December 8, 2010 - 9:14am
Challah Bread, "Shaping"
My wife and I love Challah and use it for a lot of sandwiches. My problem is the shaping. I would like to step away from tradition and just make regular loafs. The traditional braiding looks beautiful but it does not make good sandwiches or substantial pieces of French Toast. Is their any special steps that have to be taken to achieve my desired results without causing anyone to gasp?
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It is perfectly fine to place that challah dough in a loaf pan and bake it. If you are looking for great French Taost - roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick rectangle, brush melted butter on it, liberally sprinkle a cinamin sugar mixture on the buttered surface and roll it up like a jelly roll. Now, score if necessary and swist to put the dough roll in a baking pan - we actually use pullman loaf pans (baking pans with a top). The pullman pan will give you a nice square loaf which is nice for slicing. But, you can go simple and just put that challoh dough in a baking pan and bake it.
Sounds delicious,
Ben
You can also shape the loaf like a brioche nanterre, or twist a couple of strands together and put it in the loaf pan that way. You get the nice sandwich friendly shape, as well as a decorative element.
That's what I do and just as you said, it looks nice and makes a much more useable shape. We have a lot of challah leftovers here and I use them for my kids school lunches. I make one long rope, hold it in the middle so the ends hang down and twist, tucking the ends under. I do the final proofiing and baking in a loaf pan. Best of both worlds.
Marni
Thank You for the great idea. I am new and retired and found a new passion. I am in the kitchen baking bread or desserts 4-5 days a week. Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. A GREAT website with a great bunch of bakers.
Thanks Again,
Bill Christian
a regular bread pan. Whether or not that will make anyone gasp is another matter.
However, if you want a simple shaping variation, here's a possibility. There's a photo of the challot at the bottom of the original post and a description of the shaping process at the bottom of the thread (unless someone else has posted). I think it will meet your requirements for substantial slices, as well as for ease of shaping.
Paul
Your comment about making someone gasp cracked me up. Yes people can be particular about their challah. I have been making the same recipe for years.
http://saltandserenity.com/2009/06/13/margos-challah-with-elaines-topping/
One day I decided to substitute dried cherries for the regular raisins. My family was not amused!!
send some my way. Cherries are every bit as enjoyable as raisins to me.
Paul
There's no religous connotations unless you make it specifically for a religious purpose (i.e. a Jewish Sabbath or holiday meal). There are rituals concerning the baking of challah if it's used for a religious purpose, but nothing wrong with just making bread that happens to use this egg-based enriched dough and shaping it any way you wish.
Nothing wrong with baking challah in a loaf pan. You can still braid the bread then place in the pan. It will rise to fill the pan and still be decoratively shaped on top. Wonderful for sandwiches and French toast.
David