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Happy New Year!
We enjoyed a marvelous dinner and evening chez our dear long-time friends Ginetteand Chaim Reich who announced over Perrier Jouet Fleur de Champagne the engagement of their son Daniel. I first met the Reichs when Ginette was 1 week away from delivering him so it was a very sentimental evening. And generous Ginette offered me the beautiful painted champagne bottle to add to our porch collection (we love how the light comes through the bottles at sunset) along with two matching champagne glasses.
Everyone brought a present for New Years. Ours were these two challat. I knew that tradition dictated a round shape but Ginette told me the Israeli tradition called for two--one for the blessing. It turned out that one large one was enough for dinner as well so now she can enjoy slices of the second one from the freezer for several weeks to come!
Chaim, after saying the blessing for the bread, searched around for an appropriate knife and decided to go with what he said was the Sophardic tradition of tearing the bread. Funny how torn bread versus sliced changes the perception of flavor along with the texture. This was a first for me with challah.
Incidentally, it also turned out that 4 pounds of challah dough were too much even for my new Zo, so I finished kneading it by hand, taking care to add as little flour as possible to keep the dough sticky so it would be as light and moist as usual. It worked just fine. Everyone seemed to love it as there wasn't a poppy seed left of the first loaf.
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Comments
i would say the last 4 inches before braiding are much thinner and that does indeed help.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | December 23, 2007 4:21 PM #
Thanks again - I'll give it a whirl. Also, I think your loaves are of a uniform width through most of the length and then taper off only at the very ends, which might help I'm guessing.
I'm also inspired to try making the sourdough starter and your new challah recipe - very curious to see how that turns out!
Reply to this Posted by: Felicity | December 23, 2007 1:24 PM #
exactly. and i think i lift it as i coil it to make a tight spiral and then coax it into roundness with the palms of my hand.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | December 23, 2007 1:10 PM #
Thanks for this Rose - I have tried, but they *never* come out looking this nice. Are you making a spiral there, and hiding the pointy ends by burying the center end down deep, and tucking the outer one underneath? It looks more like a circle than a spiral and you can't see the joins at all.
Reply to this Posted by: Felicity | December 23, 2007 10:18 AM #
thanks but it's really so easy. you just pinch the ends as usual so they don't open up and starting in the center circle around like making a bun. tuck the end underneath and voila!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | December 23, 2007 10:05 AM #
Those round challot are the prettiest I've ever seen! Should the urge ever overtake you to video yourself shaping those, and then post the video on YouTube, I hope you won't hold back :)
Reply to this Posted by: Felicity | December 22, 2007 7:37 PM #
it's the honey bee in the cake bible!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 18, 2007 3:32 PM #
It's too late for this year but if you have a favorite Honey cake recipe could you post it. Thanks.
Reply to this Posted by: S.H. | September 18, 2007 3:30 PM #
so he was exactly the same age as my dad who, by the way, would not eat a meal without bread.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 17, 2007 5:05 PM #
My old dad, who died 3 years ago, aged 90, always asked for bread to mop up the gravy at the end of lunch on Sundays, he always said it was too good to leave on the plate! We always smile now thinking of him doing this , actually I didn't realize at the time what a compliment he was paying me.
Reply to this Posted by: Jeannette | September 17, 2007 4:45 PM #
In Italy (Vicenza, Venezia, Roma, Toscana, Firenze, and Milano), everyone I saw tears bread. And no-one "sop" up the sauces.
Personally, I love tearing because I can feel the texture and feathering of the bread. And also, I love sopping because the sauce is the best part of the meal. People often don't realize how much work is involved in sauces, unless you just put this thing called 'boxed gravy' on everything!
Reply to this Posted by: Hector | September 17, 2007 2:09 PM #
the funny thing is that when working on baguettes for the bread bible i kept thinking they weren't like the ones in restaurants until i tried tearing them and then the texture was just the same!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 17, 2007 1:59 PM #
...and presentation has a lot to do with it, too, I guess, meaning that some breads are so attractive when sliced, it's a shame to tear it...like challah, as the perfect example
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | September 17, 2007 1:56 PM #
i tear even in ny restaurants--even upscale ones. often they serve small rolls and it's the only way!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 17, 2007 1:51 PM #
I appreciate the comment about torn bread vs. sliced. Don't you feel the same way in France where the bread is brought to the table sliced in the little basket but you always tear pieces off of it and then eat it? It just doesn't seem french not to. I would never think to eat the bread by biting a piece off with my teeth or even slicing it further with my knife....that's just not how it's done! It seems ingrained in the culture to do it that way. But one also has to take into consideration that baguette is not easy to bite off with one's teeth - so tearing with the hands is really necessary (unless you just stuffed the entire piece into your mouth, but then you're stuck for 5 minutes trying to chew it).
When thinking about the US when they bring bread to the table, we of course use the bread plate, and tearing the bread with your hands doesn't seem civilzed (though I sometimes do it anyway) does it?
France is also the only country where I'll use my bread piece to "sop" up the sauces (in France everyone knows it's a shame to let even a drop of sauce go to waste, so it's totally justified). I'm not comfortable doing this in the US -- But to be doubly certain when I'm in a restaurant in France, I usually follow my hosts or guests in that regard; at friends' homes it's no question. And of course tearing into the bread for small pieces to sponge up the sauce is how it's done (I'm sure a person could write a book on this!).
Zach
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | September 17, 2007 1:48 PM #
well they're on the open air porch and elliott hoses them clean every spring (bless him)! i'm not much of a duster. i'm always thinking of another blog posting to make instead!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 15, 2007 1:46 PM #
LOVE your bottle collection! I wish to have one on display but my open air home brings so much dust in, so these would be covered with... dust! And I do leave my windows open 365 days a year, doors too!
Happy New Year. Challah looks fantastic, the round shape is fantastic! And fantastic should be your nick name!
Reply to this Posted by: Hector | September 15, 2007 4:42 AM #
essentially yes but i now do a version using old sourdough starter (which this is) that makes braiding a dream and keeps it from drying so still good the next day. search this blog--it's on it!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 14, 2007 3:15 PM #
Happy New Year! Is the challah recipe in the Bread Bible?
Reply to this Posted by: jane b | September 14, 2007 2:49 PM #