Daring Bakers' September 2012 Challenge - Empanada Gallega

Patri of the blog, Asi Son Los Cosas, was our September 2012 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she decided to tempt us with one of her family’s favorite recipes for Empanadas! We were given two dough recipes to choose from and encouraged to fill our Empanadas as creatively as we wished!
 
I was reluctant to participate in this months challenge. I have a couple of picky eaters when it comes to savory food and I thought I might be the only one eating this months challenge.
I kept delayed the start until close to deadline day  thinking that I would pull out of the challenge. Then came one of those lazy afternoons when I had the recipe in front of me and all the ingredients to get the dough started. So I gave it a whirl! And I am very glad I did try this recipe. The dough was very easy and I went the even easier route and made it in the mixer with the dough hook. I did not even clean the bowl, just oiled it and plopped the dough back in. While the dough was rising, I scooted to the grocery store for filling ingredients. I could not decide whether to go with chicken or pork so...I got both. Back at home, I got the filling cooking and noticed a jar of chipotles in adobe sauce in the the pantry. There was the kick I was looking for in the filling.

 I thought the shredded mozzarella with jalapeno might be overkill but it was not overwhelming and added a nice creaminess to the Empanada. I used some in the filling and a little on top. The topping really did nothing and next time (I always yearn for that next time), I will save a little dough as recommended by Petri for decoration.
I think this dish is excellent for football night. Cook it up, slice it and serve on a big platter. If our team makes it to the Super Bowl, I am going to make this for game night. It is very easy to eat. My fork and knife hubby sliced his up while I grabbed the thing like a slice of pizza and chomped away. It holds together really well.

I served this with an avocado and orange salad dressing it with just a squeeze of fresh orange juice and a drizzle of extra special all the way from Paris extra virgin olive oil. I also had a sauce of sour cream, lime juice and chili powder that I made for another dish but I found it not to be necessary or beneficial to the dish. It was fine on its own.
I dream up fillings for this dish daily. It seems so easy for sweet and savory. Thanks Petri for a great challenge!!
Here is the recipe:
 

Empanada Gallega adapted from a recipe by Petri from Asi Son Las Cosas

 

Dough Ingredients:

2 ½ plus 1 tablespoons (640 ml) (375 gm) bread flour

1cups (240 ml) of lukewarm water (about 85°F/30ºC), approximately

1/2 satchel (1/2 tablespoon) (7.5 gm) dry yeast or (1/2 oz.) (15 gm) fresh yeast

1 teaspoons (5ml) (5.5 gm) salt

2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil (you can use oil from the pan where you have cooked the filling)

1 large egg, for egg wash

Before Rising

 

Dough Directions:

Measure out all the ingredients.

 Sift the flour into a big bowl and make a well in the middle. Rub the yeast in with your fingers.

In a small bowl, mix the water and the salt.

Now, using your fingers or a wooden spoon, start adding the water and mixing it with the flour-yeast mixture. Keep on working with your fingers or spoon until you have added enough water and all the flour has been incorporated and you have a messy ball of dough.

On a clean counter top, knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes

 You could do all the above using a stand mixer, in that case mix the ingredients with the paddle attachment until mixed and then switch to a dough hook and knead on low for about 6 minutes.

 Clean and oil the big bowl you used for mixing and place the kneaded dough in it. Cover it with a napkin or piece of linen and keep it in a warm, draft-free place for approximately 40 to 50 minutes.

 

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ red onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

½ red pepper, chopped finely

1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce, chopped finely

1 chicken breast, grilled or poached in chicken stock chopped finely

1 pork chop, grilled or sautéed and finely chopped

¼ cup (56.7 grams) canned black beans, drained, rinsed and rough chopped

1 /2 cup (113.4 grams) shredded Mozzarella cheese with jalapeno pepper

Heat oil in medium sauté pan. Add onion and red pepper and cook over medium heat stirring often. Add garlic and chipotle pepper. Cook for about a minute. Add the two meats and stir to combine. Add the black beans. 2.Remove from heat and allow to cool before filling.



