The Challah is a special
bread in the Jewish religion. Usually it's being made every week, just before
Saturday, and also in the holidays. All in all, one knows that when there is a
Challah on the table, it is a good day.
Somehow I've always had a kind
of aversion with everything that has to do with baking. Maybe it's the lack of
control one has, that you simply put something in the oven and having to wait.
No more stirring, no more spontaneous adding of ingredients, no more sneaking a
bite when no one looks. You just stand in front of the oven, wait and pray that
all goes well. Maybe it's the association to laboratory work, that baking is
something very precise and boring and you have to follow the recipe by the
gram.
Gladly I have this thing that
in most cases I cannot rule out something that I did not try once by myself.
Sometimes though, it creates unpleasant moments… (like trying dog food).
Anyway, baking is really not what I've been thinking all these years and it's
not a bit intimidating or boring. Actually, baking is a lot of things, but
boring is really not one of them.
Baking breads, and especially
the Challah bread, is for me the peak in the world of baking. I'm sure that
somewhere there is a list of things that one should do before the 'Big Sleep',
and I'm sure that baking bread and the joy it gives to share it with people you
love, is in this list.
The deep connection one
creates while kneading the dough, the quality time of the dough with itself,
the fragrances that spread through the house and bring smiles to people faces
and creates thoughts of endless meadows, and of course the joy of eating it and
the satisfaction it gives. All of these, and much more, are coming together and
creating a unique experience that is reborn each and every time and revives the
whole house and the people inside it.
The ingredients :
Two cups of whole grain flour
One cup of dinkel wheat
Third of a cup of chickpea
flour
Third of a dice of fresh
yeast (or half a pack of dry yeast)
Half a cup of sprouted wheat
seeds (How and Why)
Some olive oil
Warm water
A bit of salt
Two tea spoons of cane sugar
(or any other kind of sweetener just not white sugar!)
We start with melting the
sugar and yeast in some warm water in a bowl, and let the yeast come alive for a few
minutes. In the meantime sift the flours into a big bowl, add the wheat seeds and
mix until all of the seeds are covered with flour so they will not stick
together and they will be evenly spread in the Challah. Add the water with the
melted yeast and sugar and mix a bit. At this stage start the first kneading
process and add a bit water all the time until everything is starting to get
the shape and texture of a nice dough.
Transfer the dough to a
lightly floured working surface and continue kneading for a couple of minutes.
This is the stage to add some salt and olive oil. Salt and any kind of oil are
not good friends with yeast so it's better to wait a bit before you add them to
the dough.
The dough is ready when it's
not so sticky but even though still quite moist. Because the flours are whole
grain flours they need a bit more water than regular non whole grain flours, so
don't be afraid with adding water until you get a nice result.
After the dough is ready,
sprinkle some flour in a bowl for the dough to rest in, and sprinkle some flour
also on the dough itself. Place a towel on top and let it rest and rise
for about an hour or even an hour and a half, in a nice and warmly place. Of
course it's better to check on the dough after already 45 minutes, and when it rose
nicely you can proceed to the next stage. The thing is not to let the dough rise
too much, because it will eventually turn into something without any shape and
volume.
Move the dough again to a
working surface, this time without any flour, and divide it into three (almost)
even pieces. Knead one of the pieces a bit and then roll it into a nice fat
roll while folding it inwards. Do the
same with the other two pieces and try to make them as even in size as you can.
Now all that's left is to braid the three pieces together, just like one braids
hair.
Place the almost ready
Challah on a baking pan with baking paper, cover again with a towel and let it
rest and rise for about 20-30 minutes.
Afterwards heat an oven to
180 degrees and place a baking pan in the bottom of the oven with some water in
it to help the Challah stay nice and moist.
Put the Challah in the oven
for about 30 minutes, but of course check up on it after already 20 minutes.
After the Challah is ready
take it out of the oven and place it on a net (a towel is also ok). At this
stage brush the Challah with some olive oil in order to give it a nice
golden-brown color.
In the meanwhile, sit down a
bit, close your eyes, inhale the fragrance that is filling the kitchen (and
usually the whole house as well) and let the Challah rest for 10 minutes.
The Challah is amazing with
fresh lemony Tahini, with a Matbucha Salad full with cumin and of course with a
plate of steamy, well prepared Hamin . Enjoy!
beautiful Challah!
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