Hanna’s Baking Contest (pt 2)

The next morning Hanna woke up early, washing her sleepiness away with a bowl of cold water. Today was the day when she was going to win the town baking contest.

…and the day Miho traveled into a dangerous dungeon…

Hanna shook her head in an attempt to make these worrying thoughts go away. This was her day after all.

She stepped into the kitchen to grab some slices of bread, going to such a food-filled festivity on an empty stomach would be downright foolish.

I need to resist the temptation. I can’t eat my own contest submissions…

The shrill sound of the morning church bells penetrated Hanna’s house.

Crap, I am going to be late!

With a slice of bread in her mouth, Hanna struggled to put on her coat. After that, she swung open the door and started running toward the central square where the bakery was located. When she turned the corner, she could see a small crowd standing at the stalls. A middle-aged man, Henry if Hanna recalled correctly, stood on a raised platform reading a list of participants.

“Flora Newwagon?”

“Present,” a blonde girl responded.

“Hanna Silverchime?” Henry asked while browsing the crowd.

“Have any of you seen Hanna?”

Heavily panting, Hanna waved her way through the assemblage of people. She waved her hand, trying to catch the organizer’s attention.

“I am here… I am here,” she yelled while almost collapsing.

“Ah Hanna, glad you made it,” the man responded.

“And lastly, Bella Willbeetle”

“Present as always,” a girl with golden eyes calmly responded while combing her long black hair.

With shock, Hanna looked at the girl standing beside her, who she recognized all too well.

“Bella Willbeetle,” she whispered a bit too loudly while bawling her fist.

“That is me, do we have any business… Hanna Silvercry,” she said while evilly laughing.

“I… I…”, Hanna mumbled.

I didn’t mean for you to hear that!

Bella crossed her arms.

“Never mind, just promise you’re not gonna cry when I will inevitably defeat you, winning the contest!” she said with a mischievous smile.

“Not going to happen,” Hanna mumbled while looking at the ground.

Henry continued explaining the contest rules and announced the prompt for the first round.

“For the first round, I want you all to make a traditional Friedenshain treat like a lava ball or a mushy torte”

I can do that! This sounds easier than expected….

“But wait, just doing that won’t win you the contest. I want you all to come up with an interesting twist, something that will surprise us and show us your creativity.”

Hanna looked around in panic.

Creativity? I am just someone who cleans up after others…

Bella looked at her with a big grin.

“I didn’t expect you to start crying this soon. This must be some new record.”

Hanna shook her head.

“I won’t cry! I will create something amazing that will leave everyone speechless!” she yelled after rushing to her assigned stall.

Hanna inspected the wooden stall, covered by a white-red striped tarp. On the ground underneath stood a small tin-iron coal-burning oven that could be used for baking all kinds of pastries and whatnot. A small tray with common ingredients was available for the contestants to use, but Hanna had to provide any special ingredients on her own. She had until noon to finish the first assignment so there was no time to lose. She needed a good idea, something that could impress the jury and most importantly her childhood rival Bella. She leaned over to the stall next to her and saw that Bella was already busy writing down a list of ingredients.

I need to come up with something soon if I want to get to the next round.

Hanna grabbed herself a piece of paper and started brainstorming ideas. She wrote down all local delicacies she could think of: Honeyberry tarts, Spice biscuits, Apple and Cream pies… the list went on and on. Her grandma had taught her to make these, and Hanna still remembered the delicious smell filling the kitchen each time she opened the oven door.

How about Braided Cinnamon Bread, my all-time favorite among Grandma's baked treats?

She started pondering, thinking of what ingredients she needed: Flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk, butter, eggs, white chocolate, cinnamon… and a special ingredient. She needed to add a twist, something original. Something someone like Bella wouldn’t think about. Something that would positively surprise the jury… Something foreign…

What would Miho add?

She wasn’t outspoken about many things, but one thing she was frequently drinking was a hot drink she called “Tea”. Created from leaves from a plant she found growing in the forest and subsequently repotted in her little garden. It reminded her of a drink she had in her own country, she told Hanna.

If I grind those leaves into a powder, it will add a deeper taste and a slightly green tint to the cake. This will make for an interesting combo.

Hanna finished her ingredient list and gathered the common ingredients provided by the contest organizers and then went back to her home street. She knocked on her house’s door and asked her Mom if she could lend some cinnamon.

“Of course Hanna, here you have some! Promise to do your best, okay?” her Mom spoke.

After stopping by her house, she went to the neighbor’s and pushed the wooden gate that led to Miho’s little herb garden.

I am sorry for trespassing Miho! I will make it up to you later… by winning the contest!

She searched the garden and crouched down next to a plant with green leaves. Carefully, she pulled off a little branch and put it in her bag. With all the ingredients present, she rushed back to her stall on the square and started preparing the braided bread.

First, she started creating the dough. She warmed up some milk and mixed it with yeast, so it could activate. After that, she combined the flour, ground tea powder, and salt in a big bowl. Hanna melted some butter and added it along with an egg and the yeast mixture. After a few minutes of kneading, she created the perfect smooth and elastic dough.

This smells good! Hanna swooned a little when sniffing the freshly made dough.

She covered the dough with a wet cloth and let it rise in a warm place, next to the oven.

Next, Hanna created the filling. By mixing butter, sugar and cinnamon, she created a deliciously sweet mixture that would later fill her tasteful pastry. She cut up the pieces of creamy white chocolate and added them to the filling. After that, she had to wait for the dough to rise. She looked around at the stalls surrounding hers. Most people, including her rival Bella, were already finishing their pastries.

I’d better rise fast.

She took out the bowl of dough and saw its size had about doubled. She rolled out the flour in a large rectangle and spread the filling upon it. She rolled the dough and started cutting and twisting it, creating the recipe’s iconic braids. Hanna took some distance to admire her creation.

It looks good, doesn’t it?

Carefully, she put the bread in the oven and let it bake for about half an hour. As the bread readied, her nose filled with the most delicious smell. After the long wait, she pulled the bread from the oven, drizzled it with melted white chocolate, and set it aside to cool.

“Alright contestants, time is up! The jury members will now stop by each stall and take a sample of your delicious creations.”

With anxious eyes, Hanna watched the jury members pass by her stall, each of them tasting a slice of her breaded bread.

“It’s a bit green… are you sure it isn’t spoiled, my dear?” Miss Ravenshild, one of the jury members, asked her.

“N… no of course not! This is just some tea-powder!”

With some hesitation, Miss Ravenshild took a bite, her expression looked a bit confused at first, but luckily for Hanna, she was soon changed to a smile.

“This is quite an exotic taste, I can’t say if I ever had the pleasure to taste something like this before,” she responded.

“Quite the twist indeed!” she added before moving to the next stall. Hanna looked to her side, at the meticulously crafted pastry Bella had created. It looked like a piece of art…

It’s going to be tough…

After all the baked goods had been judged, Hanna and the other contestants gathered at the stage where Henry listed all the contestants that went on through the next round.

“Flora, Mark, Hansell, Bella, Vera, and lastly-”

With quivering legs, Hanna looked at the man reading up the names.

“-Hanna. Congratulations, each of you has made it through the next down with your delicious creations. I will warn you however… The next round will demand much more from you, pushing you to your absolute limits. For this round, I need you to create a legendary desert, based on a local myth.”

Bella walked up to Hanna and shook her hand.

“I am surprised to see you got through to the next round. Sadly for you, there can only be one winner… I would save your tears for later if I were you since I have the perfect idea.”