 

To Assemble:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured rolling mat or counter top, roll half the dough to about 1/8^th inch thick. Place on parchment covered baking sheet. Sprinkle ½ of the cheese in the center of the pastry leaving about a 2 inch wide margin around the edges. Spoon the cooled filling on top of the cheese.

 

Roll 3/4‘s of the rest of the dough (it should be slightly smaller the first piece. Lay on top of the dough and then roll up the bottom piece of dough over the top piece pinching as you move around the perimeter to seal the dough. Prick a hole in the top center or use a fork to prick several holes on top for steam to escape.Mix together 1 egg with 1tablespoon (15ml) water and to make an egg wash. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash.

Using the rest of the dough, make an attractive decoration such as leaves to decorate the top. (I did not do this step but I think you should!)

Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until bottom crusts looks lightly browned and crispy. Remove from oven, cut into slices with a sharp knife. Serve warm.

 

Yield 4 to 6 servings.

 

August Daring Baker Challenge - Pate A Choux

Pate a choux and I are old friends. It was one of the only things I could do well at culinary school. I loved the magic that seemed to ooze from a few simple ingredients  puffing up with  color and taste. I made gougeres, eclairs, cream puffs...anything I could find to make with pate a choux, I would try. But, I never made swans and in recent years, I have not had much reason to make any pate a choux. So, it was a real delight to see  this month's challenge.

Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired
us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We
were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors
allowing our creativity to go wild!

The recipe looked sound. I remembered a few techniques that helped the pate a choux rise and dry nicely so I added those in when making the recipe. Then I got crabby....really crabby. I decided that if I could make swans, I could make crabs. so I piped a lot of  crabby looking shapes in addition to swans and baked them.

I put my little crabs filled with crabmeat salad of course on the dinner plate with an orange and avocado salad. Hubby was deeeelighted.

For dessert, yes, we had swans. I made them into profiteroles filled Sweet Scoops Ginger Frozen Yogurt and perched on Coops Hot Fudge Sauce, my new obsession. The taste is rich but not overwhelming. It is better than homemade around this house.

Here is the recipe for Pate A Choux. It is a great one and easier than you may think!

Pate a Choux
(cannot be doubled)
Ingredients
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gm) (4 oz) butter 1 cup (240 ml) water ¼ teaspoon (1½ gm) salt 1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) all-purpose flour 4 large eggs
Directions:
1. Line at least two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper, or grease pans well.
2. Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F/190°C/gas mark 5 .
3. In a small saucepot, combine butter, water, and salt. Heat over until butter melts, then remove from stove.
4. Add flour all at once and beat, beat, beat the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot. I put the pot back on low heat and stir it allowing water to evaporate.
5. Add one egg, and beat until well combined. Add remaining eggs individually, beating vigorously after each addition.  I use a mixer on medium low speed to add the eggs. I add them one at a tinme allowing the eggs to incorprate before adding more. Many times, I do not need to add all the eggs. I look for a consistency that is firm but loose enough to pipe through a pastry tube. Resulting mixture should be somewhat glossy, very smooth, and somewhat thick.
6. Using a ¼” (6 mm) tip on a pastry bag, pipe out about 36 swan heads. You’re aiming for something between a numeral 2 and a question mark, with a little beak if you’re skilled and/or lucky.
7. Remove the tip from the bag and pipe out 36 swan bodies. These will be about 1.5” (40 mm) long, and about 1” (25 mm) wide. One end should be a bit narrower than the other.
8. Bake the heads and bodies until golden and puffy. The heads will be done a few minutes before the bodies, so keep a close eye on the baking process.
9. Remove the pastries to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before filling.

National S'Mores Day

Happy S'mores Day to You!

