Happy Birthday to O-Yum-G! Though, it took a Facebook reminder to let me know that it was on this day in 2014 that I posted my first blog here at O-Yum-G. (Bad blog mom here)

At the beginning, I was pretty faithful in posting various recipes, food adventures, and the results of my monthly Baking Club meetings. But over time, life and work got in the way and I posted less and less. And then suddenly, it had been 6 years since I last posted! Frankly, it’s a miracle I still knew how to post!

So in honor of 10 years since my first blog, I figured I’d share what my Baking Club was up to this weekend. This month’s theme was Yeasted Breads - they could be loaves, rolls, filled, savory or sweet - the sky was the limit - we just had to use yeast. Most of us in Baking Club are over-achievers, so we often make more than one thing! In part so that we have a back up in case something goes wrong (which is always a possibility when working with yeast) but also because when we’re researching recipe ideas, we get excited by so many options and it’s hard to pick just one!

So without further ado, here’s a look at the range of what we baked this weekend.

LIBBY - No-Knead Everything Bread (via King Arthur Baking)
I picked this recipe first, because it was (in theory) easy and required minimal hands-on effort. I liked the flavor profile of the “everything but the bagel seasoning” and so quickly mixed up my dough ahead of its 12-hour rise journey. When it came time to shape it into a ball, the dough was still rather wet and slack, so I added some additional flour and prayed it would bake up enough. This is when I slightly panicked and decided to make a 2nd recipe (see below). In the end, it baked up well enough (though it looked like a UFO) and it did have a really good flavor. In the end, I probably won’t make this recipe again, but I definitely will steal the idea of using the everything seasoning in other bread dough recipes.

Russian Black Bread (via King Arthur Baking)
While things weren’t going so well in everything land above, I found this recipe for Russian Black Bread that called for a range of ingredients, all of which I just so happened to have on hand: rye flour, black cocoa, molasses, espresso powder, cider vinegar and fennel seeds. It turned out to be a beautiful loaf and I liked having something to bring to Baking Club that was just a little bit different.

KLARE - Nutty Fruity Sourdough (via King Arthur Baking)
Klare is our resident Queen of the Yeast - she has truly mastered the finnicky ingredient and is a wonderful bread baker. She made two recipes as well - both of which used sourdough starter. This loaf was delightfully studded with dried fruits and walnuts. This bread makes for a perfect piece of toast along slathered with salty butter.

Sourdough Focaccia (via Homestead and Chill)
Klare’s second recipe was a sourdough focaccia that was topped with grape tomatoes and kalamata olives. It was perfectly oiled on the bottom to give it that crunchy texture and on the top to enhance the flavor of the toppings. Had the perfect amount of sponginess and chew.

TONYA - Easy No-Knead Focaccia (via Bon Appetit)
We got a second taste of focaccia with Tonya’s recipe from Bon Appetit. This was a no-knead dough that used both olive oil and butter. Olive oil was used in the pan and shaping of the dough - and the butter was brushed on after baking and then sprinkled with a mix of garlic and herbs (Tonya used rosemary, thyme and basil). Having both the olive oil and butter flavors was awesome - plus the herby, garlicky topping. Chef’s kiss!

KAREN - Frøsnapper / Seeded Havarti Twists (via Scandinavian From Scratch cookbook)
Karen was gifted an amazing cookbook last year called, Scandinavian From Scratch, and this is the third Baking Club in a row she’s made a recipe from this book. All the recipes have been so good - and now it has me putting Norway, Denmark and Sweden at the top of my travel list!

These Seeded Havarti Twists, a variation on the Danish pastry known as Frøsnapper, are made from a laminated yeasted dough (similar to what you’d use to make croissants), and then sprinkled with cheese, dipped in poppy and sesame seeds and twisted. They’re crunchy, buttery, slightly cheesy and all the seeds give it incredible texture. They’re a perfect snack or served alongside a meal. While labor intensive (as all laminated doughs are), I have a feeling I may be making these in the very near future.

GINA - Pizza Party Buns (via King Arthur Baking)
And to give us yet another variation of what you can do with yeasted dough, Gina brought two filled/stuffed bread recipes. The first are Pizza Party Buns. Think of these as handheld pizza spirals and in the perfect form to take these on the go! The dough is rolled out and then pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni (or your favorite pizza toppings) are added on top, then rolled and sliced. The end result is a soft bread with melty cheese and pepperoni all curled up into the perfect bun.

Spinach-Artichoke Stuffed Rolls (via NYT Cooking)
I love bread. I love spinach-artichoke dip. Put them together, and you’ve got magic. These rolls are made with an enriched dough - meaning they have milk, sugar, eggs and fat (butter or oil) - and make for the softest, most velvety dough. It’s a dream to work with. Other breads made from enriched doughs include brioche, hot cross buns and more.

To make these rolls Gina made balls of dough, flattened them out and filled them with a delicious, parmesan-forward spinach and artichoke filling. They got a little egg wash and sprinkling of sesame seeds before going in the oven. The rolls come out looking glossy and ready for their close up! I’m so excited that I was able to bring home two of these rolls, which will be part of my lunches this week.