Somethings are great in theory.
Like the Mazda Miata I wanted. Can you imagine driving the kids and carpooling?..NO, so not practical.
Like the beautiful apple tree we bought and thought that we would see apples in couple of years, it’s got the same number of leaves on it as the day we bought it.
Like the good intention to wake up at 4.00 a.m. for my workout.
Like the time we wanted a dog. We dog sat our friend’s little shih tzu and we loved him. Just that he loved my sandals too, he would nag us to take him out every time. I love animals, but in no rush to get one.
This bread was supposed to look scary, with scales..like a SNAKE. Well, in theory it was good, actually great. I rolled the dough, shaped it well, looked OK till then. I put her/him in the oven and all the scales were gone, the face looked weirdly sweet and the tail disintegrated into the body.
NEVERTHELESS, the bread was amazing. Well I don’t claim it to be the best, LAURA from LAURA IN THE KITCHEN said it’s the best white bread recipe and I second, third that. It is THE BEST basic white bread recipe to have on hand which comes out perfect every single time. You could stuff it with garlic, capers, vegetables, pecans, anything and it comes out beautifully. Bake it in loaf pan and you have plain white sandwich bread.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all with my ‘sort of’ snake looking bread
- 1¼ cup warm water + 2-3 tbsp of water(110 degrees)
- 1 packet active dry yeast-2¼ tsp
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp vegetable shortening melted
- 4 cups bread flour
- For the MOCHA Walnut STUFFING
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder(good quality)
- 1 tbsp brewed espresso or 2 tsp espresso powder
- 3 tbsp dark brown sugar
- ½ tsp cardamom(optional)
- MIX all the stuffing ingredients well and keep aside
- Add the yeast, sugar to the water, mix well and let it bubble up for 10 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment or a Cuisinart, add the bread flour, melted shortening, salt and the yeast mixture. Let it mix in well for 2-3 minutes. If you feel the dough is too stiff, add some water, a tablespoon at a time. Let the mixture come together and take it out on a smooth surface and knead the dough to form a ball and put it in a large oiled bowl. Cover and Let it sit in a draft free place for 1-2 hours or until it is doubled in volume.
- Then take the dough out, with your hand flatten it and sprinkle the stuffing evenly throughout and press it. Roll the dough to form a log and at this point you can form it to any shape you want or just bake it as is. Let it rise again for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake the bread in the middle rack of the oven for 40 50 minutes. If it browns too fast, put a foil over it.
- Take it out and rub some butter all over it, let it cool completely before slicing and SERVING.
- ENJOY.
Copyright 2013 – Food Fashion Party
Hehe you’re funny 😀 And I’ve made plenty of breads that haven’t quite resembled what they were supposed to. It does look snake like and you could always tell people that that gorgeous mocha walnut filling is snake guts 😛
oh it does look like a snake! haha i love it! it looks so delicious too! and its so true about good intentions, sometimes they only retain their greatness in theory, however i think this bread is awesome in theory, reality as well as virtually 🙂
Love how the inside of the bread looks. I’m a bread lover so I welcome this for breakfast! YUM!
That
looks
divine!
My mouth is watering…
I love the bread, it does resemble a snake a little bit!
Hehehe, I have a lot of things I am totally intent on doing, in theory! but looks like you are a tad more disciplined and determined than I am.
The bread looks gorgeous, snake or not!
Beautiful bread, Ash. Luv the ingredients used for that walnut mocha stuffing!
It does resemble a snake. A pretty and delicious one 😉
heee.. this does look like the soft toy snake my little one has.. cute!
The bread looks soft and love the stuffing 🙂
I love this bread! It may not have turned out in the shape you wanted, but it has character. It’s unique and gorgeous, and I want a BIG slice.
That;s a kinda cutie bread…
LoL
but i’m hapy for your passion about it..
btw, we had made a dragon bread for CNY before, the scale is made of white and choco coco crunch and for the head scale we use some large oats….
Your bread looks so flakey from inside and crusty on top! so perfect- Interesting stuffing too! Love the recipe.
How cute! The snake is smiling! I think it’s just you’re too sweet to make scary animals 🙂 you can try but they’ll come out all smiling.
Your car story reminds me of the time we got an Infiniti G35 a few years back. Yeah, they’re six of us, one of the kids had to sit on the floor! We took it back the next day and got a 7 seated Subaru 🙂 But my, that G35 was a nice ride, very impractical though.