There seems to be a lot of attention to S'mores this year. At the supermarket, there is an entire section devoted to marshmallows for S'mores. There is another section close by the marshmallows dedicated to all things S'more. S'more flavored candies, equipment for making your own S'mores and of course, the necessary ingredients(in addition to marshmallows) that make the S'more.
I had my first S'more at summer camp about 200 years ago when we were using fire to cook our food on a regular basis. We had walked close to 500 miles,it seemed, up a rocky path to a beautiful vista called Goat something or other and dangled our tiny legs over a deep ravine while our counselors made a giant fire in the middle of the woods. So wholesome.  They doled out the graham crackers, hershey bars and marshmallows. We had to find our own stick to toast the marshmallows. The S'mores were messy but chocolaty so I fell in love with them.
I have not had S'mores since that day but after enough trips past the S'more section of the supermarket, the marketing strategy reeled me in.
I wanted to make a less messy S'more however. I wanted it to be compact like a sandwich and easy to  serve  guests. I thought the main effort should be toasting the marshmallow followed by the big S'more reward.

I played around with a few recipes online for a chocolate chip graham cracker cookie. Then I toasted a few marshmallows and sandwiched them between two cookies. Delightful!!

The cookies, on their own are really tasty. With the toasted marshmallow, the smoky flavor comes through and elevates the cookie sandwich to nirvana. I recommend eating the cookie sandwich soon after smashing the marshmallow between two cookies. This is not a make ahead dessert or snack or breakfast item..whatever you want to label it. The marshmallow does not improve when it cools down to room temperature and the warmth of slight melting of the chocolate chips is lost. So toast up, and eat up!
Happy National S"more Day to you!

Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Cookie
                                                      Yield: 24 cookies or 12 S'more sandwiches
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Blend in egg and vanilla. Add combined flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and salt.
 Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips
 Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets about 3 inches apart . Press to flatten slightly.
Bake in pre-heated oven 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on sheet about 3 minute and remove to wire racks. Cool to room temperature.

To make a S'More sandwich:

Stick a marshmallow on the end of a skewer or a stick if you're at Goat something gulch and toast the marshmallow over an open flame being careful not to toast yourself.
Set the marshmallow on the flat side of one cookie. Lay another cookie on top sandwiching the marshmallow as you remove the skewer so you won't burn your fingers on the hot mallow. Wait a minute to eat your treat so the hot marshmallow does not singe the roof of your mouth because that is a pain that no one deserves. You can use that time to get yourself a cold glass of milk.
Enjoy!

July Daring bakers Challenge - Crackers

Cracker Crazy!

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.

When the challenge to make crackers came out this month, I thought I might be too busy to be able to do it. But reading through the suggestions and recipes, I felt better about tackling this project. I love crackers. I never thought to make them because, frankly, I am not picky about crackers. I like them all. But now that I have tried the recipes listed here, I may never buy another cracker. They are that good and that easy. I usually tweak the recipes a bit for the challenges but my creative karma was directed elsewhere. I followed the recipes as written and they both worked perfectly. I froze half the dough of each because the recipes make a lot of crackers and I was not showing any self control in eating them.
I am tardy about the posting(it was supposed to be last Friday) but since it is still July, I am hoping to be given grace. I am looking forward to getting creative with the ingredients and of course I will keep you posted! For those of you who come for Thanksgiving at my house...I hope you like crackers!

Spicy Pepper Jack Crackers with Cool Gazpacho

Pepper Jack and Oregano Crackers (Roll with pasta rollers or by hand):
Servings: Approximately 80 crackers
Ingredients
1⅔ cups (400 ml) (235 gm) (8¼ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
2¼ cups (540 ml) (225 gm/8 oz) grated pepper jack cheese, firmly packed
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (1 gm) dried oregano
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (3 gm) salt
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (½ gm) black pepper
½ cup (120 ml) (4 fl oz) vegetable oil
½ cup (120 ml) (4 fl oz) water
Spice topping
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1/8 gm) cayenne
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (3 gm) kosher salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) sugar

Ready to Mix

Dough Fresh from the Processor

Interesting Cuters make Interesting Crackers

Ready to Bake!

