Phobia about baking with yeast? Really? I'm gobsmacked. When I think of baking I automatically think of yeast - the two are inextricably intertwined. I guess, now that I think about it, a lot of the baking I do doesn't involve yeast but ... that doesn't alter the fact that to me yeast and baking go together even better than anchovies and roasted garlic on pizza!
Even after many years of baking, I'm still a bit worried when I make things with yeast, mostly because I've had some spectacular fails--bread that comes out like a rock or isn't baked properly. Some of it is taking on projects that are not easy to perfect--like rye breads. The first loaf of rye I made might have been used as a weapon of war. Anyway, I've seen some of your sourdough loaves, Crowden, and it looks like you have it down. Sounds like you're a pizzaiolo too!
Funny - just made three pizzas for dinner. Two for immediate eatin' and I froze the third for later. Sauteed shallots, roasted garlic and (whisper it) anchovies.
A very belated shana tovah, Ruth!! This piece made me smile. You’re so right about challah making the absolute best French toast--my mom’s favorite fancy breakfast to make for guests is a crème brûlée French toast with (store-bought) challah, and it’s so, so good. I’ve never made challah at home. I do love making babka, but for some reason it never occurred to me to attempt challah! I’ll have to give it a try.
Thanks so very much for the New Year’s wishes, Samantha! Babka is far more complex than challah! If you can make that, then challah would be a cinch! The dough is very similar but not as rich. Now I’m wondering how Babka French toast would taste. I think I’m going to have to make Babka very soon!
Happy New Year Ruth 🎉🎊✨ I'd like to make Joan's challah, but I don't own a mixer, how long do you think I should be kneading the dough by hand? Thank you ❤️
I have often kneaded challah by hand when I didn't feel like pulling out the mixer. I'm not exactly sure of how much time I do it for as I go by the feel of the dough. It probably takes about 10 to 15 minutes, but that's just a guess.
The thing to do is to stir the ingredients together in the bowl until the dough pretty much holds together before kneading. You can start with a spoon, not adding all of the flour at once, but a cup or two at a time, stirring it in. (It's better to add too little than too much at first because as you shape it, you'll be sprinkling more on to make the dough more manageable, but you don't want it to get too dry.) Then start kneading a little with your hands in the bowl until you can pull a ball together. The dough may still be a little tacky, but you should be able to scrape it into a ball. Then generously flour the surface of your board and scrape the dough from your bowl onto your kneading surface (I use a wooden board). Add a little more flour on top of the dough and to your hands. Start slowly kneading, sprinkling on more flour a little at a time as needed. The dough should start to feel more solid and smooth, less sticky as you go. One test that is recommended to know whether you've sufficiently kneaded your dough is the windowpane test. You take a small piece of dough, stretch it as thin as you can into a small round or square. If you can see light through it without the dough tearing, then it's ready. If it tears, you need to knead it some more. (Here's video I found on how to do it: https://youtu.be/hLnyrvDRzGw?si=OVN7tRpx6HWdiKtG )
I've found that challah is a very forgiving bread--not so hard to make a pretty good loaf, but harder to make the perfect loaf you imagined in your brain. I'm still trying!
Sinù, if you make it, please let me know how it turns out. Happy to try to help some more if I can!🥰
This is GOLD, Ruth, thank you so much for such detailed info. I feel much more confident now. I might be able to make the dough this morning and bake it in the evening (we're celebrating my dad's birthday and we'll be away for most part of the day) - It's still fairly warm here so I'm thinking of refrigerating it instead of leaving it on the kitchen counter to rise. Have you ever experimented with rising time?
You’re SO welcome, Sinù! What a lovely thing to do for your father’s birthday!
I often refrigerate dough at various points when I’m making bread. Some bakers even suggest it improves the flavor of the dough—and it definitely can improve the life of the baker!😉
if I’m mixing the dough in the evening, I might refrigerate it after mixing and kneading to rise slowly overnight. If I make it in the morning, I may put it in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours while I run some errands or do other things. Sometimes I even refrigerate the dough again after braiding it for an hour or two if I have something to do or my kitchen is too hot or I’m just not ready to bake it. There are many options to make your life a little easier! And the bread is much less likely to over-proof in the refrigerator than in a hot kitchen.
One thing I usually do after refrigerating the dough at any stage is to let the dough warm up a little. Time and temperature make a pretty big difference in bread baking. If your kitchen is pretty warm, watch your dough or loaf. You really don’t want to over-proof. In a warm kitchen the bread msy only need a half hour to rise. In a cold one, it will need longer. Timing is really dependent on the look—and sometimes the feel—of the dough. After the first rise it should look puffy, smooth, almost doubled in volume before you punch it down. If you have refrigerated after braiding, it might not have risen so much. Put it out, to rise a bit more. It should look visibly puffy and a light indent of the finger should stay visible.
