It is rare, but there are times when we go to Temple on Friday nights. This time was even more rare as David’s entire family also went. When the service was nearly finished, and the challah was going to be blessed, the Rabbi informed us of the challah’s feelings. During service, the challah is kept covered in a cloth, hidden from view, almost as if taking a nap. Only when it is about to be blessed is it woken up. But why is is covered? According to some, it is because it is embarrassed that the wine was blessed before it. In an effort to save challah’s face, it is covered in a cloth until the blessing time occurs.
With that, I made my own challah a couple of weeks ago using this recipe rather than my tried and true Marjorie Johnson recipe featured in her Blue Ribbon Baking book. Read through that recipe – seriously. Stop. Think. Read it over quickly again.
Do you see anything that is missing? I did. The dough does a lot of resting, but unlike normal loaves of dough, it does its resting in the cold tundra of not only the refrigerator, but the freezer as well. Unfortunately for me, though I do it far too often, I did not read, and re-read the recipe, questioning where the actual rising takes place. I questioned it though. However, I failed to read that last sentence that said: “Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size.”
UHG! My best plans foiled again!
Because I did not let it rise, or my keen ability to fully read a recipe all the way through, I put my bread in the oven as you see here. Though, I was pleased with myself for the braid I created. They were tight fitting and not loose like my first challah, or disfigured like the Danish braid I made months ago. A little egg was here, a bit there and out it came – glistening and flaky.
It was a dense bread, dense and deliciously buttery. I think it was supposed to come out like a croissant, but It was a somewhat welcomed mistake. When I make this again, and I am going to try it again, but follow all of the directions, I will post pictures so you can see what it should have looked like.
L’Chaim!
(I didn’t cover my challah with a cloth. It shouldn’t feel embarrassed, but instead proud. I also don’t want it to grow up with a complex and all.)