Directions:
1. Combinethe spice topping and set aside.
2. Grate the cheese and put in the bowl of a food processor with flour, oregano, salt and pepper and pulse to combine. This can also be done by hand.
3. Add the oil and pulse until the consistency of wet sand is reached.
4. Add enough water for the dough to come together.
5. Form the dough into two disks, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
6. Heat the oven to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3.
7. Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, either use a rolling pin or roll out in your pasta rollers to 1/8 of an inch (3 mm) thick. If you use pasta rollers, ensure the dough is well floured so as not to stick.
8. Cut the strips into cracker shapes or cut out using a cookie cutter.9. Transfer to a parchment lined cookies sheet and sprinkle with the spice mixture.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until medium golden brown.
11. Store in an airtight container and eat within three days.

Health Crackers with Goat Cheese and Pastis

Health Crackers (Roll these by hand):
Servings: Approximately 80 crackers
Ingredients
3 cups (720 ml) (240 gm)(8½ oz) rolled oats
2 cups (480 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 cup (240 ml) (80 gm) (2¾ oz) wheat germ
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (40 gm)(1½ oz) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
¾ cup (180 ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (240 ml) water
1 large egg white
Cracker topping:
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, nigella (onion) seeds, salt
Salt sprinkling

Directions:
1.Mix the oats, flour, wheat germ sugar and salt together in a large bowl or bowl for the stand up mixer.
2. Combine the water and oil and stir into the oat mixture until it comes together and a dough forms.
3.3. Form dough into a disk and allow to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes but up to a day if you are making the ahead.
4. Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3.
5. Divide the dough into quarters and work with one piece at a time, allowing the remaining pieces to stay in the fridge as you proceed with rolling out the crackers.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/16 inch (1½ mm) thick and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet by carefully wrapping the dough around the rolling pin7. Brush the dough with the egg white mixed briefly with a tablespoon of water and sprinkle with seeds and salt of your choice.
8. Cut the dough with a pizza wheel and bake for 25-30 minutes until browned. Crackers that are not crispy once cooled may be returned to the oven.

9. Store in an airtight container and eat within two weeks.

June Daring Bakers Challenge - Battenburg Cake

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease. If you want Mandy's wonderful recipes, click here.

The challenge this month was one of my favorites. Although we were given quite a specific item to make, Mandy gave us all kinds of creative freedom.  First here is a little background about Battenberg cakes that I am quoting from Mandy's challenge.

The first Battenberg cake was made to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria, to husband Prince Louis of Battenberg.
It’s traditionally flavoured with almond and has the signature Battenberg markings, that is, the yellow and pink squares (said to represent the four princes of Battenberg). The strips of sponge are glued together using jam (normally apricot) and the whole cake is covered in marzipan. Sometimes the edges are crimped and the top is patterned with a knife.

The cake is thoroughly English but being thoroughly American, I looked around for something that would appeal to my crowd.  I had a copy of Better Homes and Gardens magazine (yes, I am a magazine addict) that featured a Pink Lemonade Cake on the front cover. The cake looked so refreshing, light and summery that I knew I would have to make it. The recipe is courtesy of Karen Tack who along with Alan Richardson, has written some fun books about cupcakes and most recently cookies and cake pops. Although I was not fond of the recipes in their books, I found their creative ideas of decorating wonderful and accessible. Looking at the recipe, I was dismayed that it used red food coloring but I decided to go ahead and try it but use frozen pink lemonade and as little pink food color as possible.

The cake was really easy to make and I loved that the Battenberg is not a large cake. The recipe actually makes two cakes and that was great for sharing. Also, I felt like it was gone before it had a chance to go stale. I strayed from the traditional technique quite a bit so don't go looking for authenticity here. I used a cream cheese icing to glue everything together and covered the whole thing in fondant. I used Albert Uster's Massa Grischuna Neutral fondant. I LOVE this fondant. You can roll it thinly and it has a lovely buttery taste to it. You will also notice that I used an impression mat to make a pretty floral design on the fondant. Wilton makes several designs in impression mats and I love working with them as they are large and easy to use. I am going on and on so I should just shush up and give the recipes with pictures.

 Don't be afraid to try this cake. You will be surprised, I think, how easy, delicious and dramatic a dessert the Battenberg is to make. Mandy, please forgive this Yank but I believe I am going to use my stars impression mat and make this cake red, white and blue for Independence Day! Living in Boston has made an upstart of me.

