Challah and French Toast
Nothing smells as good as bread baking. It fills your kitchen with yeasty aromas and your soul with warmth. The golden shine it has when you take it out of the oven makes ya feel like you've really accomplished something. Well, at least it does that to me. So once a month or so I try to dig out a bread recipe and give it a go. Usually it turns out ok, most of the time actually. Which I am grateful for. I would feel oh so inadequate if it flopped. But that is my inner youngest child syndrome working it's way out again, just let me tuck that back in there......almost, just a little more, ok. I got it. Now, where was I? Oh, yea. BREAD! Well you can eat this bread fresh from the oven with butter, jelly or jam, cinnamon and sugar or toast it and add the previous suggestions. Better yet, make french toast. Dense artisan breads are wonderful for making french toast. They hold up well to the egg soaking and the frying process without falling apart like regular sandwich bread. Let me show you the process.
Here are the two most important ingredients. Why didn't I take a picture of all of them? Well......because I forgot to that's why! Seriously I don't know why ya'll read this blog. I have no idea what I'm doing around here.
So after mixing the warm water, yeast and honey together I gave them a little privacy so they could.....uh.....bloom. Yea, that's it. After about 10 min it was all bubbly and yeasty smelling. So I started adding the other ingredients and mixing by hand. Once I couldn't mix in the flour anymore, I dumped it on my kitchen counter dusted with the rest of the flour and started kneading it by hand.
Till it was smooth and elastic. I rubbed it with a little oil to keep it from sticking and then into a clean bowl. Where I covered it with plastic wrap and a dish towel and stuck it on top of the stove under the light where it was warm. There it sat for about an hour and a half till ......
.....it looked like this. All swollen and puffy. Like me after chinese food! Don't tell anybody I said that, ok? K!
So I got angry, yea, yea, I got real angry and I punched it. I took both my fist and just punched the heck out of it. What? You don't believe me? Well, it's mostly true. I did punch it down, but I wasn't angry. It's part of the rising and proofing process. After punching it down I took it out of the bowl, formed it back into a ball and put in on the counter covered by the bowl for about 10 min.
When the timer went off I cut the big ball into 3 equal (more or less) portions, then each portion into 3 more sections. Then working with only three sections at a time, while keeping the others covered, I rolled them on the counter to form a 14 inch snake. After I had all three done, I braided them. Then I rolled and braided the next three. I sprayed the first braid with water and flipped the second braid over on top of it to attach them together. I did all of the portions to form three loaves of double braids. Ya with me? Good. After letting them rise another 30 minutes I popped them in the oven to bake off till they were golden and sounded hollow on the bottom. And you know what? I always wondered how you were supposed to figure out if it sounded hollow on the bottom if the loaves were pipping hot? I wanted to wait till they were cool before I was going near the bottom of those suckers. I just looked at the color of them and if I still wasn't sure then I stuck it with a thermometer to take it's temperature. Although, I have been known to hold them in an oven mit and tap them with a knife on the bottom to hear that hollow sound. But after baking many loaves of bread I finally realized that once they turned a golden brown and were in for at least the time specified then they were probably done. I have yet to be wrong. But you never know, it could happen. Possibly.
This was an incredibly easy bread, as far as breads go, and was delicious too. If you've never given baking your own bread a chance, try it. I hope you find it as a rewarding experience as I do. Good luck!
If you want to take the bread and make french toast, well that would be a great idea, please invite me over! Here is one I found from Ina Garten that I will be using this week. Probably along with some bacon (awwwww pork fat) and lots of butter. Eh, who needs to be a size 4 when there is pork fat, butter and cheese out there waiting to be devoured?
Challah
from Home and Gardens holiday baking issue
Makes 3 double loaves (approx 16 servings per loaf)
2 pkgs active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
1 3/4 cup warm water (105- 110 degrees)
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbls salt
7 1/2 - 8 cups bread flour or 8- 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbls water
1. Combine the yeast, honey and water in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve yeast then let sit for about 10 min till foamy. Stir in the eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter and salt.
Gradually add in as much of the flour as you can.
2. Then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and begin to knead in the rest of the flour to make a soft dough that is smooth and elastic (about 7-9 min).
3. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning to grease all sides of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm area till it doubles in size, (approx 1- 1
1/2 hours)
4. Uncover dough and punch down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and cover with bowl for about 10 min.
5. Begin to shape loaves, divide the dough into 6 portions. Then divide those six portions into thirds (18 portions total). Take 3 portions at a time, cover the rest, and
begin rolling the 3 into 14-16 inch long ropes. Place all 3 ropes on the counter and connect the top1 inch and fold under, then begin braiding. Take another 3 and
braid. Then spritz one with water and place the other on top and gently push them together to form a double braid. Repeat with other braids. Cover and let rise in a
warm place for about 30 min, till double in size.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine 1 egg and 1 Tbls water; brush over loaves. Bake for 30-35 min or until loaves are browned and sound hollow
when tapped.
7. Remove loaves from oven and baking pans and cool on wire racks.