Muesli Rolls | #BreadBakingBabes

I'm quite sure that I have no idea how we've hit the midway point in June already. But somehow today is the 16th, and that means it's time for another Bread Baking Babes challenge reveal! This month, Karen from Bake My Day! told us that it was "time to get rolling" with a breakfast roll of champions that is packed full of seeds, dried fruit, and chocolate; it also has oats, and when combined, those are the components of Muesli—hence, Muesli Rolls!

Here's the thing, though—these rolls don't scream breakfast to me. Like, at all. I do love a good muesli in the morning, but when deconstructed and put into a substantial roll? Not feeling it. That being said, I actually loved the rolls...but I'd rather eat them with lunch or dinner. They actually seem very "harvest-like" to me, as if they'd be perfectly at home on my Thanksgiving table. Split in half, they make one heck of a perfect vessel for a turkey sandwich.

Are you with me, or are you sitting there wondering how a roll with chocolate in it could possibly taste the way I'm describing it? Here's the thing—I left out the chocolate. I'm not one for chocolate in my muesli. Instead, I used some pepitas (pumpkin seeds) that are tossed and roasted in cocoa, giving a nod to the flavor profile without having to bite into actual chocolate bits. But, do you know what's funny? When I told the other BBBabes what I did, a few mentioned that even though they used chocolate, it wasn't all that noticeable anyway. So, take that and use it as you will.

Malt Bread

Believe it or not, today is the second day in June. I hardly believe it. I think it snuck on me because May was so insane. I stand by my reasoning that May is the busiest month. I even think it beats out December by a smidge. Truth be told, I was glad to turn the page on my calendar. My goal is to actually slow down a little this month.

Today is #TwelveLoaves challenge day, and our theme this month is "A Little Something Sweet". This means that we will be featuring breads with all levels of sweet in them. While some people made full-out sweet breads, others used just a hint of something sweet. It was all about our mood this month. I wasn't feeling all that sweet.

It pains this cinnamon roll lover to say this, but I'm really trying to cut back on sweet breads right now. I guess I should say especially "heavy" (aka fattening) breads. I've really packed on the pounds over the past couple of years, and something's gotta give. I just couldn't do it this time.

Teleras (Flat Bread Rolls)

Today we're bringing you a Cinco de Mayo edition of #TwelveLoaves, featuring Mexican breads! I immediately thought conchas, since they are my favorite of all Mexican breads, but since I've already posted two concha recipes in the past (and have another one coming up in the semi-near future), I decided to choose something else. A type of bread that I'd never made before, but had been meaning to—telera rolls.

Teleras are the base for tortas, aka fabulous Mexican sandwiches. Obviously you can stuff them with whatever you like, but my hands-down favorite kind is a torta con milanesa de pollo (chicken breast pounded thin, breaded and fried). If the hubs and I go out for lunch when the kids are at school, that's pretty much what we both order. Every. Single. Time.

Romanian Easter Braid | #BreadBakingBabes

Today is the 16th, and that means it's time for another Bread Baking Babes reveal!  This month, BBBabe Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms challenged us to bake up a Romanian Easter Braid. Easter may be over, but I'm pretty sure this enriched loaf would be welcome at any table year-round. The dough itself is lightly scented with lemon from the addition of some finely grated zest, and the filling is a sweet, nutty swirl that be switched up to meet anybody's preferences.

So, Elle told us that according to wiki, this Romanian bread can differ significantly from region to region. Essentially it's a sweet bread that is enriched with butter, eggs and milk, but you can find anything from the lemon zest I used to orange zest, raisins, or rum flavor in the dough itself. The actual recipe the challenge is based on used ground almonds in the filling, but I went with one of the more well-known options, walnuts. Hazelnuts, vanilla, rum, even poppy seeds, raisins, or cocoa powder are other choices.

 I did want to add a little twist to my nutty swirl, though. I liked the thought of adding rum (obviously), but I wanted something a little out of the ordinary, as well. I have a few bottles of flavored rum, and I thought the coconut variety might add a little something special if I also used some fat, dried coconut flakes. I was pretty pleased with the taste of the filling (I had to walk away from my spoon lest there be none left once the dough was ready for it).

Cream Cheese and Cherry Buns

It's that time again; time to share our monthly bread baked for the #TwelveLoaves group. With this month's theme being cheese, I naturally gravitated towards a savory loaf. As a matter of fact, I'd even mixed up rye starter than had just started bubbling and smelling reminiscent of cider mill, with plans of making Bauernbrot mit Käse (a German farmers loaf that I was going to work some Aged Havarti into). But that changed once I spied a copy of Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day at the library.

Why, you ask? Well, this book is written by fellow blogger (and #TwelveLoaves member) Donna Currie of Cookistry, and I'd been meaning to get my hands on a copy ever since it was released last November.  As I flipped through the pages, a photo of Blueberry and Cream Cheese Buns with Lemon Zest caught my eye. If you know me, then you know I'm a sucker for sweet buns. These buns happened to have (cream) cheese in them. After asking Donna if she minded me sharing the recipe, visions of a sweet bun with breakfast made me put that savory loaf on hold.

