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Big Black Dog: Welcome to the 2nd HBinFive Bread Braid

December 14, 2009

Welcome to the 2nd HBinFive Bread Braid





Whenever I bake my three Rottweilers like to keep me company in the kitchen but I can not maneuver in my kitchen with three fully grown Rottweilers under foot! So I've drawn invisible lines on the floor that are not to be crossed and the dogs know exactly where the lines are located. And my male Rottweiler, Archie, generally claims the most coveted spot safely outside the invisible line yet just close enough to spy any thing that falls on the floor! The dogs know that they can not begin a food search until I give the command "scavenge" and then all three bolt into the kitchen and the search is on!

In the below photo, Archie's wide-eyed, confused expression is because he knows he is well over the invisible line and he's wondering why I'm taking a photo and not correcting him. He's like frozen in place waiting for the correction-of-death which consists of a tug on his collar and then the final blow of "Bad Boy"! OH...the shame of it!


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As I stood at my island rolling out dough, I had no idea what I was going to make and I glanced down at Archie and thought "This boy is definitely due for a pup pedicure". And then it hit me! Hmmmm.....Rottweiler Claws! And being I have wanted to make Zoe's Bear Claws for a while now, my decision was made. Of course I'd have to put my own spin on the pastry and I just happened to have absolutely everything I needed....YES!



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Rottweiler Claws
Recipe developed by BigBlackDog

1/2 Recipe of Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries and Orange Zest (Makes about 12 Rottweiler Claws)

My alterations and additions to the Whole Grain Challah Recipe:
2 c. AP flour
1 c. White Whole Wheat Flour
1 c. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/4 c. soft butter
1 tsp Vanilla
Fresh Yeast

Filling:
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. golden raisins
Zest of 1 large Naval Orange
1/4 c. ground almonds

Topping:
Egg Wash (1 egg slightly whipped with a tsp of water) or Cream
Coarse Sugar
Whole Cashews

In a food processor add cranberries, brown sugar, raisins, orange zest and ground almonds and mince. Set aside.

Roll out dough to a little bit less then 1/4" thick. Cut into about 6-8" squares.

The filling will be sticky and easily formed into 5-6" logs. Place a log of filling at about the half mark.

Dampen the short end and down the sides of the square with egg wash and then flip it over the filling log and tap it down so that it adheres.

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Trim the toe area to about 1" and then cut the 5 individual toes. I know dogs only have 4 toes and a dewclaw but only 4 toes looked silly...so I'm using my pastry maker's license.

Curve the Paw area into a crescent so that the toes separate and spread out.

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I brushed with Egg Wash but it came out sort of blotchy where the sugar is and I'm not quite sure why this happened. I think if I had brushed with cream my Rottweiler Claws would have been prettier, if it's possible for Rottweiler Claws to be pretty!

Sprinkle with course sugar. Press 1 whole Cashew into each toe to make the claw.

Cover and let rise for about an hour.

Bake at 350 degrees until Claws are a nice golden brown.



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Below are more of my creations I made with our Bonus December Recipe, Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries and Orange Zest. Just click on the title link to find the post and recipe.


Poppy Seed Roll


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Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries and Orange Zest


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If you are participating in the HBinFive Bread Braid, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general address.

Please leave a comment. Every once a while the Mr. Linky flies the coop and we can then find your photos by clicking on the comment links.

Don't forget to copy and paste the HBinFive Badge in your Bread Braid post or somewhere on your FB Page. Or you can mention HBinFive but your blog post must be identified with HBinFive.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Big Black Dog, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your HBinFive post or pictures are actually published.

***If any HBinFive member is concerned about linking up to the Bread Braid Gadget please send an email to me at ms dot bigblackdog at gmail dot com with your name and the URL of your pictures and I will link you up as soon as I can.



Please feel free to click on any of the links below and visit some of our HBinFive Members and see their wonderful interpretations of this recipe!









Don't forget that December 15th is the last day to enter my A Bag and a Book Giveaway.

Every comment left on this post is one entry into the Giveaway!


