Wednesday, January 26, 2011

challah bread

 What you need...
(we multiplied x5)

a pinch of salt
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp sugar
5/8 C. lukewarm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 1/2 C flour
poppy seeds
large bowl
spoon
cookie sheet
cloth to cover loaf
pastry brush

 First combine the sugar, salt, oil and lukewarm water.
Make sure the water is not too hot or it will kill the yeast
add the yeast,
stir once and
watch it grow for about 5 minutes
 crack the egg into a seperate bowl
add to mixture.

 add flour
blend with your hands until dough is a dough ball
add water to moisten if necessary
or flour to thicken
knead the dough once a dough ball for about 5 minutes




 lightly oil the bowl and place the dough in it
cover with a damp cloth
(we used press n seal)
put it in a warm spot until it doubles in size
(about an hour and a half)

punch down the dough and let it rise again for about an hour
 once dough rises again divide into 4 long strips.
pinch the pieces at the top together
starting on the left weave the bread strips
 in an over
under
over
pattern
until the loaf is completely braided
and pinch the ends together.


place on cookie sheet & let rise for 45minutes
paint egg yolk on uncooked bread with a pastry brush
sprinkle with poppy seeds as desired

bake at 350 for 20-24 minutes
bread should be golden brown and sound hollow when you tap it.
enjoy!

Making bread is a science. It has a protein called gluten that makes the dough elastic. kneading is important because it causes 2 proteins in flour (gliadin and glutenin) to join together and form gluten. gluten is useful because the elasticity of the dough will expand because the yeast forms tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. you should end up with a light loaf of bread rather than a rock hard lump!

1 comment:

Heather said...

Thanks for sharing your recipe, I enjoyed seeing the pictures! :)