A Bread By Any Other Braid

Don't ask me what called to me about this one.  I just woke up in the morning, sort of tired and was struck by a great desire to bake bread.  And, wouldn't you know, the library brought that baking book back to me.  Finally and at last!  I can make some progress through that darn book!

But what sort of bread should I craft?  Sure, I could make plain white bread and not buy it at the store.  Actually, that would be quite a good move for me.  But what if I end up with air bubbles everywhere?  That would be extremely sad.  Taking a flipping roll through 'The Art and Soul of Baking', I landed on Challah.  It’s a beautiful, braided, golden bread that I have seen so many times in the bakery and, though it has aroused my curiosity, I have only had it once at Christmas dinner when one of my zias brought it over.

So I broke out the eggs to get started... And dropped them on the kitchen floor.  I stood in the kitchen looking down at that egg and was quite beside myself with a quite temper.  I cleaned the darn thing up (not quite broken everywhere for the membrane on the inside had not given way) and heaved a heavy sigh. 

The grocer was pretty kind about giving me more eggs to use and laughed with me about my clumsiness.  That made it feel much better.


Baking 101 with 'Sur La Table'
Chapter 1: Yeast Bread and Rolls
Dairy Challah Bread

I did not follow Kosher law in that I used milk in place of water to activate the yeast.  I did, however, still use oil.  I'm pretty sure it was canola, but it might have been extra light olive.  What can I say?  They sit all cozy next to each other on the shelf and look sort of the same.  Mind you, I am running a little low on olive oil lately... Still, I'm pretty sure that it was canola oil.

Whatever.  That's probably not all that important at the end of it all.  I can be a real stickler on the details sometimes.  Just ask my boss - takes eternity to get any writing out of me because I continually hate everything!  Honestly, it’s a miracle I can turn a recipe and a picture or two into a blog.

Activating the yeast with warm milk and some honey
I have to say that any occasion to break out the honey is a fantastic adventure for me.  I warmed the milk in a glass measuring cup using short bursts with a microwave.  I don't have a thermometer, so I did this until it felt warm to the touch and tasted a little creamier.  Also, I used skim milk because that's what I drink.  (That, and soy milk.  Right, not so important that one.)  Mix the milk and honey in a mixing bowl and then sprinkle in the yeast.

I didn't take a picture of this because, at the time, the yeast didn't seem to be going off like gangbusters in the milk with the frothing and so forth.  I didn't quite think this would be successful... So I didn't take a snapshot for you.  I didn't really think that this post was even going to happen.

Swamp-fingers and the First Rise
Not much to say here besides the fact that the swamp fingers made a triumphant return tour.  Despite oiling of the hands, the dough was still quite loving.  Unlike the last time, however, this one just gathered into a pretty complete ball.  After some delicate massaging to knead the dough, I dumped it in a plastic tub and let the sucker rise.  Thank goodness for plastic bins with lids.  (Go Rubbermaid!)

No Knead, The Second Rise
No kneading the second time around (thankyouthankyouthankyou)!  Lightly flouring a working surface, plop the dough and smack it down to release the air bubbles but, as the book says, don't knead it (or you'll make it much harder for yourself and you'll have to wait for it to rise again).  You split the dough into three pieces and roll it out into even strands.  For me, this was a combination of rolling it against the counter with flat palms and also by squeezing along the length.  It isn't too tricky if you flour your hands first because then it won't stick to you too much.

Pinching at one end, you braid down and pinch the other.  Tuck the pinches underneath and cover it with plastic and let it take a deep inhale.  Second Rise!

After braiding the bread, you cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for 40-50 minutes.  My oven was making my tiny kitchen quite warm so it took a little less time.  And I was scared that I had killed the yeast... They came through for me all the same! ^__^

Glaze and Bake
Beat an egg briefly in a dish until well mixed.  Using a gentle brush, brush the entire surface of the loaf with the egg wash.  Be careful that it doesn't go pooling in the braid because that is quite a trick to even out (paper towel helps but not much).  Sprinkle the top with poppy seeds or, if you're like me and you don't have poppy seeds (read: I have poppy seeds and was unable to find them on wanting to sprinkle), I used chia seeds for the same effect. 

Chia seeds are pretty similar except that poppy seeds are globular and Chia seeds are very slightly elliptical.  Also, Chia seeds are slightly lighter in colour with a brownish tint and the odd one is an off-white.

Bake it in the oven until it’s a deep rich brown (even on the bottom).  Seeing if the bottom is brown is a little tricky.  I baked on parchment paper so I just lifted up one of the corners to look through it for a darker brown colour.

Cool it entirely on a wire rack (on the windowsill if you want to show off just a little bit more) and the nom it down!

Fresh baked bread on the windowsill.  The window was, however, closed because it was blinking hot outside and it wouldn't have served me any good.  Plus, I couldn't have a mischievous imp running off with it!

I have to say that, all in all, this bread recipe was definitely much higher on my list than the previous bread recipe.  I'm not sure why exactly.  No, that's a lie.  I liked this recipe more because I didn't have to knead the bread a second time and have it stick all over my fingers... again.  I also love that braided look and the deep brown colour.  Given, bread doesn't smell as awesome as cookies in the kitchen.  It does, however, taste awesome with butter, jam... almond butter, Nutella  (They had samples at Costco.  Brilliant!).

