challah bread

4-braid and 3-braid challah bread, respectively.

Color test: Close up of challah braid. If it's golden brown on the bumps and yellow on the inside, it's ready.

Sound test: Tap the bread when you take it out of the oven. If it sounds hollow, it's ready.

Challah bread is beautiful, and when you bake it, it feels like a celebration, no matter the day.

I will copy Peter Reinhart's text on challah:

"Challah, the braided Sabbath bread of Judaism, is a European celebratory loaf symbolic of God's goodness and bounty. The braids traditionally separate the loaf into twelve distinct sections representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The use of eggs in the bread was probably a way to use up excess egss before the strict Judaic Sabbath day of rest made it impossible to harvest the new eggs, as harvesting is one of many activities considered work in Orthodox Jewish communities."

_____________________________________

Makes 1 large braided loaf, 2 smaller loaves, or 1 large double-braided celebratory loaf

Ingredients

4 cups unbleached bread flour
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 tsp instant yeast
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water, at room temperature
2 egg whites, whisked until frothy, for egg wash

Directions

1. Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs and yolks, and 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Mix with a spoon (or on low speed with the paddle attachment) until all the ingredients gather and form a ball. Add the remaining water, if needed.

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead for about 10 minutes (or mix at medium-low speed for 6 minutes with the dough hook), sprinkling in more flour if needed to make a soft, supple, but not sticky dough. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register at about 80 F.

**I tried out this recipe twice, and both times I needed about 1 1/2 extra cups of flour, by the way.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl. Form the dough into a boule, and transfer into the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Ferment for 1 hour at room temperature.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 2 minutes to degas. Re-form it into a ball, return the ball to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and ferment for an additional hour. It should be at least 1 1/2 times its original size.

5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 6 pieces for 2 loaves. Form each of the pieces into a boule, cover them with a towel, and let them rest on the counter for 10 minutes.

6. Roll out the pieces into strands, each the same length, thicker in the middle and slightly tapered at the ends. Braid them using the 3- or 4-braid-method.

**I liked the 4-braid-method better. When I first braided them, the 3-strand-braid was much prettier, but after baking, the 4-strand had much more depth and looked more interesting. So, I recommend the 4-braid-method.

Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and transfer the loaves to the pan. Brush the loaves with the egg wash. Mist the loaves with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or place the pan in a food grade plastic bag.

7. Proof at room temperature from 60 to 75 minutes, or until the dough has grown 1 1/2 times its original size. 

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F, with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Brush again with egg wash.

9. Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees, and continue baking from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the loaf. The bread should be a rich golden brown.

**It took only 20 minutes for the bread to be done in my oven. Just make sure it's golden brown and that when you tap it it sounds hollow.

10. When done, transfer the bread to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.

 ________________________________

I sold this bread to a certain costumer, and he paid me with eggs from his chickens! Here they are:

pizza napoletana - thin crust

These pictures aren't so great because it was dark, and the more beautiful pizzas got eaten in less than one minute. Paul Clay thought that adding the green pepper would make it look more beautiful. hmm. The pizza was so so good, though. This one has goat cheese and prosciutto.

I decided to try this out since I'd been making so much bread and the recipe for pizza crust is almost identical to white bread's.

It seems that people usually try making pizza before making bread, so their crust isn't so good, but since I've made so much bread, my pizza dough was great! It's all about letting it rest and developing the gluten by kneading (but don't knead too much). The flavor gets a lot better if you let it rest overnight because it gets more acidity through cool fermentation.

I used a tomato sauce (like pasta sauce) we made with tomatoes from our garden, Parmesan and Asiago cheese, and some toppings my friend Cooper got (green peppers and mushrooms, prosciutto, salami, onion slices, etc.)

_________________________

Makes 6 6-ounce pizza crusts

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (if you use all-purpose flour, omit the olive oil)

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

1 3/4 cups water (ice cold)

Cornmeal for dusting

Directions

1. Whisk together the flour salt and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl. With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed. Stir until you get an even dough, repeatedly dipping your hands or the metal spoon in cold water. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and be at about 50°F (10°C).

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Using a metal dough scraper (or a sharp knife), cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. You can dip the scraper into the cold water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it. Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls onto a lightly-oiled pan. Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a large plastic bag. Alternatively, after oiling the balls, put each one in a separate plastic bag.

3. Put the bag into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the balls in individual bags in the freezer (these will last 3 months max.) Transfer them into the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.

4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch (1 1/3 cm) thick and 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest for 2 hours.

5. At least 45 minutes before baking the pizza, place a baking stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800°F (430°C) (most home ovens will only go up to 500°F (230°C)). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but don't preheat the pan.

6. Generously dust a pizza peel or the back of a sheet pan with cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs, in flour and pick up 1 piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Reinhart recommends tossing the pizza like they do at restaurants, but I couldn't figure it out. I was nervous about ripping the dough, so I used a rolling pin. Start rolling it out with a lightly-floured rolling pin. Do a quarter turn after every roll to ensure radial symmetry. Also flip over once in a while, adding enough flour so that it doesn't stick. If the dough keeps springing back (mine did), let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again.

7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction, lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough cornflour underneath to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other toppings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American "kichen-sink" approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. Usually 3 or 4 toppings are sufficient. Less is more!

8. Slide the topped pizza on to the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the oven door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. The pizza should take 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the pizza baked faster on one side than another, or top than bottom, then rotate the pan or move the rack.

9. Remove the pizza from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving to allow the cheese to set slightly.

A good choice for cheeses is: a fresh hard bread (ie. Romano, Asiago, Parmesan), a good "melter" (ie. Mozzarella, Cheddar, or Gruyere), and any favorite (ie. goat, blue cheese).

Recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread