Let me Challah at you!

Ok, dumb joke, but I thought it was kind of clever. Challah (pronounced holla) the braided Sabbath bread of Judaism, is a type of European celebratory loaf (similar to the Greek bread I made) symbolic of God’s goodness and bounty. I find myself reminiscing of my great-great-uncle, Tevye. I would spend time with him and countless hours in his simple house in a small village in Russia. We would celebrate the Sabbath by making many loaves of this slightly crusty, yet soft bread. Normally we would gather up the eggs to use up just before the Sabbath since gathering is obviously considered work in that Orthodox Jewish Community.

The key, apparently, to making great looking Challah, is to braid it so that it is tapered at the ends and plump in the middle. This is by far, the most beautiful bread that I have made. I may do this one again, just for the aesthetics. You can vary the shape of the bread based on the message you are trying to convey. You can curl the dough into a round shape for Rosh Hashanah. The round shape symbolizes how the world has no beginning and no end; three strands symbolize truth, peace and beauty; and the spiral coil indicate the ascent to God.

I am a little sad that the people who get to eat this tomorrow will not be able to eat it fresh, but it still tastes great, and I will include the pictures since I’ll have to slice it before I serve it tomorrow.

Next week, Ciabatta.

TU VUO' FA l'AMERICANO

Castatiello

This is a rich bread, only an Italian version of the French Brioche from the previous baking. It’s loaded with flavors that stem from the combination of a cured meat (in this case Salami) and soft cheese (provolone.) You may notice the same crust and texture of the Brioche in this loaf comes from the eggs and nearly 1 cup of butter. This time I let the dough site before adding the butter so as to let the gluten develop. By letting the mixture sit before adding the butter, I was able to avoid having the butter coat the gluten before it could form.

It’s noted that in this type of bread other types of cheese may be used, but it should be a good melter with distinctive flavors, such as Swiss, Gouda, or good old Wisconsin Cheddar. What I discovered is that my blending technique needs to be improved as you can see the folds and I managed to get a seam on top which leads to an uneven rising. However, this is primarily due to my desire to get the bread done since I had company coming over and I really didn’t have a lot time this weekend. No…I didn’t make this in my kilt. The bread is traditionally baked in paper bags or panettone molds, but I really didn’t want to push my luck with this rich bread, so I just stuck to a loaf pan.

The hollow parts come from the cheese being centered and then melting into the bread itself. The bread was a success, but I think next time I will mix the cheese in a little more to ensure a more even distribution. It’s awesome warmed, and if you’ve ever had that cheesy mozzarella bread at the Madison’s farmer’s market, it was similar to that. I would like to cap this weekends ethnic activities for those who knew was going on. I a Mexican in a Scottish wedding, made an Italian bread similar to a French bread and preparing for a Jewish bread next week.

Next week, Challah