Honeyed Challah Rolls! Great Results

 

my latest batch of challah rolls
baked with the cheapest honey
rather than sugar

For decades I've been making challah rolls with whole wheat (now 70%) flour, never white. In addition I use brown sugar, which has a stronger flavor, much more suited to whole wheat flour than white sugar. Click here for the standard recipe. Since we're not big bread eaters, I bake challah rolls and freeze them. This way each batch will last for over a month. Last week my local store still hadn't gotten its new supply of brown sugar, and I really wanted to bake a Post-Passover supply of challah rolls. 

step 1

Since the honey I had bought before Passover was relatively cheap, probably not the greatest quality, I decided to do an experiment and use honey instead of sugar.

Now the dilemma was how to measure honey without wasting a lot or eating/licking what stayed on the measuring cup.

Luckily I remembered a trick/technique I had once read about. As you can see in the photos, it's really pretty easy.

First I put flour in the mixing bowl. Of course I had to calculate how much honey to use instead of sugar. I checked with Pâtissie (Pastry Chef) Google. Some experts said use half the quantity you'd use for sugar and others said three-quarters. 

step 2

My standard recipe calls for a cup of sugar for approximately two kilos of flour. So I placed a half-cup measuring cup in the flour and made sure that the flour indentation matched the measuring cup. I had a plan....

Finally I had a plan. I poured the honey into the indentation and let it overflow a bit, as you can see in the photo. Since there's disagreement among the expert Pâtissies, I figured it would be wise to be "generous."

My research also said to decrease some of the water, since the dry ingredients were less than usual, and honey is moist, but the truth is that I used almost the same amount of water and oil. And for some strange reason, I didn't need more flour. Just so you know, I knead by hand, since I don't have a mixer.

step 3

No doubt you are curious as to the success of my experiment. The challah was much lighter and rose a lot more than usual. Granted that I had a fresh package of dehydrated yeast, but over the decades a new package hasn't made any real difference in the density of the baked challah. 

In another couple of months, when it's time for a new batch, I'll try baking with honey again. Let's see if I get the same results...

Easy to Make, Tasty Sandwich Rolls, Vegan, Parve

 Sandwich Rolls, Vegan, Parve
very easy to make, and you don't need a mixer

The basic recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe,  FRENCH BREAD ROLLS, which I tweaked. I also doubled the recipe, since I had a kilo of flour to finish off.

These are very easy to make and tasty rolls. I don't have a mixer, just my hands, so they're low-tech too. I baked them with 100% whole wheat flour and brown sugar, which not only is supposed to be healthier, but I find it much tastier than white. I make a point of labeling vegan foods as such, since now I have a vegan daughter-in-law, which makes me more aware of ingredients, besides our being strictly kosher. Parve means neither meat nor dairy, not even the grease or oil.

handwritten version of Tasty Sandwich Rolls, which I worked from
My typed recipe below is more accurate and hopefully w/o spelling errors.

Ingredients:

3 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons dehydrated yeast
4 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
pinch plus coarse salt
1 kilo* (approximately) 100% whole wheat flour

Instructions:

1. mix water, yeast, sugar, oil and about 2 cups of flour in large mixing bowl
2. cover and wait at least 15 minutes until bubbly
3. start adding the flour topped with the salt
4. mix with large strong spoon, or dough hook if you're using a mixer
5. keep adding flour until it doesn't stick to your fingers 
6. start hand (or dough hook) kneading for at least 7 minutes, a bit more if by hand
7. coat with oil, cover and leave to rise, double, (at least 25 minutes)
8. when doubled, punch down and shape on baking pan; I just made balls and squished them
9. let rolls rise and then bake at 400f or 200c, depending on your oven
10. between 17-20 minutes should be all they take to be ready, tap for hollow sound
11. Enjoy! They freeze well too.

*kilo = 2.2 lbs or about 8 cups flour