Happy New Year to all the bakers who are a little too friendly with their kitchen knife. We are trying to get back on our schedule now that they holidays are over in the best way we can. With the occult. This week have for you the Vampire Clan.

The group goes back to the 1990s in Eustis, Florida. The future leader, Rod Ferrel, lived there. He was always somewhat of an outcast in school and didn't have many friends. As one did in their teen years and were “troubled” he turned to music and went full on goth. He dyed his hair black and starting wearing an all black trench coat. He became full on obsessed with death, horror movies, the occult, Satanic imagery and demons. He was convinced he was a 500 year old vampire named Vesago.

In his young teenage years, Rod began using all types of drugs. Anything from marijuana, LSD to cocaine and heroin. In this midst of it, he got expelled from high school in the 9th grade. Because of this going on and explosive anger issues, Rod’s family moved him away from his hometown to Murray, Kentucky. But of course, you can take Rod out of Florida but you cannot take the drugs away from Rod. He continued his drug filled lifestyle in Kentucky and finding a group of individuals that aligned with his beliefs. They would talk of demons and vampires and bonded over it. Eventually Rod and another boy of the group, Howard Scott Anderson, were arrested for cruelty to animals [we rather not say what they did to the animals].

The group soon found a place to have gatherings. This abandoned, supposedly haunted building became known as the Vampire Hotel. In this building, they would engage in rituals such as drinking each other’s blood and calling themselves the Vampire Clan. They took it so far that whenever a new member arrived Rod would cut his arm open and make them drink his blood as part of the initiation. He would also brand then with a small “V” on their arm. This group grew to about 30 members and they seemed to have really believed that they were vampires.

Then things turned even more dark. A childhood friend of Rod, Heather Wendorf, began to express an interest in running away from her home back in florida to join the Vampire Clan. Rod could not act fast enough. He gather up his right hand man, Howard, and two other girls from the group, Charity and Dana. I think they intended on just getting her and bringing her back, not actually what happened.

On the evening of November 26th in 1996, Rod arrived at Heather’s home. Rod found his way into the house through the unlocked door while carrying a crowbar just in case things did not go as planned. As they made their way through the house, Rod saw Heather’s father sleeping on the couch and with an overcoming power, Rod knew he had to die. He took the crowbar and struck his head many time until dead. He didn't even see it coming nor had a chance to escape. Just after, Heather’s mom wandering into the living room. Before she had a chance to see her husband, Rod killed her too. Rod was so beyond crazy, later he stated that he had no idea where the urge came from, we just decided to do it. They cheerfully danced around the bodies and they lied lifeless on the ground.

They grabbed Heather and were off on their way, but not without stealing a shotgun on their way out of the house. They were off to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was here that the police captured them. Charity’s parents reported them after she called them asking for money. Throughout the entire ordeal, Rod was never shaken or expressed forgiveness. He boasted about the killings and going so far to bragging that he did it and warning the authorities that he was a powerful vampire with insane powers. #psycho.

So how to we get inspired by this horrific clan and turn them into a baked good? When we figured we would make something to get them the hell away from us, hence the garlic. We introduce to you…

We welcome….

The vampire cult’s garlic babka

recipe inspired by The Cloud Kitchen

Ingredients:

Bread:

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
200 g whole milk a little warmer than room temp
2 tsp sugar
3 ⅔ all purp flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped like little flecks
2 eggs at room temp
6 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp.

[basically just put all the shit out at the corner before reading everything so its all room temp]

Filling:

1 head of garlic [LOL bye Rod]
Store bought pesto [sorry Ina but in this case store bought really is fine]
1 egg
A few pinches of Maldon flaky sea salt

Alright now that you have your ingredients…

Let’s bake this betch.

In a small bowl mix the yeast, milk and sugar together. Let that ish sit until foamy, like ten minutes.
In a stand mixer [or if you're a badass, get your muscles ready] attach the dough hook. Mix the flour, salt and remain 1 tbsp of sugar and basil just a little bit. Add the eggs and yeast mixture until all combined. Beat until it just starts to come together. If it is not really coming together add a little bit of milk.
Increase the speed for like 10 minutes until it is nice and smooth.
Reduce it back to low when after 10 min, and add the butter a little bit at a time. You are going to want to mix completely in between adds. After the final add, mix for 5 minutes until smooth.
Transfer to an oily bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot for 2 hours.
Roll out the dough once it has risen into a rectangle. Cover in plastic wrap and place in freezer until your filling is ready.
In a food processor place about 7 heads of garlic and 3 tablespoons of pesto in a food processor. Blend that ish up.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a 16 inch x 24 inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the filling all over the surface of dough. Roll up starting on the long side into a tight roll. Trim the end if you need to.
Cut the roll in half leaving a little bit connected at the end of the roll. Turn the pieces so the filling is on top and cross over the pieces until you get a long twist.
Cross one end under the other and place into a parchment lined cast iron. Transfer back to your warm spot and let rise for a little over 30 minutes. While its rising, preheat your oven to 350.
When it's done rising brush your loaf with a beaten egg and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, let cool before devouring the entire thing cuz its that good.