I only adapted slightly. Donna mentions switching out the dried blueberries for cherries, and I did that. I actually really wanted to use blueberries, but I didn't have any in the pantry, and the closest markets didn't have any either. I wanted them, but I was too lazy to drive around looking for them. So, cherries it was. Since cherry and almond go hand-in-hand, I subbed almond extract for the vanilla extract originally called for in the dough. Other than that, I kept ingredients and amounts the same. If you have a digital kitchen scale, weighing the flour will give you the perfect amount, no need to adjust (and if you don't - GO BUY ONE!).

Granary Loaf

Unbelievably, March is already halfway over. Today is the 16th, and that means it's Bread Baking Babes challenge reveal day! Our mission this month was set forth by Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups. She reeled us in with talk of a loaf that is "considered classic, simple, conservative but with a potentially unobtainable ingredient" and reminded us that creativity is as much a part of being a BBBabe as the love for baking bread is. We were to make a Granary-style loaf in which "good tasty bread", not authenticity was the goal.

Well, I may disappoint, because I went completely authentic. After doing a bit of reading on granary bread, I discovered that it's something of a treasure. People love it; it has a flavor all its own that comes from the flour which contains slowly toasted malted wheat flakes. Um, hello! I wanted to try the original before getting all creative up in here. So, I did what anyone who loves a good loaf of bread but can't find the proper flour locally would do—went directly to Amazon.

And guess what? I found it. Before I could think too hard (about the price), I added a bag of Hovis Granary Bread Flour to my cart and immediately checked out. It was shipping from the UK, so I had a good amount of time to anticipate its arrival. Three weeks later, the most expensive bag of flour I've ever purchased arrived on my doorstep.

Pane Toscano (Tuscan Bread)

Tuscan Bread is one of the things that has been on my to-make list for quite a few years now. Honest to goodness, real, UNsalted Tuscan Bread (or Pane Toscano). Pane Toscano is a particularly large roundish loaf of bread that is traditionally cooked in the wood-fired ovens of Tuscany. Aside from being so large, its main distinction is its lack of salt.  It is made with sourdough or a bit of a starter, which gives it a slight tang, and it has a thick, chewy crust.

The dough is somewhat wet and slack, but the moisture in the dough, combined with a bit of steam (introduced here with ice cubes) and a super-hot oven, gives you that magical, sought-after crust crackle (sometimes called a singing crust) once the loaf is pulled from the oven.  Once you've removed the loaf from the hot oven and it begins to cool, the inside of the bread contracts a bit, which pulls at the crust. That thick, hard crust that was formed begins to form hairline fractures and cracks from the pressure, hence that much desired crackle.

I'll just say, that beautiful singing crust can incite quite the reaction. At one point, my whole family was gathered around the counter oohhing and aahhing over it.

Kouign Amann

Before I say anything else, I have to tell you to muster up every last ounce of your willpower and let these cool to room temperature before eating them. It'll be hard, this I know. Actually, go ahead and eat one while it's still really warm—I want you to compare. You see, once they've come to room temperature, and you bite through the crisp outside and into the soft, flaky layers...the cooled butter and sugar will have formed these gooey little sugar pockets that explode onto your tongue. It's kind of magical.

Kouign Amann, pronounced "koo-WEEN a-MON" or "queen a-mahn", is this month's Bread Baking Babes pick as chosen by Lien (our BBBabes Kitchen of the Month). I'll go ahead and admit that when Lien told us what we'd be making this month, I had never heard of it. But after looking around a bit, I first discovered that the name translates to "butter cake" in Breton, which is the ancient Celtic language of Brittany, France. Well, that in itself is enough to get me excited.

Olive Tapenade Focaccia

I have a handy-dandy focaccia recipe that comes together very quickly, is easily customizable, and never fails to impress. I've shared variations on it before, such as this Strawberry Focaccia (the ultimate version), this savory focaccia with prosciutto, asparagus, and shallots, and this Peach Focaccia. In honor of today's Twelve Loaves them, I decided to share a savory version featuring olives.

If your fridge look anything like mine, you probably have a couple of half-full jars of olives claiming residency on the shelves. Turning them into a batch of savory, salty olive tapenade is one of my favorite ways to put that prime fridge real estate back on the market. I almost always have some capers and a half a lemon hanging out, too. Garlic and olive oil are always in my kitchen. All it takes to make some of this addictive relish is a few pulses in the food processor.

A quick batch of tapenade tumbled atop this bubbly dough worked out beautifully. This loaf of focaccia would make a wonderful addition to any lunch or dinner table; it would also be tasty alongside a cheese tray or some charcuterie. But I just went ahead and called it lunch all by itself. You know, because I could.