Timing is a bit hard to say definitively with challah (and other breads too!). So much depends on temperature—hot vs cold kitchens. After you’ve made challah a few times you sort of know the sweet spot!
Good luck, Sinù! I REALLY hope it comes out as you wish. I bet it will! Happy Birthday to your dad. He’s lucky to have a daughter like you!🤗💕🎂
Thank you Ruth, I'm only reading this now, so I'm making some time this coming Saturday to bake your challah. I CANNOT WAIT! This is a stressful time of the year and, like you, I find that baking is the perfect activity to decompress and recharge - so looking forward to this. Will let you know how it goes, but with your thorough explanations, I'm sure it'll be a success :)
I hope you enjoy it! It was very much written to be a simple introduction for people not used to baking it at home - or even eating it and who want to try it - but I did also aim to produce something halfway through the poppy seed loaves my grandmother used to bring me from the kosher bakery which always seemed to go stale after a day (which meant I had to stuff as much into my mouth as possible in one sitting!) and the bit too squidgy chain loaves my Mum used to buy (which lasted a bit too long!) and I do happily think I managed that too!
That does make it worth trying, Rachel! I find next-day challah is often a letdown. It’s too dense or too dry, seldom just right. I think that’s why I’m always open to trying new versions—kind of the proverbial pursuit of the Holy Grail, or in this case, the Holy Challah!
I’m intimidated by braiding and mispronouncing challah, but not by yeast. I have a bread machine so might give it a whirl. I know I said that last year, but you’ve inspired me! Great post.
I always heard that the challah is round to have a smooth year without any sharp points (it made more sense as a child). Plus, with challah you get the crumbs for tashlich.
Thanks for the comments, Jeremy. I never heard about the lack of sharp edges, but that and the crumbs for tashlich make sense. Another interpretation I’ve heard for the bumps is that if you make 12, they stand for the 12 tribes of Israel. I’ve only seen the burning of the challah once and have mixed feelings about it since I hate to waste anything--I’d rather give it to someone hungry! A Shana Tova to you too!
I bet you could do it! Anyway, you can just make regular pan loaves out of the dough or a simple round or spiral--no braiding required, and the bread still tastes good!
Really? There's a phobia about baking with yeast? Never knew that and certainly can't understand it. Unless it's just from dedicated sourdoughers who distain what they haven't captured themselves from the air around them. I ALWAYS have a large jar of yeast in the fridge, alongside my sourdough starter. Just used the yeast twice in the last two days, in fact! And it's good to see you're motivated to create some art challah! Although ... it's pronounced hah-lah in English? I've always pronounced it (insert short clearing your throat sound here)ala.
Yes I believe there is a reluctance about using yeast, though perhaps it doesn’t amount to a phobia, just the natural (or unnatural) fear of failure. I’m glad to hear you don’t suffer from it, Crowden, and that perhaps your kitchen is now back in working order.
Actually the “ch” in challah is a sound that doesn’t exist in English, as you probably know. It’s also in one of the alternate spellings of Hanukkah, Chanukah, but since the back-of-the-throat sound is foreign to most American ears and tongues, we usually just pronounce the first letter like the H in happen--better than to have people think you’re choking on a piece of challah!
I do love challah bread, although it has been quite some time since I have eaten any. I've never made it myself, but would buy it when I lived in NYC. It does make delicious French toast. I like the symbolism of the round loaf. Thanks,Ruth!
Wish I could send you a loaf, Vicki, but challah doesn’t travel well--too soft and eggy. But it is worth having around--even past its prime for French toast and also bread pudding, croutons and even breadcrumbs for meatballs, meatloaf or stuffing. Hope you enjoy a loaf soon. Thanks so much for your comment!
Phobia about baking with yeast? Really? I'm gobsmacked. When I think of baking I automatically think of yeast - the two are inextricably intertwined. I guess, now that I think about it, a lot of the baking I do doesn't involve yeast but ... that doesn't alter the fact that to me yeast and baking go together even better than anchovies and roasted garlic on pizza!
Even after many years of baking, I'm still a bit worried when I make things with yeast, mostly because I've had some spectacular fails--bread that comes out like a rock or isn't baked properly. Some of it is taking on projects that are not easy to perfect--like rye breads. The first loaf of rye I made might have been used as a weapon of war. Anyway, I've seen some of your sourdough loaves, Crowden, and it looks like you have it down. Sounds like you're a pizzaiolo too!
