This is some of the best Challah that you will ever eat, and it is pretty idiot-proof. It is NOT a sweet Challah, but is sweet enough. It will go with anything that you want to eat with it...whether it is Chili, Spaghetti, soup, peanut butter...you name it...it is completely neutral to all foods. If you do want it sweeter (which I don't), the add another 1/4 cup of sugar or honey. It is as simple as that. When you throw all of this in the bread machine you might have to adjust the flour or moisture a little bit. No big deal, because you probably would have to anyway.
If you have a convection oven, put it on the standard proofing setting, or if you have a conventional oven, then warm it up a hair and then shut the heat off and close the door. It shouldl stay warm for a long time.
INGREDIENTS:
(Put them into a bread machine or mixer in the order listed.)
1/4 cup organic white sugar
1 1/4 cup 110 degree warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 packages yeast
6 cups unbleached all purpose white flour
THEN, 1 tablespoon salt
Let the bread machine or the mixer do the blending. When the bread machine stops on the dough setting (about 20-25 minutes), take the dough out and put it into an oiled bowl. I use Kosher spray (i.e. Kroger..just look for the Kosher symbols). Turn the bread around in the bowl to oil its surface lightly.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it into the oven and let it double in size. Once it does, you can either punch it down and let it rise again or take it out to make bread with if you don't have time for two risings. I used one rise in the bowl with the bread in these pictures.
First, take a piece the size of a Golf Ball and wrap it up in foil. THIS IS THE CHALLAH...not the loaves. When you do this, say the blessing:
Baruch atah Adonai elohaynu melech ha'olam asher kidsanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu le 'hafrish challah.
or-
Praised are You, Adonai our G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, who has made us holy with mitzvot and instructed us to separate challah.
This a symbolic sacrifice that was done in the Temples.
The golf-ball sized sacrifice goes into the oven with the bread.
Cut the bread in half and then take one half and cut it into three ropes (roll the pieces to make ropes and then let them rest a few minutes). Pinch the ends together (really smoosh the ends so they don't come undone) and then braid the bread. When you get to the opposite end, then pinch those ends together and tuck them underneath the bread. Place it onto a cooking sheet that is lined with parchment paper.
Do the same thing with the other 1/2 of the dough and place it on a cooking sheet.
Cover the loaves with a towel and put them back into the oven to rise to the height that you want them. In the pictures above, I was in a hurry to get downtown this morning, so I let them rise adequately...not to their full potential. Even at that, they are beautiful and taste wonderful!
When they are getting close to the height that you want, then take them out of the oven and preheat the oven. Here goes: Preheat Conventional oven to 350 degrees F. Preheat a CONVECTION oven to 325 degrees F.
Once the oven is preheated, pop them in and it should take about 25 - 35 minutes. I take mine out when the internal temp of the bread hits 190. Mine took 25 minutes exactly to come out right. If your bread is getting too dark, just put foil over it and let it finish cooking. Keep an eye on the internal temperature until you are familiar with this recipe and how it responds, then you won't have to take the temp anymore.
After baking, breaking, and washing your hands, place the two Challot on a wire rack to cool. After they are cool, you recite the following blessing:
Baruch atah Adonai elohaynu melech ha'olam hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz.
Praised are You, Adonai our G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the Earth.
Next, take the bread in the foil and throw it away. That is G-d's bread...not yours, as you have sacrificed this portion to Adonai.
If you forget to "separate" the Challah before it is baked, it can be broken off and burnt later.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Challah dries out very quickly. I always freeze mine as soon as possible. It thaws out very quickly also. Just leave the end of a bag open to thaw. You can make toast with it frozen. It makes the BEST French toast that you have ever eaten, with cinnamon, vanilla, milk and egg (lots of vanilla and cinnamon). Challah keeps for a long time in the freezer. You can take it out on Shabbat (Friday night Sabbath) for ceremony, and then use as desired through Shabbat and to the end of Shabbat, Saturday night - one hour after sundown which is Havdalah (the end of Shabbat and the Havdalah ceremony).
Just take a look at the pictures to get a good handle on all of this and...Enjoy! Shalom!
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