This video is also helpful when it comes time to discipline your octopus
May 10, 2019 9:10 AM Subscribe
How to braid a challah -With 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 strands. How to braid a 4 strand round. How about with just one strand?
Bonus: The Great British Bakeoff Has Zero Jewish Friends
Bonus: The Great British Bakeoff Has Zero Jewish Friends
I have made a 4 strand challah like that and it definitely looks impressive when done! I may have to try upping my strand game, though.
posted by msbubbaclees at 9:32 AM on May 10, 2019
posted by msbubbaclees at 9:32 AM on May 10, 2019
That GBBO thing is very cringe. So in 2010 they made challah- and called it "pleated bread"?? I just... GBBO makes great strides to be inclusive in their baking and they somehow miss challah? OOOF
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:36 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:36 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
That also just seems sad because Challah is delicious and that means all of those people are deprived of the experience.
The braiding 9 strands is wizardry and I could watch someone do that all day.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:46 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
The braiding 9 strands is wizardry and I could watch someone do that all day.
posted by dinty_moore at 9:46 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
TIL I've been mispronouncing 'plait'
posted by Fig at 10:17 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Fig at 10:17 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
you probably haven't been- "plait" is one of those words with two distinct correct pronunciations depending on your geographical origin.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 10:35 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 10:35 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I had challah french toast last weekend and I simply can't get it out of my thoughts.
posted by lilies.lilies at 11:23 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by lilies.lilies at 11:23 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
The last several months, my partner and I have gotten more and more involved in Jewish cultural practices (they're Jewish; I'm just an enthusiastic hanger-on) which means we also started celebrate Shabbat. After trying challah bread recipes, I found one that worked well enough for me. I first tried the four-braid, but I wasn't very satisfied, and when I heard about the six-braid, I dedicated to learn that one (I have a thing for learning the overly complicated and ornate). But the six-braid is actually easier! It makes an absolutely lovely loaf. I never even knew about the 7, 8, or 9 braided types.
We usually switch off between sesame seeds and poppy seeds, but either way, after about ten shabbats where I baked challah, I've gotten it where I want it: a feast for the eyes and the mouth.
I'm just excited to try all the other braids now!
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:29 AM on May 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
We usually switch off between sesame seeds and poppy seeds, but either way, after about ten shabbats where I baked challah, I've gotten it where I want it: a feast for the eyes and the mouth.
I'm just excited to try all the other braids now!
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:29 AM on May 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
P.S. Challah french toast and challah bread pudding make excellent post shabbat bread uses.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:30 AM on May 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:30 AM on May 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
P.S. Challah french toast and challah bread pudding make excellent post shabbat bread uses.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT CHALLAH NOW
posted by Melismata at 11:32 AM on May 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT CHALLAH NOW
posted by Melismata at 11:32 AM on May 10, 2019 [3 favorites]
I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT CHALLAH NOW
It's really not that hard and doesn't take anything that you probably don't already have around the kitchen (except perhaps yeast for some people). The recipe to which I linked is my go-to now and has the video to take you through.
If you don't make bread often, it just takes a little time. I usually do the dough Thursday afternoon, wait 2.5 hours for it to rise, braid the bread, cover it, and throw it into the fridge overnight. The next day, I coat it with an egg wash (+seeds of your choice), let it sit out for about and hour, then bake for 30-40 minutes. If you don't work the day you want to eat it and can go back and forth in the kitchen all day, you can just delete the fridge time.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:44 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
It's really not that hard and doesn't take anything that you probably don't already have around the kitchen (except perhaps yeast for some people). The recipe to which I linked is my go-to now and has the video to take you through.
If you don't make bread often, it just takes a little time. I usually do the dough Thursday afternoon, wait 2.5 hours for it to rise, braid the bread, cover it, and throw it into the fridge overnight. The next day, I coat it with an egg wash (+seeds of your choice), let it sit out for about and hour, then bake for 30-40 minutes. If you don't work the day you want to eat it and can go back and forth in the kitchen all day, you can just delete the fridge time.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 11:44 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
That GBBO thing is very cringe. So in 2010 they made challah- and called it "pleated bread"?? I just... GBBO makes great strides to be inclusive in their baking and they somehow miss challah? OOOF
Uh... Ashkenazim don't have a monopoly on this way of shaping bread, or the name by which it is called. "Plaited loaf" is a perfectly good name that has been used for quite some time, and the recipe from GBBO is nothing like a typical eggy challah recipe (yes, I know there are other kinds of challah). It may also be worth considering that there are approximately 400% more Jews living just in NYC than there are in the entirety of the United Kingdom, so the remark that braiding bread is “a skill which is dying off" may very well be true in Britain overall.
posted by slkinsey at 12:05 PM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Uh... Ashkenazim don't have a monopoly on this way of shaping bread, or the name by which it is called. "Plaited loaf" is a perfectly good name that has been used for quite some time, and the recipe from GBBO is nothing like a typical eggy challah recipe (yes, I know there are other kinds of challah). It may also be worth considering that there are approximately 400% more Jews living just in NYC than there are in the entirety of the United Kingdom, so the remark that braiding bread is “a skill which is dying off" may very well be true in Britain overall.
posted by slkinsey at 12:05 PM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Related - Does the Great British Baking Show Know What Challah Is?
posted by Mchelly at 12:16 PM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 12:16 PM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Another Twitter user pointed out, in Paul’s cookbook, he writes that the challah loaf is “traditionally served at Passover.”
I mean. I guess they could have said it was typically served on Yom Kippur. That'd be even more wrong. But kudos for picking one of the few days of the year when Jews don't eat challah, I guess.
posted by dinty_moore at 12:48 PM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
I mean. I guess they could have said it was typically served on Yom Kippur. That'd be even more wrong. But kudos for picking one of the few days of the year when Jews don't eat challah, I guess.
posted by dinty_moore at 12:48 PM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
TIL I've been mispronouncing 'plait'
TIL that I’m an idiot for not realizing the Ch was pronounced like Chanukkah.
I swear I saw Cthulhu in the latter part of that first video. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn of challah omnomnom.
posted by romakimmy at 1:20 PM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
TIL that I’m an idiot for not realizing the Ch was pronounced like Chanukkah.
I swear I saw Cthulhu in the latter part of that first video. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn of challah omnomnom.
posted by romakimmy at 1:20 PM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by Melismata at 9:19 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]