Funny - just made three pizzas for dinner. Two for immediate eatin' and I froze the third for later. Sauteed shallots, roasted garlic and (whisper it) anchovies.
A very belated shana tovah, Ruth!! This piece made me smile. You’re so right about challah making the absolute best French toast--my mom’s favorite fancy breakfast to make for guests is a crème brûlée French toast with (store-bought) challah, and it’s so, so good. I’ve never made challah at home. I do love making babka, but for some reason it never occurred to me to attempt challah! I’ll have to give it a try.
Thanks so very much for the New Year’s wishes, Samantha! Babka is far more complex than challah! If you can make that, then challah would be a cinch! The dough is very similar but not as rich. Now I’m wondering how Babka French toast would taste. I think I’m going to have to make Babka very soon!
Babka French toast sounds like it could amazing!
Happy New Year Ruth 🎉🎊✨ I'd like to make Joan's challah, but I don't own a mixer, how long do you think I should be kneading the dough by hand? Thank you ❤️
Hi Sinù! Thanks for the New Year's wishes!
I have often kneaded challah by hand when I didn't feel like pulling out the mixer. I'm not exactly sure of how much time I do it for as I go by the feel of the dough. It probably takes about 10 to 15 minutes, but that's just a guess.
The thing to do is to stir the ingredients together in the bowl until the dough pretty much holds together before kneading. You can start with a spoon, not adding all of the flour at once, but a cup or two at a time, stirring it in. (It's better to add too little than too much at first because as you shape it, you'll be sprinkling more on to make the dough more manageable, but you don't want it to get too dry.) Then start kneading a little with your hands in the bowl until you can pull a ball together. The dough may still be a little tacky, but you should be able to scrape it into a ball. Then generously flour the surface of your board and scrape the dough from your bowl onto your kneading surface (I use a wooden board). Add a little more flour on top of the dough and to your hands. Start slowly kneading, sprinkling on more flour a little at a time as needed. The dough should start to feel more solid and smooth, less sticky as you go. One test that is recommended to know whether you've sufficiently kneaded your dough is the windowpane test. You take a small piece of dough, stretch it as thin as you can into a small round or square. If you can see light through it without the dough tearing, then it's ready. If it tears, you need to knead it some more. (Here's video I found on how to do it: https://youtu.be/hLnyrvDRzGw?si=OVN7tRpx6HWdiKtG )
I've found that challah is a very forgiving bread--not so hard to make a pretty good loaf, but harder to make the perfect loaf you imagined in your brain. I'm still trying!
Sinù, if you make it, please let me know how it turns out. Happy to try to help some more if I can!🥰
This is GOLD, Ruth, thank you so much for such detailed info. I feel much more confident now. I might be able to make the dough this morning and bake it in the evening (we're celebrating my dad's birthday and we'll be away for most part of the day) - It's still fairly warm here so I'm thinking of refrigerating it instead of leaving it on the kitchen counter to rise. Have you ever experimented with rising time?
You’re SO welcome, Sinù! What a lovely thing to do for your father’s birthday!
I often refrigerate dough at various points when I’m making bread. Some bakers even suggest it improves the flavor of the dough—and it definitely can improve the life of the baker!😉
if I’m mixing the dough in the evening, I might refrigerate it after mixing and kneading to rise slowly overnight. If I make it in the morning, I may put it in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours while I run some errands or do other things. Sometimes I even refrigerate the dough again after braiding it for an hour or two if I have something to do or my kitchen is too hot or I’m just not ready to bake it. There are many options to make your life a little easier! And the bread is much less likely to over-proof in the refrigerator than in a hot kitchen.
One thing I usually do after refrigerating the dough at any stage is to let the dough warm up a little. Time and temperature make a pretty big difference in bread baking. If your kitchen is pretty warm, watch your dough or loaf. You really don’t want to over-proof. In a warm kitchen the bread msy only need a half hour to rise. In a cold one, it will need longer. Timing is really dependent on the look—and sometimes the feel—of the dough. After the first rise it should look puffy, smooth, almost doubled in volume before you punch it down. If you have refrigerated after braiding, it might not have risen so much. Put it out, to rise a bit more. It should look visibly puffy and a light indent of the finger should stay visible.
Timing is a bit hard to say definitively with challah (and other breads too!). So much depends on temperature—hot vs cold kitchens. After you’ve made challah a few times you sort of know the sweet spot!
