Artisan Bread Making and a Craftsy Giveaway!

It  was about nine months ago that I started this blog, and a few months after that I signed up to be an affiliate for Craftsy.  They let me enroll in a class for free and I signed up for Artisan Bread Making because it was a skill I wasn't very proficient at but wanted to improve.  I learned so much!  Not just recipes but also the mechanics behind bread making.

And, now here's a little recap on the final two lessons.  First up- marble rye.  This lesson was fun because you make two different rye doughs (one is a dark rye because you add molasses to it.  The instructor, Peter Reinhardt, shows various ways to roll out you dough- a bulls eye, braids, spirals, etc.  I chose to just combine my pieces into a loaf.  I didn't remember to take any pictures of my dough prior to baking, but here's some cross sections of the finished product.

Cross section of Marble Rye.

They turned out well, but I'm not a big rye fan.  Once in a blue moon I like a nice Reuben, but usually I prefer a ciabatta or just plain white.

The last lesson was on making Babka which is a Eastern European coffee cake type dough.  The recipe used in the class is for a yeasty dough you make the night before, then you roll it out, spread your filling on it and then roll like a jelly roll, cut it in half long ways, twist the two halves together, bake, then drizzle with a powdered sugar glaze.  Here's a little collage to help you out with the process.

The lesson print out gives instructions for a chocolate filling and a walnut filling. I tried the chocolate filling first, but made it after I had gotten home from working a day shift and I kind of fell asleep while it was in the oven and awoke to it looking like this:

Burnt Babka :(

But all it all, it was okay.   I mean I wasn't happy to waste all the ingredients in the first one, but it helped me to make my second one better.  I made the second with a kind of candied walnut filling and then drizzled it with the glaze.  It was so good!  I think it'd be an excellent holiday treat for Easter morning (or Christmas morning).  And it really doesn't take to long to go from rolling it out to popping it in the oven.
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The Giveaway!
And finally.... since I have completed all lessons and feel much more proficient in bread making, I want to give one lucky reader the same opportunity!  Craftsy is giving away a free enrollment into the Artisan Bread Making Class!  Want to win?  Of course you do!  It's open world wide.  To enter, just click this link!  If you're already a Craftsy member, it will tell you you're entered, if you're not you will have to create an account, but it's totally free.  No credit card numbers or address required.  Giveaway is open until April 1.

Craftsy will notify winner via email.

Note- All links in this post are affiliate links.