The Bamboo Bread Bag is impeccably designed by Ann Arnold. And the book, "The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer" was authored and illustrated by Ann Arnold.

And Ann has a special offer for all HBinFive Members!







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog



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41 Comments:

Blogger Anne Coleman said...

How cute! And the bread recipe has got to be fabulous. I love challah!

December 14, 2009 at 8:05 PM  
Blogger RJ Flamingo said...

Michelle, you are such a stitch! Rotty Claws - love your creativity! Just wonderful!

December 14, 2009 at 8:15 PM  
Blogger Femalechef said...

OMG I LOVE THE CLAWS!!! What a clever idea.........

December 14, 2009 at 8:26 PM  
Blogger Ezzie said...

Great ideas! BTW I love the rottweiler claws! One of my former roommates raised rotties and I loved seeing her with them!

December 14, 2009 at 8:36 PM  
Blogger Joanne said...

I'm so excited about this! Can't wait to see how everyone else's bread came out.

December 14, 2009 at 9:06 PM  
Blogger TeaLady said...

Too creative. challah et all look wonderful.

December 14, 2009 at 9:08 PM  
Blogger Fresh Local and Best said...

Wow! What a cute and realistic looking pastry!

December 14, 2009 at 10:06 PM  
Blogger Di said...

Lol. I love the Rottweiler claws, especially since I love cashews. =) Everything that you made looks delicious.

December 14, 2009 at 10:22 PM  
Anonymous Megan said...

What a gorgeous dog - he is something spectacular, that's for sure.

And I love your creative license with the claws - they almost look too good to eat!

December 14, 2009 at 10:32 PM  
Blogger Barbara Bakes said...

This was the best post of the day! Rottweiler Claws cracked me up! Too cute!

December 14, 2009 at 11:03 PM  
Blogger Cathy (Bread Experience) said...

What a great idea! I love the Rottweiler claws and the Poppy Seed Roll. Beautiful!

December 14, 2009 at 11:12 PM  
Blogger Judy said...

Everything looks delicious. I can see how Archie would be inspirational. What will he inspire next, I wonder?

December 15, 2009 at 12:24 AM  
Blogger Gwen said...

Hilarious and very clever! I was amused about the line the dogs can't cross over. I wish I could get mine as well trained. They do come when I call them for clean up, although our signal to them is to call out "clean up on aisle two."

December 15, 2009 at 3:28 AM  
Blogger Joanna said...

Wow, Michelle, you are such an overachiever! All of your variations are so lovely!

December 15, 2009 at 6:32 AM  
Blogger Heather S-G said...

You always do the coolest variations! The bread looks awesome...but the claws and the roll are simply fabulous! YUM :D

December 15, 2009 at 7:08 AM  
Blogger Kat said...

How cute. Very creative! You have taught your dogs well. Archie is so darn cute!

December 15, 2009 at 8:03 AM  
Blogger Raelyn said...

Thanks for the opportunity to participate! Loved this recipe.

December 15, 2009 at 8:24 AM  
Blogger Megan said...

I love the pups! Too cute! and the pup claws. Your so talented! I wish I would have done any of these variations. I'll be remembering these creations for sure! Nice job!

December 15, 2009 at 8:52 AM  
Blogger SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Your Rottweiler claws are a riot! My daughter and husband have a big dog and they would get such a kick out of those.

The poppy seed roll looks scrumptious too!

December 15, 2009 at 9:00 AM  
Blogger Erin said...

Love the Claws!!! Very creative indeed!!!

December 15, 2009 at 9:07 AM  
Blogger Bread Over Heels said...

Michelle - Love your claw variation - How creative! I have to make the poppy seed rolls, they look great. Thanks for sharing!

December 15, 2009 at 9:34 AM  
Blogger Cristie said...

Got to love it when you use family members in your kitchen! The claws look perfectly wonderful. I have at pass these along to several friends that are large K9 lovers.

December 15, 2009 at 9:52 AM  
Blogger Maria said...

The claws are too much fun! Love them! And I love your dog!

