Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Homemade Challah, Yes, Passover's Over


Yesterday I made a nice batch of challah, which should be enough for more than a month. I used a very simple challah recipe and no electric mixer. I knead by hand.


Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (I use dark brown)
2 Tablespoons or a bit more of dehydrated yeast
approximately 2 kilo flour (I use whole wheat extra fine)
pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups of warm water
1 cup of any vegetable oil
2 eggs (optional)
1 egg for painting to make a shiny challah

Instructions:
  1. Put almost all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl; just use a cup of flour.
  2. Mix
  3. Add the warm water.
  4. Cover with plastic.
  5. When it looks all bubbly and has risen add the oil (and eggs).
  6. Mix
  7. Gradually add flour, mixing all the time, until you can knead it.
  8. Knead for about 8 minutes.
  9. Coat completely in a bit more oil.
  10. Cover and wait until doubled in size, anything from 20 to 40 minutes depending on the weather and quality of yeast.
  11. Punch down, then cover and wait again. 
  12. "Take a piece of challah" for the blessing.
  13. Punch down and shape. The shaping as you can see in my photos can be very simple.
  14. Paint with raw egg and let the challot rise a bit.
  15. Bake. Don't preheat oven. First I let the shaped challot, more like rolls, rise in 100c, 212f oven until doubled. Then I baked it at 190c, 374f until starting to brown. Finally lower heat to 160c, 320 until a sort of hollow sound when tapped on bottom. Times depend on size of challah and your oven. Mine is turbo/fan and I have heat from bottom. Usually I bake on two racks, also.
  16. It's ready when hard on the bottom and has a hollow sound when tapping the bottom.
  17. Let cool out of the oven.
  18. Enjoy for Shabbat, Jewish Holidays or whenever you want a special bread.

Afterwards I bagged and froze the challah, since it was only Monday, but the house had that wonderful smell of home-baked challah for the rest of the day.

4 comments:

Neshama said...

Two cups of sugar seems a lot for 2 kilo flour. Be careful that if its too sweet the Bracha may actually be mazonos.
http://halachayomit.co.il/en/default.aspx?HalachaID=2218

Neshama said...

Forgive me, I did not read the recipe correctly. Just checked and I was too quick to comment.
Wishing you a delicious Challah for Shabbat.

Anonymous said...

Would appreciate oven temperature in Centigrade and Fahrenheit.

Thank you Batya.

Batya said...

Neshama, no problem
a, I'll edit it in, but here it is
Don't preheat oven. First I let the shaped challot, more like rolls, rise in 100c, 212f oven until doubled.
Then I baked it at 190c, 374f until starting to brown. Finally lower heat to 160c, 320 until a sort of hollow sound when tapped on bottom. Times depend on size of challah and your oven. Mine is turbo/fan and I have heat from bottom. Usually I bake on two racks, also.