Monday Punday: Holla for Apple & Honey Challah!
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| Apple & Honey Challah: Every gal has her braiding quirks... |
If I had a challah for everytime I made a bad pun... (haaah, get it?)
...I thought it was bready decent.
...
...I'm loafing this so much.
But I think my conscience is ryeing.
Fine, fine I'll stop, ...because this is getting stale (GGGGggg).
AT YEAST I'M TRYING (I'M SO SORRY)
That's what subscribing to subreddit /puns does to people.
So: Challah.
According to Urban Dictionnary (I just have the best references today), it is either 1) "Dough braided and baked to form the most kick-ass bread in the world" or 2) "The Jewish version of Holler!" Unfortunately only one of those two definitions are right, although I really wish both were accurate. Can you imagine? Brioching the ice with a challah instead of the standard "hi" greeting? (I'm on a roll)(So. many. .... buns)
Are you cringing? Because I haven't said my last crumb (I bread your pardon).
However I am a professional (I did just graduate after all), and I know how to get down to business so here it goes.
Challah is a rich and egg-laden type of brioche. Traditionally, the loaf is braided and eaten on the day of the Sabbath. It has deep symbolic roots in Jewish traditions and religious rituals. During sacred holidays, at least two loaves are placed on the table, representing the double portion of manna that fell from the sky to feed the Israelites after their 40-years of Exodus in the desert. The loaves are covered by a decorative challah-cover or a white napkin to represent the morning dew that collected on the manna. A blessing, known as the ha'motzi, is recited before the consumption of any bread - according to customs, "bread" is determined by Jewish sages as baked dough made from any of the five species of grain (wheat, barley, rye, spelt or oat), and whose liquid ingredient is primarily water. After the blessing, pieces of challah are distributed for all to eat. In some communities, the loaf might be broken apart by hand and "tossed instead of handed to people in order to show that all sustenance ultimately comes from God, not man".
Even the way challah is braided and the number of strands seems to have an underlying symbolism. I think it looks like a scrumptious work of art, but the intertwined "bread-arms" can also represent Moses' Ten Commandments, and/or the symbol of family connection and unity. It is said that some challahs with 12-strands might have represented the number of tribe members when Israelites were wandering the desert.
I love it when a food has a deep history. Almost as much as when I get to eat it.
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| Apple & Honey Challah: I really underestimated this little guy's proofing ability... #anditsnotevenmyfinalform |
Contemporary bakeries have revamped challahs quite a bit. You can now find chocolate-flavored or tricolored challahs, with all kinds of intricate braiding patterns. This recipe here is one that I have had my eye on for quite some time. Smitten Kitchen has concocted a lovely combination of apple&honey flavor, and the bread itself is mildly sweet, counterbalanced with the apple flesh's tartness, and deliciously squishy. Not to mention that the aroma of challah baking will make your kitchen smell like the most inviting orchard.
I barely changed anything from the original recipe so I was hesitating a bit in replicating it here. However, I wouldn't want you to think that I was just using this opportunity as a half-baked excuse for the pun enthusiast in me to rise... (I'm becoming a monster)
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| Apple & Honey Challah |
Apple & Honey Challah
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients:
Bread:
2 1/4 tsp (1 standard packet) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white granulate sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/4 cups bread flour (580g), plus extra for kneading
Apple filling:
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks - choose semi-tart ones (I used Fuji apples)
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to keep them from browning
Honey-Milk Glaze (Alternatively, use egg wash):
1/4 cup milk
Honey
Preparation:
1. Mix the yeast with white granulated sugar, and sprinkle over 2/3 cup of lukewarm water (If you can't comfortable hold a finger several seconds in the water, wait for it to cool). Set aside and let stand in a warm place until yeast dissolves and the mixture is frothy.
2. In a large bowl, put together flour and salt. Mix to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the apples and the lemon juice together. Cover and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand-in mixer, pour the activated yeast slurry, honey, oil, eggs and yogurt. Mix on low-medium speed until the liquids are well combined.
5. Then, switch attachment to a dough hook. Gradually add the flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, until all the ingredients start to form a shaggy dough, pulling in a little flour from the sides of the bowl. It will look loose and formless and a bit like a Grimer (you know, that purple sludge Pokémon?)
6. Reduce mixing speed to low and let dough hook knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, or until a smooth and elastic ball is formed (it's important not to set your mixer speed too high, or the gluten structure will rip = denser bread). With a silicone spatula, be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a couple of times to make sure that all the flour get incorporated. If the dough seems very sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add flour a teaspoon at a time - it should feel tacky, but no longer like bubblegum. Be careful to use as little extra flour as necessary so that you don't toughen the bread. Your dough is ready once it is smooth, has an elastic, supple quality, and can retain its ball-shape.
Tips: I usually like to let the dough hook work the first few minutes of kneading (about 4-5 min.), just to bypass the stickiest part of the gluten development process. Then I take it out and continue kneading by hand. I always have a hard time knowing when the dough is ready when it's hanging off a hook, but by feel it's a bit easier. Here are a few tips to know when your dough is ready:
- Poke it: the indentation should fill back quickly (I know this is really not the most visually appealing metaphor, but if you have already worked in a healthcare facility, it's similar to the edema poking test)
- Stretch it: Pull off a ping-pong size piece of dough and try stretching in into a thin shapeless sheet. It should be able to form an elastic paper-thin film without ripping.
- Richard Bertinet Video Tutorial: It's a really good practical guide with commentary on how to knead your dough from start to finish. I still refer to it when I doubt the progression of my kneaded dough.
7. Once your dough is ready, transfer it to a large oiled bowl, cover loosely with a wet towel and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in size (I like leaving my bowl close to the heater).
8. Punch down your risen dough (it's my favorite part!). Take out dough to a lightly floured surface and gently press it down into a flat layer (you're not kneading it). Drain the apple chunks and spread half of them over the flattened dough. Fold the other half over the apple chunks and gently press the dough down on around them.
9. Spread the remaining half of apples over the lumpy folded dough. Fold half of that portion of dough, again, over the apples. Your dough packet will now look a bit square-ish. Fold the corners under the sides to round up your dough back into a ball-shape.
10. Put it back into your oiled bowl and set aside for another 30 minutes.
11. In the meantime, prepare your milk & honey glaze. Warm up your milk and add the honey, combining well (honey will dissolve more easily in lukewarm milk than cold)
12. Braiding: Divide your dough into 4 pieces. Roll and stretch each one into 4 ropes (try to make them as equal as you can) - about the length of a 30 cm ruler each. Poke back in any apple chunk that may be peering out. From here on, I'll refer you to Smitten Kitchen's post for the weaving guide, because it's really well done.
13. Once your dough is braided, brush the milk&honey glaze (or egg wash if that's what you're using) over your challah. Let challah rest for a last rise of 45 minutes.
14. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
15. Before baking, brush your challah with another layer of glaze. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden. If the top darkens too fast (the honey might cause that), cover with a piece of aluminum foil.
16. Brush challah loaf with honey alone when you take it out of the oven. Let cool on a rack, and serve slightly warm with a cuppa coffee. It remains fresh and moist up to 3-4 days after, and I like to toast it as is, but you can use its leftovers to make French toast.
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| Apple & Honey Challahs: A labor of loaf. |
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