Dessert free weekend... dessert free weekend... means that I guess I will be writing about bread this week. It was a really busy weekend anyway. It was antiques weekend in New York City, which is always full of activity in our household, as A and I have a tradition of visiting all of the fairs to drool over the wares. It also coincides with our anniversary, meaning that the fairs are following by some sort of extravagant dinner out on the town (though I think the economy means cheap pasta, not Michelin stars this year). On top of that I had dinner with D to chat about my first week on the new job. See? No time for baking. Or at least that is what I am telling myself. In the back of my mind, I know that if A was not holding firmly to his dessert ban I would have tried to squeeze a cake in somewhere.
So... on to bread. I decided that this weekend would be a good time to whip up a challah loaf, or egg bread. My new job is in the Jersey suburbs, which means I no longer am able to indulge in the delight that is the tasty, but also very bad for you, lunch of street meats. No more greasy lamb over rice for me. Instead I get to choose from salads in the company cafeteria or a brown bag special. A and I didn't cook much this weekend so the brown bag special for Monday would be a cold-cut sandwich with a banana. To spice things up a bit, I thought that home-made bread was in order in lieu of pre-sliced sandwich bread from the grocery store.
One of my biggest frustrations I have with home made bread is that it goes stale ridiculously fast. Sometimes I feel like my bread has already gone stale by the time I reach for a second slice. To help mitigate this problem, A bought me a bread box from King Arthur Flour last year when I first became serious about bread baking. If you like making bread and having fresh, home made loaves on hand but dislike eating an entire loaf in a day, this box is the solution. I was surprised to learn that a bread box actually helped to partially solve the problem. While the crusts of my loaves do lose some crunch in the box, the bread stays soft for a few days.
Challah is basically an egg bread. It is one of my favorites because the dough is pretty forgiving and the bread has a sweet flavor that goes well with just about anything. Most importantly, it is not necessary to allow the dough to ferment overnight. A beautiful loaf can be put together from start to finish in less than 5 hours. (That is pretty quick for bread. If I have learned anything about bread, it is that a good loaf CANNOT be rushed!)
Recipe after the jump!
Braided Challah Loaf
7 ounces water
1 envelope rapid rise yeast
1 ounce sugar
1/4 ounce salt
1/2 cup egg yolks
1.5 ounces vegetable oil
18 ounces high gluten flour
In order to make bread efficiently and minimize the active work time, I find it useful to pull together my mise-en-place first. Start by seperating the egg yolks into a bowl. Mix in the vegetable oil.
In the bowl of a mixer, blend the yeast, sugar, salt and flour together. Add the water, eggs and vegetable oil and mix on low speed with a dough hook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth. Pull the dough out of the bowl and put it on a lightly floured counter for some quick kneading. I find this dough to be a little thicker and stiffer than other types of bread dough. It also dries out pretty easily, so work quickly. After kneading the dough for a few minutes, shape it into a round boule for fermenting. You can tell that the dough is ready because it will be mostly smooth with some dimples on the surface where the yeast has activated.
Turn the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap. Set the bowl aside for an hour or two, or until the dough has doubled in size. The time this will take depends on the temperature in your home. A warmer kitchen will yield a faster rise.
Once the dough has doubled, remove it from the bowl and divide it into three pieces. I like to weigh each piece to ensure that they are divided as evenly as possible. Cover the pieces with a damp towel and allow them to rest for about ten minutes. Then roll each out into a long cylinder. Due to the highly developed gluten in this dough, it could take a few tries to get the dough to roll out. If the dough becomes to stiff and snaps back quickly, allow it to rest for about five minutes and then try to roll it out again.
Smush the three cylinders together at the top and proceed to braid them into a loaf, pinching the ends together at the bottom.
Tuck the ends underneath the loaf and carefully place it on a baking sheet that has been covered in parchment. Brush the loaf with an egg wash (one beaten egg) and set aside to proof until the loaf has doubled in size - about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Bake the proofed loaf for about 20 minutes at 400F. When the bread is ready to come out, it will be nicely browned on top and sound hollow if tapped underneath. Challah can be a little fragile, due to their size and weight, so be careful if you grab the loaf by the end - it could break in two! Finally... FIGHT THE URGE to cut until your bread immediately. It will smell lovely... irresistible even. Hot, fresh bread! Don't do it. Instead, quickly move your loaf from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. This will prevent condensation from soaking the bottom and ruining your bread. Now, leave your bread there for at least an hour to cool. This is necessary to finish the baking process. If you cut into it too soon, the texture on the inside will be gummy and the flavor will not match the expectations set by the wonderful aroma wafting out of your kitchen.
Once the bread is cool, slice and enjoy!
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