Finally, finally! It’s bread week!
Also, has it only been two weeks since my last GBBO bake-along post? And only one week since we’ve returned to Indiana? It’s been so busy here, it seems like a TON of time has passed. But it hasn’t really. Though I am now behind on baking as well as posting. Good thing I still have two months before Tim and I will watch the show…
volute (n) [vuh-loot]: a spiral or twisted formation or object
But, bread week is my favorite, and it came early in the show, so I was able to whip up the perfect treat on time and in time. Tim and I had a long important weekend in northern Utah, and we needed a tasty treat to help us through.
Week 3: Bread Week
It’s hard to find bread I haven’t made.
Italian. ✅
Baguette. ✅
Challah. ✅
Brioche. ✅
Rolls. ✅
Babka. ✅
What’s left? It doesn’t seem like much. But then I found these Sladkay Bulochka, Russian sweet rolls, in my Pinterest saves. I had never made a Russian recipe before, so I thought I’d give them a go – and who doesn’t like cinnamon and chocolate!? Apparently, me, because I opted for a different filling. 😆
Matthew and April had plenty of Nutella, so I spread that across the buns before rolling them up! 😋
The recipe itself was pretty straightforward and easy as far as bread recipes go. So, in the spirit of trying new things (the goal of my GBBO bake-along), I found “newness” in the country of origin and my filling of choice.
And the challenge here was the fact that the bread uses milk instead of water. When I use milk for yeast, I prefer to have a thermometer, that way I’m not wasting yeast and milk if I get the temperature wrong. But there was no thermometer, so I made my best guess by feel– luckily I was right and my dough rose!
The twisty buns were delicious, of course. But I did find them a bit too dry, which I believe to be on me. If I had followed the recipe and filled the dough with chocolate chunks, I would have spread butter on the dough before adding the chocolate. Since I used Nutella, I didn’t use this first layer of butter. I did add butter to the top, but think the second layer would have moistened them up a bit more.
Regardless, they’re definitely on my bake again list! Happy eating. 😃
Oh, and because this was a big week for us – adulting is hard work! – there’s a bonus bake. Tim never says no to scones, and they’re a favorite for me to make and eat! So, I picked up another pear (I was impressed with their flavor after cake week) and made a new flavor of scones. Go me! These pear and chai spice scones were delicious; however, I’d recommend using buttermilk instead of adding vinegar to regular milk. They tasted a bit vinegary-sour on day three. 😬 But fresh out of the oven? Perfection.
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