I think this bread is awesome, scary or not.
Nazneen
You’re so funny dear..
They still look good and yummy…
Who doesnt love mocha walnut cake, I love that its fluffy 😉
Its definitely delicious, baked to perfection and Love the flavor of mocha and the crunch of walnut.
the bread looks delicious, i can see snake in there dear 🙂 and talking about day dreaming – I want to just be in the kitchen or be traveling somewhere exotic. Hope you get a shih tzu soon though coz they are just too adorable.
Oh this bread sounds heavenly – walnuts, expresso and cocoa so yummy!
Snakes are more fun when they look AND taste sweet 🙂
theory with practice, can become habit …so you might be waking up at 4.00am and running YOUR very own shih tzu before too long 🙂
What a gorgeous loaf…that delicious swirl sounds the most amazing too, Ash!
I love the way you shaped the bread! Beautiful pics.
Such a beautiful bread, wonderful job..
Snake shaped bread,that fabulous.
Well I don’t really mind his shape, i only care about this delicious dark filling I see in the pictures!
Oh dear, we all have our share of hits and misses. But I surely love the flavors in the bread.
Now that you mentioned, the second last click of the bread does look somewhat like a snake 😉
Snake-like and scary or not, it is still an impressive loaf! I want a huge chunk!!
We used to have a Miata. Loved it, but drove it so seldom – just not that practical, as you said. And we owned it at a time when we were both working at home, so driving was minimal anyway. Fun toy, though. Anyway, great looking bread. Truly nice recipe – thanks.
Wow waking up at 4am for a workout? Shih tzu is adorable! There are loads of dogs here in BsAs, especially dog walkers walking a dozen dogs at the same time (crazy!) Such gorgeous bread – the mocha walnut stuffing sounds amazing with the espresso powder! I would love to soak it in my tea!
Whatever the shape was, importantly it looks and tasted great!
Hilarious!! Sort of snake? lady, that bread gave me the jeepers creepers (and this is coming from a person who actually agreed to put a large yellow living python around my neck and pose for my family while holidaying in New York…geesh!)…
but this was definitely a good attempt and Happy halloween to you! And happy Diwali in advance 🙂
It looks like a fat snake! GREG
This bread must taste divine! I love everything about it.
Cheers,
Rosa
Perfect work once more. Bravo Asha!
What a beauty! I love EVERYTHING about this post! U r one talented girl!
Oh, so sorry the form didn’t stick! But at least it tasted wonderful…much better than an awful tasting bread that looked like a snake!
Lovely bread.
The bread looks divine!
This bread looks amazing, Ash! And I am sharing it… xx
Thank you for making me feel better about this sort of snake.:), had fun though. Cooking can’t be take too seriously right?..
@John at KR- you are lucky, you owned a Miata, how awesome.
@ Rika- yes, crazy about walking a dozen, I’ve seen it too..but looks like fun.
@Manju- You are brave girl for carrying snake, you have to write sometime about that experience…sounds scary.
@Liz- you are spot on..thanks so much for you sweet and nice words.
@Nazneen- what a kind thing to say.xx
G35-cool.
LOL I waited until my kids were grown and then I bought a Miata. Then I bought another one. 🙂 It wasn’t my every day car but we had a great time in both of them.
This bread is as pretty to look at as I’m sure it is to eat.
Looks like a just found my next yummy breakfast!!
Yes it looks like snake, Love that filling, Asha. Love it.
This bread is just gorgeous! I love the swirls inside.
LOVE that you tried to make a spooky-scary snake loaf, Ash! Yes, that yeast baking can ruin simple designs. You’d probably have to snip the dough with kitchen sheers in a pattern. The filling and crumb look superb, m’lady! Thanks for sharing! xo
Beautiful!
Haha, you are cute and funny! I’m not thorough so my outcome is always lopsided or something strange unless I pay close attention. The swirl looks beautiful though. My son is a huge snake fan and he’ll be so excited if my bread comes out like a snake! 😉
If you look closely you can see the hint of a smile before it went it in the oven!
these look amazing Asha!
That looks pretty cool, not at all scary though.. LOve the smiling snake..
I always say I am going to wake up early and work out before I go to work. It never happens! Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to drag myself out of bed at 5:30am!
This is a beautiful loaf of bread. And amazing photos as always, Asha! Have a wonderful weekend!