The Conservative Cave
Interests => All Things Edible (and how to prepare them) => Recipes => Topic started by: Mike220 on March 28, 2011, 09:56:50 PM
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Since my anti-depressants have the normal effect of supercharging my insomnia, I decided to bake bread from scratch for the first time since high school. And if it works, I'll make some for Shabbat on Friday. Since the recipe makes two loads I'm doing one with poppy seeds and one without.
Mmm... Tasty, tasty challah...
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/challah-i/Detail.aspx
2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)
Directions
In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle. Either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle, pinch ends together. Grease two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each. Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.]
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I can't remember if I've ever had challah. There weren't a lot of Jews in my neighborhood growing up and only the neighbors across the street from my aunt's home were Hebrew.
Bread is basically flour, yeast, and salt (if you're using that all-purpose stuff)... everything else is flavor. I don't normally add eggs to my bread, but they're mostly protein. Some recipes use sugar, some do not. Honey is a simple sugar and would work quite well in a bread recipe. Then there's the whole decorative weaving thing.
:yum:
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Hey Mike...let me know how this recipe works out.
I love challah! It also makes the best french toast.
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Will do Deb! I'll have to try the French toast. That sounds good.
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It's alive! Or at least growing. Gotta love yeast.
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In the oven. Keeping my fingers crossed...
I do need to work on my braiding though.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_0ASBFd50OPk/TZFmLQ-50JI/AAAAAAAAAMs/s7wHl0bhDyI/s640/20110328235425.jpg)
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Things turned out really good. I did find out two things. One, I need to butter the foil I bake on. Two, cook it about 5 minutes longer than the directions state. It's still slightly doughy in the middle, but that may be due to the fact I made the strands a little thicker than called for.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_0ASBFd50OPk/TZFxOx9BnqI/AAAAAAAAAM8/Zcu5B2eoECc/s640/20110329004146.jpg)
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Looks great!
Shabbat Shalom.
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Looks beeee-u-ti-ful!!
Be careful buttering the foil, not to use to much, so that the bottom doesn't brown too much.
Can also dust with cornmeal to keep it from sticking.
Spent a summer in college at a private camp for extremely wealthy little Jewish girls. (gave a whole new meaning to "JAP". ) Camp was Kosher, and every Friday night we had the Challah, then on Saturday morning we had French toast, with the leftover Challah. Incredibly good food, plus they had a real French pastry chef doing all the desserts. :drool:
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Buttering the foil isn't a great idea, because it tends to burn. Using Pam works pretty well.
I'm impressed, though. Haven't baked bread in many years but would like to make up a batch of really vicious cinnamon rolls sometime soon.
And I couldn't do a braid if my life depended on it. :cheersmate:
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MP Sarge, Euph and Deb, toda raba.
I'll try the corn meal idea next time.
And Eupher, I'm not that good at braiding. But then again I was a Coastie, not a Squid. They got a lot of practice at it so they could look good for their Marine dates... :fuelfire:
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Oh that looks awesome! does the honey give it a very sweet taste?
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Oh that looks awesome! does the honey give it a very sweet taste?
Not really. You can taste the honey, buts it's really no sweeter than using regular sugar.
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That looks delicious. I love challah.
I wonder if a baking stone would give better results? I agree on the cornmeal idea.
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MP Sarge, Euph and Deb, toda raba.
I'll try the corn meal idea next time.
And Eupher, I'm not that good at braiding. But then again I was a Coastie, not a Squid. They got a lot of practice at it so they could look good for their Marine dates... :fuelfire:
Yeah, that's why they restrict you Coaties to the shallow waters. :bird: Knot tying is BASIC SEAmanship. (For the record, I can back splice line, make a monkey's fist and tie various other knots. And I was an "Airedale"!!)
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Yeah, that's why they restrict you Coaties to the shallow waters. :bird: Knot tying is BASIC SEAmanship. (For the record, I can back splice line, make a monkey's fist and tie various other knots. And I was an "Airedale"!!)
Well, yeah, but can you tie a bowline? So you can hang off the side of the ship, chipping paint?
Ain't that what Airedales do?
:fuelfire: :tongue: :whistling:
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Well, yeah, but can you tie a bowline? So you can hang off the side of the ship, chipping paint?
Ain't that what Airedales do?
:fuelfire: :tongue: :whistling:
Ummm, NO, ya clueless Dogface!! :bird: :hammer: :hammer: We do corrosion control on aircraft!!
And, YES, I CAN tie a bowline. (I learned that in the Scouts)
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Ummm, NO, ya clueless Dogface!! :bird: :hammer: :hammer: We do corrosion control on aircraft!!
And, YES, I CAN tie a bowline. (I learned that in the Scouts)
By "ship" I meant "big-assed boat", not the aircraft, ya clueless Squid!! :bird: :hammer: :hammer:
:rotf:
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By "ship" I meant "big-assed boat", not the aircraft, ya clueless Squid!! :bird: :hammer: :hammer:
:rotf:
Ummm, remember, I was an Aviation type?? Unless we were actually "Ship's Company", we never chipped paint. Instead, we did corrosion control on our aircraft. (which is a lot more difficult in itself) But, it's easy to confuse you Army Doggies....... :fuelfire: :tongue: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:
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Ummm, remember, I was an Aviation type?? Unless we were actually "Ship's Company", we never chipped paint. Instead, we did corrosion control on our aircraft. (which is a lot more difficult in itself) But, it's easy to confuse you Army Doggies....... :fuelfire: :tongue: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:
Oh, I get it. You guys were speshull. :tongue:
Left the paint chippin' to those who were "Ship's Company" (which is a euphemism for "Three's Company" since there's one Marine for every two squids). Right?
:lmao: :rotf:
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Oh, I get it. You guys were speshull. :tongue:
Left the paint chippin' to those who were "Ship's Company" (which is a euphemism for "Three's Company" since there's one Marine for every two squids). Right?
:lmao: :rotf:
At least we didn't sleep with other guys in "pup tents"........ :fuelfire: :bird:
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At least we didn't sleep with other guys in "pup tents"........ :fuelfire: :bird:
Wrong answer, enamel-breath. :stoner:
They are called "shelter halves". :-)
But what would a Squid know about that? He's too busy "controlling corrosion" which is just a polite way of saying "chipping paint".
:rotf:
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Wrong answer, enamel-breath. :stoner:
They are called "shelter halves". :-)
Semantics.......