Good luck, Sinù! I REALLY hope it comes out as you wish. I bet it will! Happy Birthday to your dad. He’s lucky to have a daughter like you!🤗💕🎂
Thank you Ruth, I'm only reading this now, so I'm making some time this coming Saturday to bake your challah. I CANNOT WAIT! This is a stressful time of the year and, like you, I find that baking is the perfect activity to decompress and recharge - so looking forward to this. Will let you know how it goes, but with your thorough explanations, I'm sure it'll be a success :)
I have faith in you, Sinù! I hope you enjoy the process no matter what! Now you’ve inspired me to bake something today! 🤗
Loved this post! I use my own recipe (https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/challah_38343) which I make in the stand mixer. Shana Tovah!
Thanks a million, Rachel! I’m going to give your recipe a try next! A Shana Tova to you too!
I hope you enjoy it! It was very much written to be a simple introduction for people not used to baking it at home - or even eating it and who want to try it - but I did also aim to produce something halfway through the poppy seed loaves my grandmother used to bring me from the kosher bakery which always seemed to go stale after a day (which meant I had to stuff as much into my mouth as possible in one sitting!) and the bit too squidgy chain loaves my Mum used to buy (which lasted a bit too long!) and I do happily think I managed that too!
That does make it worth trying, Rachel! I find next-day challah is often a letdown. It’s too dense or too dry, seldom just right. I think that’s why I’m always open to trying new versions—kind of the proverbial pursuit of the Holy Grail, or in this case, the Holy Challah!
A terrific and delicious post, Ruth! A sweet New Year to you and yours! ❤️
Thanks so much, Jolene!😘
Shana Tovah! To a sweet new year.
Todah rabah, Julia! Same to you and yours!💕🍎 🍏
Just another great post! Love reading about your holiday traditions.
Thanks so much, Maggie!
I’m intimidated by braiding and mispronouncing challah, but not by yeast. I have a bread machine so might give it a whirl. I know I said that last year, but you’ve inspired me! Great post.
Thanks, Marg! Please let me know if you do try it. I don’t own a bread machine, but my friend Melissa swears by it.
Will do. 😀
Shana Tovah.
I always heard that the challah is round to have a smooth year without any sharp points (it made more sense as a child). Plus, with challah you get the crumbs for tashlich.
Oh, my Bubbi Dubbi did the burning of the dough (as told to me by mother years ago).
Thanks for the comments, Jeremy. I never heard about the lack of sharp edges, but that and the crumbs for tashlich make sense. Another interpretation I’ve heard for the bumps is that if you make 12, they stand for the 12 tribes of Israel. I’ve only seen the burning of the challah once and have mixed feelings about it since I hate to waste anything--I’d rather give it to someone hungry! A Shana Tova to you too!
Utterly intimidated by braiding, or I would have already! Happy Rosh Hashanah, Ruth!
I bet you could do it! Anyway, you can just make regular pan loaves out of the dough or a simple round or spiral--no braiding required, and the bread still tastes good!
Thanks for the comments and good wishes, Annette!
If there was a Chamber of Commerce for challah, you could run it Ruth!
Hmmm, Mark! What an idea! I might win a popularity contest if I brought a few loaves to our local chamber. 🍞Thanks for your comment.
Really? There's a phobia about baking with yeast? Never knew that and certainly can't understand it. Unless it's just from dedicated sourdoughers who distain what they haven't captured themselves from the air around them. I ALWAYS have a large jar of yeast in the fridge, alongside my sourdough starter. Just used the yeast twice in the last two days, in fact! And it's good to see you're motivated to create some art challah! Although ... it's pronounced hah-lah in English? I've always pronounced it (insert short clearing your throat sound here)ala.
Yes I believe there is a reluctance about using yeast, though perhaps it doesn’t amount to a phobia, just the natural (or unnatural) fear of failure. I’m glad to hear you don’t suffer from it, Crowden, and that perhaps your kitchen is now back in working order.
Actually the “ch” in challah is a sound that doesn’t exist in English, as you probably know. It’s also in one of the alternate spellings of Hanukkah, Chanukah, but since the back-of-the-throat sound is foreign to most American ears and tongues, we usually just pronounce the first letter like the H in happen--better than to have people think you’re choking on a piece of challah!
Thanks for your comments, Crowden!
I do love challah bread, although it has been quite some time since I have eaten any. I've never made it myself, but would buy it when I lived in NYC. It does make delicious French toast. I like the symbolism of the round loaf. Thanks,Ruth!
Wish I could send you a loaf, Vicki, but challah doesn’t travel well--too soft and eggy. But it is worth having around--even past its prime for French toast and also bread pudding, croutons and even breadcrumbs for meatballs, meatloaf or stuffing. Hope you enjoy a loaf soon. Thanks so much for your comment!
L'shana tova!
Thanks so much, Loren! Wishing you and yours the same.
All I know about challah is that yours is the best!
Aww, Judy, thanks. There’s a loaf coming your way soon!🤗