Next time I make this bread, there will be bread pudding... Oh, yes.  There will be bread pudding.

Enjoy your baking and keep on being awesome.

I wish you peace, I wish you love and I wish you lots of awesome baking in the kitchen!

Get Into The Groove

Okay, before we get into the experience here, can I be frank with you?  I can't afford a stand mixer.  For this reason, when recipes say:

"Place [insert ingredients here] into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low for [insert number here] minutes until light and fluffy."

I respond with a little bit of envy for people who have stand mixers and... a whole lotta resentment because, if they're telling you to do it in a stand mixer, it’s going to be tricky doing it by hand.

With that out of the way, I made bread for the first time ever.  It was hard.  I cursed a lot, especially when I took my hands away from kneading and I looked like the Swamp Thing.  Multiple times.  Wash hands, re-flour hands, dive back in.  Got over the kneading with more flour (be forewarned, you might need more flour!).

With bread, the rising of the yeast is something I always found pretty fascinating.  When I was a kid, I talked my mom into making sourdough.  Turns out, at that age, I hated sourdough bread.  It was not, however, the end product that I was interested in.  I was fascinated by the starter; I had seen it on the tv on some program.

So, let's rehash about baking up some bread.  'Cause I totally took pictures during each stage.  One thing though: the initial mix before the 'resting', I took a better picture without the flash and it came out really nicely.  Then I accidentally deleted it off my camera.  I cursed, I cried and then I felt incredibly silly about the whole thing.



Baking 101 with 'Sur La Table'
Chatper 1: Yeast Breads and Rolls
Nine-Grain Whole Wheat Harvest Bread

I was attracted to this one first because my parents are trying to eat healthier and I wanted to see if I could make them better bread than the stuff that they can buy in the store.  Don't get me wrong; I love my Dempster's rye bread just as much as the next guy, but sometimes a switch up is nice too.

Fascinating detail about this recipe is the use of 9-grain hot cereal mix to get that grainy goodness.  When I went to bulk foods, I could only get 6- or 12-grains.  So I flipped a coin and it came out 12-grains.  So, while this is called 9-grains, it actually should technically have 12-grains.  Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say 12-grains-and-seeds mix.

Activating the yeast with warm water and a bit of sugar
Throw these three together and let the mixture sit for a bit and you get something foamy and bubbly.  It smelled a little bit like when my dad used to make wine in our cellar.  I'm not sure if that's right, but it was certainly bubbly and foamy.

It's alive!  *Insert maniacal laughter here*

Swamp-Thing fingers, the first time 
Yeah, this is the photo that I accidentally deleted so you can only have the flash version.  Sorry, my bad.  Color is a little bit washed out, but it was incredibly sticky and you can see that in the picture.

Yeah, this doesn't make bread look too appealing, but don't lose heart!  It gets better. ^_^

Return of the Swamp-Thing fingers
Kneading by hand the first time was even more frustrating than the first amount of kneading.  What is one to do?  It leads to first rise, however, which is incredibly sweet.  Shown below are before and after photos, just like a dough makeover!

For some reason, the rising of dough like this is something that I find absolutely fascinating.  I am an adult and every time that I watch bread rise I feel like a child seeing something for the first time.  It is sort of an amazing feeling.

Abusing the dough
Turning it out onto a well-floured (and naked) countertop, you smack it down into a disk.  Working carefully (or, in my case, with a little bit of an edge after kneading sticking dough), you bring the edges to the centre and pinch.  You then pick the ball up, turning it over so that the tuck-side is away from you, and continue to tuck under.  Cindy says this is 'creating tension' because, if you don't do it, the shape will be wonky when it rises.  If you like classic movies, you can skip this and you get a blob.  I did not know this.  See, mum, I'm learning!
After that you let it rise again so that it puffs out.

See previous caption.  Needless to say, I really had to resist the temptation to touch it and poke at it!

Bake the bread, baby!
Okay, so the dough takes a breath and then it gets baked.  Below is my loaf that came out as a result of everything.  I was wigging out (in the "I can't believe THIS is what I get for trying SO hard!" kind of way) because my loaf came out a few shades darker than 'golden brown'.  I swear, it’s my oven’ fault for the dark colour.  As further proof of my innocence in the matter, note that the loaf is darker at the back end despite being in the middle.  Anyway, rest assured, it came out okay!  The dark stuff you see is a layer smaller than half of a millimetre (sorry, I don't know the inch conversion! x_x;; ).  My mum described it best as being like the shell of an egg; the darkness that you see is like a very, very thin shell and then the inside emerges evenly and the bread has a nice taste.

This experience has taught me that baking bread doesn't smell quite as awesome as say Banana Quick Bread when it bakes.  The awesome smells come afterwards as it cools on a wire rack in your kitchen!

All in all, props for a great recipe!  It was definitely a great learning experience.  I think one more lesson in bread might be instructive before moving on to the next chapter.  All considerations aside, I'm terrified of layered pastry!

Dear Canadian buddies, I'm sorry its Monday already, but hopefully your long weekend allowed you to bake some awesome or catch some zzz's.  Both are equally awesome activities.

To my American friends, Happy Independence Day!

p.s. I definitely was rocking out to the Madonna song while typing this up.  I figured if I was going to make the reference, I might as well go the whole nine yards about it.  And not in the Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry way. ^_~