December 15, 2009 at 9:54 AM  
Blogger Gene Bowker said...

Loved getting to see the picture of your babies and the Rotty claws are a great idea. Rather get clawed by those than the real things!

Have a wonderful Holiday season!

December 15, 2009 at 9:55 AM  
Blogger Femalechef said...

I bought almonds to make your almond loaf.....my mouth is watering!!!

December 15, 2009 at 10:11 AM  
Blogger Cindy said...

Love the Rotty Claws, and how well mannered the dogs are while your baking :)

December 15, 2009 at 10:20 AM  
Anonymous Melissa said...

The claws look incredible!! I had to laugh at your "scavenge" command since we use the command "vacuum" for my little Chihuahua/Miniature Pinscher mix.

December 15, 2009 at 11:36 AM  
Anonymous Kayte said...

When I saw the title, I thought, "Hmm...what do you suppose this is going to be????" LOL...I should have guessed. Clever idea, very nice. I have seen that look Archie is giving you many time on Vash and it always just melts my heart. Great look claws!

December 15, 2009 at 1:24 PM  
Anonymous Cheryl B. said...

Goodness Michelle, {chuckle, chuckle, chuckle ...} They say that a person with a truly artistic spirit can get inspiration from anything .... you just proved it right :-D WONDERFUL!!!

I shared with you that I don't care for almonds, cashews on the other hand are a totally different subject!!!

While updating my site Sunday evening I re-found that I had a guest book and a message board 8-p Yup, still wondering about myself .... ;-b Any-ways, you had left me a note saying you had gotten new glaasses but still might need surgery after the new year starts .... for your eyes? What's up? Brian has had four different surgeries on his eyes - and none for the 'normal' reasons .... Hope all goes better than well!

December 15, 2009 at 2:23 PM  
Blogger Katrina said...

Oh my gosh, LOVE the claws! And the other two breads look divine!

December 15, 2009 at 3:15 PM  
Anonymous Heather said...

1) I want one of everything I just saw. 2) Is that FACE the FACE of an absolute angel or what?! I'd pay for kisses from that big ole' pooch!

December 15, 2009 at 4:46 PM  
Anonymous Laura said...

Oh, wow, I loooove those dog claws.

December 15, 2009 at 7:45 PM  
Blogger Ezzie said...

I have been going through reading all the blogs about their breads and this group is pure heaven to me! Thanks for doing such a great job!

December 15, 2009 at 8:35 PM  
Blogger GA Jane said...

Your claws are as cute as Zoe's...
My husband loves anything with poppy
seeds... Where to start! When do you have time when you also run our great Bread Braid? Thanks so much!

December 15, 2009 at 8:54 PM  
Blogger Ezzie said...

As you suggested Michelle, I've linked my Brioche Part III to this site. Thanks for the great comments and for urging me to do so!

December 15, 2009 at 9:01 PM  
Anonymous Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction said...

LOVE this one! So cute... making the rottweiler claws was such a great idea. Cute picture of your doggy, too. My yellow lab loves to play sous chef in the kitchen, too.

December 15, 2009 at 10:02 PM  
Blogger Kim said...

You are so clever and creative. Those claws are perfect! Not to mention I bet they were delicious with such a wonderful filling. I'm inspired by your choices with this dough!

December 16, 2009 at 9:07 AM  
Blogger Jen said...

I think that is the first time I've ever seen a rottweiler claw before! brilliant!

December 16, 2009 at 10:06 AM  
Blogger Jenny said...

I love the toenails on the Rottweiler claws! And that poppy seed roll looks so yummy! I'm glad this recipe was used because it challenged me to try braiding dough, and I was pleasantly surprised.
~Jenny~

December 16, 2009 at 11:51 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I love seeing the pictures of your doggies....reminds me of my rottie, Bruno (best dog I ever had). The claws are great!! and the breads are beautiful.

December 17, 2009 at 1:04 PM  
Blogger Shaheen said...

Very ver creative.

December 25, 2009 at 8:33 AM  

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