Challah and my To Do List...*Update* first post

*Update*



Hi, Mirj! I baked the challah today and it was a success except for one unexpected little problem. The tops of the bread flattened. There wasn't that definite braided hump on top. I can make out a vestige of braids but that's the extent of it. The loaves look like large French bread. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe exactly, flavor and texture are perfect, etc.

Notice ~Tasty~ and I tore off a hunk of the bread the minute it left the oven!


Help?

Do I need to make a house call to the Bread Forum?

No bother, howya doin' CG?

I'm fine, thank you!


I decided to try your challah recipe. It sounds like a winner!



Go Yankees!

Rose, he knows he's such a credit to the game,
But the Yankees grab the headlines every time...

Which one? Challah recipe, I mean...

Oh, it's this one:

The Best Bread Machine Challah

PS I had loads of fun making this bread!

I'm glad. I look forward to baking challah each week, it's a satifying feeling seeing gorgeous braided loaves coming out of the oven.

I think I finally have my favorite recipe perfected, now I'm looking into the braiding and shaping, that's giving me so much pleasure!

I lost my braids.

How long did you let them rise before you bunged them in the oven? I think you left them too long between the braiding and the baking.

That was my first thought. I may have left the loaves to rise
a good hour.

What is your suggestion for rising time? Half an hour max?





Thank you for your help! cg

Mirj, when you make the Bread Machine Challah recipe without a bread machine, do you proof the yeast first and then proceed with the rest of the ingredients like in a conventional recipe or just mix everything together and let rise?
This recipe got such good reviews that I want to try it, but I don't have a bread machine.
I usually make the Kosher by Design recipe, but it's a huge amount-about 6 or 7 challot for the freezer. Sometimes I just want to make enough for 1 shabbat without dealing with all that dough.

When I make the bread machine recipe I use the dried yeast (use it for EVERY recipe) and I don't proof it first. I also let it just rise after braiding for about half an hour, and then place in a 150 degree C oven and let that final rise a bit in there before the actual baking kicks in.

Niteowl, have you tried my Nadav's Delicious Challah recipe? It makes 4 loaves for me, enough for one Shabbat. I've got a batch rising now.

Sorry, I wasn't getting email notification to this topic.

Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestion--I'm going to try Nadav's challah next time. My challot generally come out fairly light and I'm pretty pleased with the results, but my yeshivish son has been requesting what he calls 'seminary girl challah' I think he wants something a little denser and gooey. Do you have a recipe that fits the bill?

The Nadav's challah is gooey and dense, what my mother would call kallach. Funny your son should call it sem girl challah, here it's hesder challah.