Yid.Dish: Homemade Challah for the Working Woman
I recently headed back to the office after being at home for nearly 18 months. During that year and a half, I renewed my relationships with my children, husband, self, and…my kitchen. I have always been one to cook and entertain, but being at home upped the ante. I turned play dates into dinner dates. Every Friday was a complete Shabbat dinner. There was usually a homemade something or other for dessert. And we had so many leftovers, we had to literally give them away to the neighbors. During this time, I shopped at my leisure, stopping into boutique markets and buying direct from the farms. I founded a CSA. In short, I found a great deal of happiness and comfort in cooking, especially for those I love. It became more than a hobby; it became a passion.
It did not take long after returning to the workplace for things to slip to the wayside. Even with flexible hours, it is impossible to do all that I did before, much less to have the luxury of time to enjoy it. Pizza night is now one a week. Dessert is often fruit and ice cream. And the neighbors have to fend for themselves. But one thing I refuse to give up on is Shabbat, especially homemade challah.
For me, challah making challah represents everything I want to be. I love the feel of the dough in my hands when I braid it, almost as much as the sense of accomplishment I feel when it comes out of the oven. When I make challah, I feel nurturing and generous and full of possibility. And I was not going to give it up. So I pulled out my slow rise method from my bag of tricks, and wanted to share it with anyone interested in homemade challah for the working woman.
Slow rise is a method that allows you to literally let the bread rise for as long as you need. Well, not forever – you can’t leave it in an Egyptian tomb an expect to come back a century later. But, much as the Pillsbury folks do, you can leave yeast to rise in cool spaces for extended periods. This time old method works well with challah.
For years, I have used Claudia Roden’s challah recipe with great success; it is a wonderful, simple, and parve recipe that always delivers great bread for Shabbat. Like all challah recipes, it has four key phases:
1) Combine/knead ingredients: Combine ingredients and knead, preferably on a Kitchen Aid with dough hook (speed 2 or less)
2) 1st rise: Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.
3) Braid and 2nd rise: Braid the challah like you would a pigtail, using three plaits. Let rise again until doubled.
4) Brush and bake: Brush with an egg wash and bake away.
Here’s how it works with a slow rise:
1) Thursday night – Combine/knead ingredients: Combine ingredients and knead, preferably on a Kitchen Aid with dough hook (speed 2 or less) – 15 minutes total (2 -3 minutes for the Kitchen Aid)
2) Thursday night – 1st rise: Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size. Let it rise in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
3) Friday morning – Braid and 2nd rise: Braid the challah like you would a pigtail, using three plaits. Let rise in the fridge again until doubled. – 5 minutes to braid, 1 hour plus to rise
4) Friday afternoon – Brush and bake: Take out of fridge and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before baking. Brush with an egg wash and bake away. – 30 minutes
In some ways, the slow rise is the ultimate metaphor for the multi-tasking mom. The work gets done quietly, in the dead of night, while the dish washer is running and the laundry is cycling, and of course the kids are sleeping. I like the idea that while all that is happening things are rising in my fridge, full of the next day’s promise. It’s a hopeful effort. And homemade challah dresses up any meal, from brisket, to roast chicken, to takeout. It is a nice gesture that makes my family happy, and for me, makes working seem feasible. Give it a try, and enjoy every bite.
Note: Claudia Roden’s recipe is for 4 loaves; I find that 1 tbsp of yeast yields 2 loaves of bread. If you are new to using yeast, please take a look at this piece on how to work with it.
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