This post concludes guest week here at MSCK. All posts this week were provided by Hyun, and the photos by Bryan Johns (flickr link). We hope you have all enjoyed the recipes!
-Liam
| ESTIMATED CALORIC INFO | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | 1 slice |
| Calories from Protein | 13% |
| Calories from Fat | 22% |
| Calories from Carbs | 65% |
| Total Calories | 240 |
For the longest time, I had this horrible fear of bread making. Two reasons why:
- I have issues with failure, and frankly, EVERYONE will fail at one point when making bread.
- I hate wasting food. To go through all those ingredients for it to fail is such a waste of time, money, and supplies.
Don’t close the screen. There is hope.
In the end, it’s worth it. All the failures I have encountered in bread making have only taught me where I went wrong. Eventually, I got it right and I love it.
My friend Christian is the one who encouraged me to start making bread. I usually consult him with all my baking issues and questions. He’s an amazing chef, a good friend, and someone who will definitely become big in the culinary world.
Christian sent me this recipe from Naturally Ella (it has since disappeared from the site though). It’s simple and straightforward enough, but I did make a slight modification. I replaced the 1/4 cup of sugar with a 1/4 cup of honey and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Honey is the way to go – the natural sweetness of it only adds to the flavors of the challah.
These directions apply to the use of a stand mixer; however you can do this by hand – if you do this by hand, you will have great arms.
Prep time -
Active: 30 minutes
Inactive: 1 hour 30 minutes – 2 hours
Bake time: 25 – 30 minutes
Yields 1 large loaf
Ingredients…
- 3/4 cup warm water (110 – 115 degrees F)
- 3/4 tbsp yeast
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 whole eggs
- 4 cups flour
In a bowl, combine water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar in stand mixer bowl. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast activates (foam will appear at the top)
Whisk in 2 eggs, oil, honey and the remaining sugar to the mixture. Once combined, attach it to the stand mixer. Use the dough hook and start mixing while slowly adding flour.
Once all the flour is in, continue to knead the dough in the mixer, about 10 minutes (timing it is highly recommended).
Once dough is kneaded, place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Give it about an hour to rise (until double in size).
I usually put the oven on warm, crack the door open and put the dough right by there. Another option is getting a heating pad, put it on low, cover with towel and put the bowl over it. Room temperature plays a huge role in the dough rising.
After first rise, remove dough from bowl. Divide and braid the dough.
If you’re not sure how to braid bread, there are video tutorials on YouTube – here’s a good one.
Place loaf on a lightly oiled or silicone lined tray/cookie sheet. Whisk last egg and brush the bread. Place the dough in a warm spot, cover and let it rise for about 30-45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Before putting the dough in the oven, brush one last time with the egg.
Optional: you can put poppy seeds or sesame seeds on top.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes – until top is golden brown.
What are some of your most disastrous baking failures?
