Almost the New Year....

What a year it's been.
It's been great to hear how much folk have enjoyed the Challah book. I've been getting calls from friends and strangers telling me that their families love it.

Now that the grease-fest that we call Chanukah is almost over, I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.

Have a great year, and may every loaf rise and taste delicious.

Thanksgiving Interview Challah

A reporter from the Fall River Herald News came today to write about the book. I was going to make the dough for her, but Alicia (my sweetie) suggested that I have a dough ready to braid. This was a rush job, but turned out to be a good idea, since the photographer wanted to shoot a photo of the finished bread. The dough was mixed at 8 am, and stuck into a turned-off 170 degree oven to rise.

At about 10 am, I pulled it out and did a quick braid. The photographer was in a rush, so we didn't wait for a second rising. (AAAAAH!) Just painted it and slammed it into the oven.

It turned out pretty good -- not the prettiest, but still tasty.

Back from a break

After the Holy Days, I was completely burned out on Challah.
The Friday after the Friday after Yom Kippur, I made a plain old white loaf of Italian-style bread. I was just tired of making challah.
Of course that evening, I regretted it. Really want my "fix."

Since then, I've done a few more. I've also started to do some book signings. One woman didn't buy the book because she already had her own Challah recipe. Cool. Hers uses honey and sugar. I don't think I even mention honey in the book, which is cool because it gives something extra for the second edition.

Today I forgot to make the dough the night before. So this morning I made the dough. Let it rise for a while. I forced it in a turned off (slightly warm) oven for a few hours. Braided it. Meant to put on the timer to turn the oven on. (the dough was on top -- outside the oven). Came home and realized the oven wasn't on. Turned it on, etc.

Alicia (my sweetie) asked how come the dough didn't over-rise and fall? I think it's because I use less yeast than I used to. I only use 1tbsp. Also, the room is cooler -- since this is October, warm, and we keep the heat off.

Almost dinner time now. Yum!

Five Loaves in less than Two Weeks

Oy. Lots of Challah baking.
Rosh Hashanah. Shabbat. Kol Nidre eve. Breakfast. Shabbat.
I'm sick of Challah. Well, not sick of it, but I'm not baking any more until next Friday. Forget about a Sukkot Challah. So there.

A few things I noticed.
1) A long rise for the big big round Challah makes a real difference. I've tended in the past year or so to push my bread to rise in about 1/2 an hour. I've been leaving these big ones (and last night's shabbat braided one) for about an hour. It makes for a higher bread and a more even crumb.
2) You have to bake them for at least 45 minutes.
3) Round Challahs braid quicker. A saving grace. You just roll it out into a tube, tie it in a knot, smooth it out, and viola!

Rosh Hashanah Challah

It was about quarter to nine this morning, the morning before Rosh Hashanah eve, when I realized that I'd forgotten to mix the dough last night. Oy. We didn't have any eggs either.

So it wasn't until 9:30 I got started. I did a few tricks, like warming the yeast water in the microwave for a minute. By 10 the dough was done. I let it rise until 1 pm, and it had more than doubled.

After folding it a few times, I rolled it into a fat tube and "braided" it into a hat/turban. I've never managed to get a perfectly round challah. This one was pretty close. When I've got time (ha!) I'll post a photo.

The bread rose for about an hour -- it's important with the big round challahs to let it rise for a while. Actually, now that I think about it, it must've been about 1:15 because the bread wasn't done until 3pm -- with 45 minutes of baking a must for this size.

Meanwhile, I almost forgot to pick up the kids.

The challah was delicious though. Harry said, "Dad, I love your Challah. When I get old enough, I want you to give me the recipe." I told him that he could buy a copy of my book. (Not really. I told him "of course, sweetheart." But it's a good line.)

A few tips on painting the challah

Naturally as soon as a book is published you remember things you've left out.

Here are a few tips on painting the challah with egg wash

1) You can get away with 1 egg -- no problem. Just mix the whole egg with water, and paint it on.
2) However, your finished bread will look much more golden if you use the yolk of 2 eggs.
3) If you think you're going to run out of wash, just stir in a little more water.
4) Extra egg wash can be used for French Toast
5) In an absolute emergency -- when you've got no eggs, just use cold water -- this will give the challah a glaze -- but no yellow color.

Friday morning - first blogged challah

Last night I crashed early, and woke up bright and cheerful at about 6:30.
While the coffee was brewing I started baking.

There was a brief panic when I noticed we only had 1 egg in the fridge... But it turned out that my sweetie had bought another dozen and hidden it on a different shelf. You need at least 2 eggs to bake my challah -- one for the dough, and one (or two) for the glaze.

I forced the bread at 170 degrees, and let it rise until about 8:45, when I started braiding. (Severely chastised for braiding bread rather than helping the kids get out the door to school.)

It's 9:45, and I'm going to paint the dough and put it in the oven. I'm looking forward to having the baker's challah and beef stew for lunch.