecture (where the Kimuras are from) is famous for. It's really amazing how a first meeting which lasted only a few hours could invite such generousity from them. It rea