Printbaking challah
i've been baking challah for a few weeks after not having baked bread regularly for a couple of decades, and i have some questions. how do you get a chewy, pully texture, like the amy's bread challah? mine is very tender crumbed, which is ok, but i'm hoping to achieve the kind of bread that sort of bites back, and that you can pull apart in strands.
is all purpose better than bread flour to get that type of crumb? also, do people have any feelings about sugar versus honey? do you have a recipe you can share? and has anyone tried baking mimi sheraton's challah recipe from in my mother's kitchen? is an autolyse necessary?
hey, you bread bakers, come out and talk to me!
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7 Comments:
I have made a few challah recipes but I always get great results from the one in the Silver Palate cookbook. What makes it standout is the richness imparted by the use of milk and butter which are not generally used in kosher challah. On the other hand, I have made challah with honey and oil and it was still superior to anything store bought.
izzy's mama at 9:16AM on 02/26/08
Are you using AP flour or bread flour?
I would think, to achieve that 'chewy' texture you would either have to a) use bread flour because of its higher gluten content or b) work the dough longer to develop the gluten.
:) I usually use a mix of both when baking braided challah.
jazzinx at 9:24AM on 02/26/08
Definitely go with bread flour for chew. This recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum always does the trick for me.
dvchurch at 9:40AM on 02/26/08
Try upping the kneading time before you tinker with the flour. I have a friend who bakes challah with all-purpose, with excellent results, but he really gives the dough a workout.
thebasilqueen at 11:07AM on 02/26/08
I make challah frequently and always use my bread machine. It gets a long knead, then rests and gets kneaded again; the texture is wonderful. I always use bread flour, not ap, and bake so much bread, I get the 25# bag of bread flour from Costco. I use the challah recipe from Electric Bread and just set the machine to dough stage, then braid it. I've never actually baked it in the machine's bread pan. Guests have come to expect a challah or French loaf when they come for dinner, and look forward to the bread toasted for breakfast the next day.
frederika at 9:35PM on 02/26/08
i do use bread flour, and i knead twice for ten minutes each time. i think i gave it too long a rise last time, since it was too light for me. i really enjoyed looking at rose levy beranbaum's blog on challah. seems as if you have to have a starter to get the texture i want. i'll take a look at her book. dvchurch, do you use that stiff starter she talks about? how do you make it?
cybercita at 10:26PM on 02/26/08
Cybercita --
I've made it with and without the starter and it has turned out well both times (it's only adds an extra 2.5 oz of dough). Her recipe in The Bread Bible doesn't call for starter at all (though she does include a pre-ferment step) and it has the qualities you were describing.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 10:42AM on 02/28/08