Sunday, June 21, 2009

Challah

Mixing the dry & liquid ingredients...
first ferment - 1 hour
Knead 2 minutes to de-gas & then 2nd ferment for 1 hour...
1 & 1/2 times orignial size...
Divided into 3 pieces & shaped into boules - & then a 10-minute rest covered with a towel...
Pieces rolled into three strands - slightly thicker in the middle...
Braid starting from the middle - braid both sides & pinching off both ends
Parchment paper on sheet pan - loaf brushed with egg wash...misted with spray oil & covered with plastic - 60-75 minute proof at room temperature - dough 1 1/2 size original - & then brushed again with egg wash & sprinkled with poppy seeds...
Baked 20 minutes at 350 degrees - rotated pan & then baked for another 20 minutes.
Registered at 205 degrees after 40 minutes so I removed the bread from the oven... Smelled heavenly!
Probably one of our favorite so far...fantastic with butter & jam...

Tried the Challah again a few days later - the braids did not hold their shape & broke during proofing...
Not as pretty as the first attempt...

But still tasted great!

3 comments:

  1. Yum, looks delicious! Lovely. :)

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  2. I could go for a slice toasted with butter and jam right about now!! You are making me hungry. I love how you write on the plastic wrap the time. What a great idea. I am always forgetting. I love that we are learning all these tips from one another.

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  3. Yes, great tip! I am always writing on little pieces of paper, envelopes, whatever I can find nearby - especially for the challenge breads. But the plastic wrap makes so much sense. And your second attempt actually looks like you meant to make an artful shape. I would have been tempted to say I meant to do it!

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