After hours and hours of waiting, there I was, kneeling on the floor trying to get a better look. I had to make sure that they weren’t getting ruined! I had tried so many different attempts, this bowl that bowl, this much that much and I think I finally got it right, but did I? My patience (and Hufflepuff status) was being put the test, but I had to wait. If I dared to touch anything at this point, it would all come tumbling down. I couldn’t help thinking, “this would be so much easier if I could just use magic”.
If you didn’t already know, there is a dedicated Youtube Channel called J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, showcasing official content as well as videos made by fans, for fans of the Wizarding World. I have been featured on this channel a few times now and it is always such a wonderful surprise to be selected. However, I was inspired to make this particular project, from the videos of Bake Off contestant Andrew Smyth’s Niffler and Strudel creations. I wanted to create something edible from Jacob Kowalski’s bakery too!
I remembered from watching Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, after all the adventure, Jacob created bakery versions of Nifflers, Demiguises, Erumpents and Occamys (unknown to him at the time). Now Andrew Smyth had already created the Niffler, but the Demiguise or Occamy looked particularly complicated, I thought I could try and make the Erumpent Bread.
Now I had made bread before but not plaited (or braided) bread. This seemed rather complicated. Would I actually be able to make this kind of bread? Then would I be able to shape it into an Erumpent. Additionally, I didn’t know anything about how to make the traditional Jewish Challah bread. I knew that if I was going to make an authentic version, it would have to be a Challah bread recipe.
After a bit of research, I thought that the only way to achieve the Erumpent bread, was to combine two types of Challah bread. So this gave me my starting point and I planned to watch many YouTube videos baking Challah bread and bake them to get it perfect before making it into an Erumpent.
I tried a few different versions to start with. Two, Three, and Five plaited loafs to see how they came out, whether the recipe was correct and also whether I could actually make it edible. It all baked and tasted wonderful and the separate loaves themselves looked similar to the film Erumpent bread. You can see a little trail one below:
So, I began layering different versions to see what happened. The first time I did it I made so much bread the dough literally grew out of the dish and almost out of the oven! It was enormous! I knew after that I would have to scale it down. Trail after trial however, I found that whenever there was another loaf on top of the other, the bottom would not rise and was almost uncooked and flat. It was so frustrating. The base of the Erumpent I had sorted by using the pull apart Challah bread, but the plaited loaf on top was just too heavy. I even tried an individual Challah roll with one dough rope, but still it didn’t work.
I finally figured out that on top of the Erumpent, they just look like little balls, the same as the ones I had mastered for the base. Why not just put little dough balls on top of the big dough balls and see what happens. What happened was it came out the closest I have ever gotten it! I was thrilled!
I then went about making bigger and smaller versions to get the best out of the dough and found the best sizes made four and bit Erumpent bread loaves.
I was so pleased that I managed to make them all! Now I know they are not perfect, but they are the closest I have managed to get to making edible, authentic, Challah Erumpent Bread.
Not only have I made another prop replica from Fantastic Beasts, but I have also improved my bread making skills. I also realised that even if something is tricky and it takes a little while to make, I’m not going to give up easily! I knew I could do it and so I did.
Oh I almost forgot, for an extra helping from the Kowalski Bakery, I simply had to make the little cake boxes as seen in the Case of Fantastic Beasts book. They also feature the Kowalski Bakery logo. If you would like to download this logo and make your own boxes, simply click the image below.
