Monday, April 27, 2015

BBB Buddy: Romanian Easter Braid



Let it be known that this is one seriously delicious bread.  One of those breads where you can't consume just one piece.  One whole loaf, maybe.  But not just one piece.  

Pat, of Feeding My Enthusiasms, was the BBB kitchen of the month, and she adapted the recipe from Kathy Cutler's The Festive Bread Book.  

For the basic dough, I made two changes:  I used organic coconut sugar in place of the sugar, and I let the dough have two rises before shaping.  I've moved to high-altitude country, so an extra proofing was in order. 




 For my version of the filling, which I doubled, I used Trader Joe's Almond Meal, more organic coconut sugar, and the zest of a lemon and an orange along with the cinnamon.  I could have eaten the filling right on the spot, it was that good. 





The loaf lasted for several days and didn't even dry out in this climate.  I also gave away/shared part of it, and tried very hard to make it last, but, alas, it disappeared way too quickly.

You can find the recipe on any of the Babes' blogs.  Each baker made a slightly different variation, and all sound delicious.    .

4 comments:

Elle said...

So glad you liked the bread Judy. I love your loaf...especially all those beautiful swirls. I was surprised at how well it kept, too. Must be the almond meal. Love the variation with the coconut sugar. Your crumb looks great, too, so two rises is certainly a good plan. Thanks for baking with the Bread Baking Babes!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

"One of those breads where you can't consume just one piece. One whole loaf, maybe. But not just one piece." and that is seriously funny.
Just a WOW of swirl!
Your filling sounds more than wonderful.
Thanks so much for baking with us.

Lien said...

Those swirls in your loaf are just too pretty to eat, really pretty! Does coconutsugar taste just like regular sugar? Thanks for baking with us.

Elizabeth said...

One whole loaf? Now that seems a bit over the top. Half a loaf would be more seemly (not as fun though...).

Your bread looks wonderful! Like Lien, I'm curious; does coconut sugar taste like coconut?