One Batter...Two Colors

Pink Lemonade Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, or 2 sticks
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/3 cups milk, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pink food color Grease and line the bottoms of two 8-inch square cakepans with parchment paper cut to fit. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
 Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside for later.
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed. add sugar slowly and continue to beat approximately five minutes. scrape the inside and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
 Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition, scraping the inside and bottom of bowl often.
In a separate bowl, stir together the milk, lemon extract and pink lemonade concentrate. The mixture may look curdled.
 Alternately add the flour mixture and milk mixture to the butter mixture on low speed until just combined. Add 1/8 teaspoon pink food color.
Pour half the batter into prepared pan. Add another 1/8 teaspoon food color to the remaining batter and pour into other prepared pan.
 Bake approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack and cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pan onto wire rack and cool completely before decorating.

Thin consistency Icing is best for frosting a cake!

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted, if opened package
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
Heavy cream - optional
Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy; beat in the sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Thin with heavy cream, if necessary, to achiece a spreadable consistency.

Wilton's Floral Expressions Impression Mat

Once the cake is completely cool, trim the edges of the cake with a long serrated knife.Cut each colored sponge in half lengthways so that you are left with four long strips of sponge Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is as neat and even as possible. Spread the frosting onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern (one light pink next to one darker pink. On top of that, one darkeer pink next to one light pink).

Cover the entire cake in frosting and chill. Covering the cake in fondant is easier if the frosting is firm.
Roll the fondant about 1/8 to 1/16 inch thick and cover the cake. Smooth the sides with a fondant smoother working from the top downward. If you want to use an impression mat, roll the fondant a little thicker, transfer to the mat, press firmly with your hand or fondant smoother. Invert the impression mat over the cake, centering it so the fondant drapes evenly over the cake, and peel away the mat. Smooth gently so as not to remove the impression detail.

To smooth any wrinkles at the bottom, lift the fondant away gently fluffing as you would a tablecloth. Never pull on the fondant. Don't stress if there are a few wrinkles at the bottom though. The cake will taste just as yummy and you can hide them with a lovely garnish of edible flower petals, mint or perhaps some handmade sugar flowers.

Completed Cake with Royal Icing Flowers on top

Back of the Box Blog - Corn Flake Chicken

Corn Flake Chicken is a weekly staple at our house these days. The dish is really easy and quick to prepare. On a busy week night, I can get the chicken and fixings on the table in less than an hour.
Corn flake chicken is glorified fried chicken but it reminds me of Wiener schnitzel, a dreamy dish I had long ago at a wine cellar in Vienna. I think of that adventure every time I make the dish so there is another reason to have it on the table once a week.

I start by pounding the chicken breasts thinly with my meat tenderizer. I soak the chicken in buttermilk instead of the milk listed from the back of the box in deference to my southern roots where it is tradition to soak chicken in buttermilk before frying it. I find that the soaking makes a tender chicken. I use Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs although I will crush up a box of Corn Flakes if I cannot find the crumbs at the store. I have tampered with the original recipe as is my prerogative so you may want to tamper with my version.   I feel like I can serve this dish with anything although the lemon wedges for squeezing over the chicken at the last minute is a wine cellar trick that I love and continue. I usually get the chicken soaking and then see what is hiding in the fridge.  My favorite is as it is seen here with a refreshing salad of mixed lettuces (dressed up this time with hazelnut crusted goat cheese and tender little green beans) tossed with a garlicky vinaigrette and what you don't see here, a freshly opened bottle of Pinot Noir. A to Z Pinot from Oregon is my current favorite to sip.

