Toad Bread: Attempt 2

Click here for some context and to see Attempt 1

The GF and I decided to re-attempt Nikk Alcaraz's toad bread recipe -- this time following the ingredients and instructions from his newly-posted YouTube video.

We made only slight ingredient adjustments based on what we had on hand.  Here is what we used:

Ingredients

Dough:

100 g  whole milk

100 g water 

14 g granulated sugar 

9 g active dry yeast 

400 g bread flour 

9 g salt 

28 g unsalted butter (softened)

10 g apple cider vinegar 

1 large egg

Egg Wash:

1 egg yolk 

1 tsp water 

~1/2 tsp garlic salt

After proofing the yeast in the warm water & milk, we mixed all the dough ingredients into a ball, then kneaded it for 10 minutes.  Then we let it rise for about an hour and a half, punched it down, and pressed out the air bubbles.  

Then we got to shaping! Starting with a tight egg shape.

(Woah, hand reveal!)

Then, we covered him in plastic wrap for one more 30-minute rise, and he plumped right up:

Then came the egg wash...

And finally, we baked him at 350° for 28 minutes.

Just look at our beautiful boy!

Some excellent photography from my Ghoulfriend

He's quite a bit handsomer than our first loaf, and he tastes SOOOOO much better.  This loaf is fluffier, chewier, and more flavorful.  The garlic salt in the egg wash added a nice subtle hint of umami.  

This recipe was really very easy, too.  Definitely give it a shot if you've thought about making your own.  

Follow-along with Practical Peculiarities' YouTube video or purchase the cookbook: Peculiar Baking.

Happy baking!

A little collage by the gf :)

New Original Song: “The Deer Know What You Did To Me”

The deer know what you did to me. 

I told them everything.

I'd stay out of the woods if I were you.

Click above to stream free on Bandcamp

I'm releasing a new song to mark the beginning of November!  "The Deer Know What You Did To Me" is a drone-y ambient piece intercut with some resampled Native American Flute (played by me).  

This piece is meant to instill different emotions depending on the listener, and is intended to be considered within the context of past wrongdoings.  The song can either be a comfort or a warning:

• If a listener equates themselves with the titular "Me," (i.e. a victim of mistreatment in the particular relationship they have in mind) they may feel encouraged (if with some trepidation) knowing they can always find sanctuary in the woods, where the deer sympathize with their plight.
• But, if the listener finds themselves as the titular "You," (i.e. the perpetrator of abuse against the previous listener) the listener may feel uneasy.  In this case, the song evokes an unsettling feeling, as though walking through the woods at night -- knowing the deer are watching, and that they do not want you here...

I hope you enjoy this track.  Right now, it's free to stream and download on Bandcamp.  If you like it, let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!  I hope you all are having a great day!

We spent the first half of the day watching two of our favorite Halloween specials: It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.  Both were staples of my childhood, and I'm not one to ignore tradition.  We also baked a couple loaves of pumpkin bread, one of which we are bringing to a friend's party this evening.

For those handing out candy, I wish you all an abundance of Trick-or-Treaters!  I can't wait to see everyone's yard haunts.  No decorations from me this year.  Even so, I've enjoyed my October very much.  We've stayed busy attending Halloween events, Horror Nights, and various parties.  

Today is an uncharacteristically cool day in Central Florida thanks to a cold front that just came through.  The low temp tonight is predicted to be 51°!  I can't remember the last time we got weather this cool and perfect on Halloween... not since I was a kid I think.  I'm choosing to believe it's an omen that a Halloween Renaissance will soon sweep the nation.

I've got higher hopes for next year that I'll return to yard-haunting (hopefully, I'll have someone's yard to haunt!)

~Tjalgahorn 🎃

Fecund with Little Pumpkins

Taken on yesterday's bike ride:

Didn't realize how terrible the quality was until I got home (thanks, phone!) so maybe I'll swing back by before the big night and snap some better pics. 

Could someone tell me if there a way to admire Halloween decorations and take pictures without looking like you're casing someone's house?

Toad Bread: Attempt 1

Two weeks ago, The Ghoulfriend and I were inspired by a video posted last year which has been resurfacing again this season. In it, Nikk Alcaraz (@practicalpeculiarities on Instagram) promotes his Halloween-themed cookbook, Peculiar Baking, by showing a sneak peak of one of his recipes: Toad Bread!

This is what we were attempting to recreate:

Click above image for Instagram video

We both knew that we had to attempt something similar, but Alcaraz hadn't published his recipe online anywhere, and since we didn't have his cookbook, we decided to do some internet research and try our own hand at it.  Eventually, we found this recipe for Frog Bread from The Fresh Loaf!  

The Fresh Loaf's beautiful frog bread.

It's your average basic dense bread recipe. They shaped it into a frog, but we wanted to use the same recipe and make it more toad-like as Alcaraz does in his video.

