Challah

Lately, I've been getting into baking Challah. It's fun to do, and it's a great thing to do with the kids. I've finally found a great receipe, but have recently learned some important lessons:

#1 Make sure there is enough time to go through the whole recipe before you start.
#2 It's ok to put the dough in a warm (100 degree) oven to help speed the rising.
#3 Make sure not to forget that the dough is in the oven rising.

Last week, I wanted to make Challah, but didn't manage to start until the mid-afternoon. By the time the dough had risen once and I had braided it into a challah, it was too late to let it rise a second time and back before we had to leave for shabbat services. So I tried to rush the rising to get it done, but then just didn't manage to get it in the oven before we left. When we came back, I realized that the dough had wildly over-risen. I baked it anyway, and this is what came out:





That's right, the world's flattest and tasteless Challah! (The yeast ate all of the sugars in the flour and this challah was almost completely without taste.)

And just for comparison, this is what happens when you make Challah first thing in the morning, with plenty of time to let it rise, and don't feel rushed at all in any of the making or baking.




To Make your very own flat Challah, follow the recipe below and after you've braided it, leave it a warm oven for three hours. :-)

Challah – (From the Kol Hanishama Gan)

1 cup lukewarm water
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast or one packet

1/4 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1 egg (well beaten)
4 cups flour – more as needed

Mix water and sugar together. Add yeast and stir together with a fork. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until it gets foamy and the yeast produces a “bloom”.

Mix Honey, salt, oil, and egg together. Set aside a small amount of the egg to use later.

Mix water mixture with wet ingredients, stir well.

Add 3.5 cups flour and stir until you can’t. Then begin to knead. As the dough gets sticky in your hands, add flour. You are looking for a moist dough that is not sticky. Knead well for 5-10 minutes.

Place dough in well oiled bowl, coating the dough itself with oil.

Let it rise for about an hour until it has doubled in size or you stick your finger in it and it doesn’t rebound.

Punch down the middle of the dough, and then put it on a lightly floured board. Gently knead it a few times. Divide the dough into three or six pieces. Make each piece into a long piece and braid. Make either a regular braid or a six braid (Click for instructions).

Let rise again for one hour or until double in size. Do not forget it in the warm oven.

Baste the top with the remaining egg.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees until it becomes golden in color. It is done when you tap the bottom of the bread with the handle of a wooden spoon (or your hand) and it sounds hollow.