Corn Crisped Chicken  adapted from the back of the Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumb box
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 cups Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs
1/4 cup  olive oil
Lemon wedges for garnish
Pound the chicken breasts evenly to 1/4 inch thickness for best results.To pound meat thin you may want to place the cutlet between sheets of wax paper for easier washing up. Use a heavy, flat-surface pan to pound if you don’t have a meat mallet.  Pour the buttermilk into a medium bowl. Add the seasoned salt and the lemon pepper if using. Soak the chicken breasts in the buttermilk for up to an hour...I usually give it about 20 minutes.
Put the corn flake crumbs in a shallow dish. I use a pie pan. Drain the chicken breasts and coat each one in the crumbs, turning and pressing the crumbs into the breasts lightly.
Set a large heavy saute pan over medium high heat and add the coated chicken breasts. Shake the pan gently to make sure the chicken is not sticking to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook about 4 minutes each side. Drain briefly on paper towels before plating.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Serves 4.

May Daring Bakers Challenge - Challah

May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of
Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of
Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.

Challah is one bread I must say I would never think to make. I thought it would be full of complicated steps and mystery that surrounds the Jewish religion for me. And just like learning about the Jewish faith through my patient husband and not so patient son, I have found a richness woven as tightly as the braid of bread. Challah is not complicated or time consuming to make as I had thought before this challenge. I made one batch starting around noon and it was there at the dinner table warm and inviting.

Ruth gave us three nice recipes and I made the Honey Oatmeal option. I cut the recipe in half making one loaf.  I also used the three strand braid. I know how to braid hair and it is the same technique. The bread was a little on the sweet side but I loved that hint of honey sweetness with the roasted chicken and vegetable we had for dinner.

Leftover Challah  is great for bread puddings, I hear from many sources. I have a couple of leftover loaves in the freezer waiting for this Memorial Day when I plan to whip up a Banana Caramel Bread Pudding. I will let you know how that goes later this week.

For now, here is the recipe I used. Do try to read the hints provided by Ruth at the end of the recipe. I found them very helpful.  If you have a couple of hours, you have time to make Challah!

The dough has risen!

Challah (Honey White)
(from Tammy’s Recipes)

Servings: 2 loaves
Ingredients
1 ½ cups (360 ml) warm water, separated
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) (15 gm/½ oz sugar
2 Tbsp. (2-2/3 packets) (30 ml) (18 gm) (2/3 oz) dry active yeast
½ cup (120 ml) honey
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) oil (light colored vegetable oil, or olive oil if you prefer)
4 large eggs
1 ½ tsp. 7½ ml) (9 gm) (1/3 oz) salt
5 cups (1200 ml) (700 gm/25 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour, plus more as needed (up to 8 or 9 cups total)
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
Directions:
1. In mixer bowl/large mixing bowl combine ½ cup warm water, 1 Tbsp. sugar and 2 Tbsp. yeast. Allow to proof approximately 5 minutes until foamy.
2. To the yeast mixture add the remaining water, honey, oil, eggs, salt and 5 cups of flour. Knead (by hand or with your mixer’s dough hook) until smooth, adding flour as needed. Knead for approximately 10 minutes.
3. Transfer dough to a clean, oiled bowl, turn to coat or add a bit more oil on top. Cover bowl with a kitchen/tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 ½ hours.
4. Punch down the dough, divide it into two sections. Use one half to make each loaf (shaped or braided as desired).
5. Place loaves on parchment lined or greased baking sheets, cover with a towel, allow to rise 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
7. Brush tops loaves with egg wash. (Sprinkle with seeds or toppings here if wanted.)
8. Bake loaves 30-40 minutes until done.
9. Cool on wire racks.

If only I could braid my hair as easily.

Notes from Ruth:
Making strands: There are two basic methods for forming the strands used to braid challah. The first, and easiest, is to simply roll snakes between your hands like when working with clay or play dough. The second method is to use a rolling pin to roll out a flat disc of dough, then using your hands to roll the disc into a snake, rolling the snake on the counter with your fingers to achieve the length you need. This second method does result in a better rise, but either way works well. Whichever method you use, form your strands such that they are thinner at the ends and fuller in the middle. This will help your challah rise in the center.
If you are new to braiding – do yourself a favor and practice before you shape your dough! Over working the dough will make for a tough loaf. Practice your braiding or shaping with clay or play dough first in order to become more comfortable.

Light and airy