We followed the recipe instructions pretty closely, but perhaps not close enough... *dramatic foreshadowing*

The Fresh Loaf's recipe instructed us to let the dough rise for 90 minutes, then shape it into a frog and cover loosely with a towel, letting it rise for one more hour.  Here is where we messed up. We lost track of time during the second, post-shaping rise.  

Meaning our toad went from this:

To THIS:

 

A rather plump fellow!  We would have been happy with our unexpectedly big-boned toad, but by over-proofing the dough, all the gluten had begun to lose its strength!  As soon as I began shifting it into the oven, our poor boy began to deflate.

After applying an egg wash and baking him one rack-height too high, we had our own "Toad" Bread!

The air bubbles did make some fun warts though!

Despite bearing a closer resemblance to Lepidobatrachus laevis than Bufo bufo (though the former is nicknamed "Freddy Kreuger frog" so at least it's still Halloween-y!) our bread was delicious!  I have no doubt The Fresh Loaf's recipe would have worked fine without our proofing mistakes.  

But the most ironic part? On the very same evening, Nikk Alcaraz actually posted his full original Toad Bread recipe on YouTube!  After a year of it being exclusive to his cookbook, he posts it for free mere hours after we tried to emulate it.  So now, of course, we'll be attempting it again!

Ain't that just the way...

Still tasty, though!

Stay tuned for Attempt 2!

Listening to: Halloween at High Noon: KULT FM

The newest album from Halloween at High Noon!  

I look forward to their annual releases every year

Click below to listen on their Bandcamp:

Click here to view all streaming options

The Great Pumpkin Project: October 1st 2025

I'm tired of neglecting this blog! I completely forgot to post this on October 1st, so here it is now. I'm trying to remind myself that something is always better than nothing, so.... better late than never!

We kicked off October with my favorite annual tradition: The Great Pumpkin Project!

 

It was the ghoulfriend's first time participating (which was very exciting for me and her!).  It was a cooler night than usual for Central Florida, so we sat out back and carved up two jack-o'-lanterns.  I don't know how, but I always forget how much fun carving pumpkins is; such a simple but fulfilling pleasure.

Mine's on the right, hers is on the left.  Hers is much better than mine, I think.

 

 

 

We also drew up our own tags this time. I put the URL to the GPP mission page on mine, but after seeing how much space it took up, I decided to make a shortened version (tinyurl.com/GPP-Mission) for future use (the ghoulfriend put it on hers).  

The gf placed hers on a retention wall along a dark but busy road.  A popular bike/pedestrian path runs by as well, so it definitely got plenty of visibility!

I placed mine near a bridge along that same path.  Not as much foot traffic, but hopefully one or two people saw it and appreciated it.

Afterwards, we hit up Lazy Moon Pizza for a cheese slice and a PBR.  All in all a wonderful evening spent together!

If you want to know more about The Great Pumpkin Project or participate yourself, check out this post of mine and follow @GreatPumpkinProject on Instagram!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone's Halloween and Holiday season was revelatory and joyful! 

I'm back from my Annual Unannounced Unplanned Post-Halloween Hiatus!*  I've been away longer than usual this year. I needed some time away to focus on other work/projects/personal things.  Blogging and working on Halloween stuff had to take a backseat.

I've been thinking about what I want to focus on and accomplish this year, and decided to relay some of that here, as a kind of personal accountability.  So, this year, in no particular order, I'd like to:

Make more props!

I want to practice with new techniques and improve the workflow I currently use.  I want to really up my game when it comes to painting and final touches.  And as much as I love corpsing, I want to try making other décor as well.

Finally open an Etsy store!

I've been considering this for over a year now.  It would serve mainly as an outlet for me to make props/décor without having to worry about space or thematic cohesion. Plus, I won't have to worry as much about material costs if I sell the final product!

Write more Haunt Theory posts!

I have at least two drafts in the works, and an upcoming mini-post about a material I don't see used very often among haunters.  I also want to create "hub" page for Haunt Theory posts written by myself and other haunters.

Photo source (video)

Those are my Halloween "resolutions" for 2025.  More nebulous desires than concrete goals, but workable nonetheless.  I'd love to know what everyone else wants to accomplish this year, so please drop a comment!  

*(AUUPHH ["awf"] for short. I should start calling post-Halloween the awf-season)

Happy October!

A day late to the welcome party, but the sentiment remains! Less than a month to the big night!

Photo is a re-edit from Halloween 2022

Vintage Halloween Schlitz Ads

Came across a couple of ads from the 1950's for Schlitz—a beer from Milwaukee that was once widely popular, now mostly known regionally by folks from the Midwest (e.g. my ghoulfriend's Wisconsinite family).

I just thought these were fun, given the Halloween imagery and my partner's ties to Wisconsin. I grabbed these images from some old eBay listings; they're decently high quality.  I might even print them out and hang them up!

If you'd like, click on each image for a "full-res" version. Might take a second to load.

^ Would this be considered pumpkin beer, technically? ;)