I have been asked to make 50 challahs from my challah recipe for a fund raiser. I've doubled my recipe but that's he extent of it. Does anyone have a method on how to do this?
i would think the easiest way to do this would be to figure out how much one loaf weighs. i would like to assume you have general knowledge of bakers percentages with recipes. then basically guess and check the weights of your ingredients, and make sure the final number of all of them adds up to however many pounds it will take to make 50 loaves.....or some sort of spreadsheet program could help
ive done this before when coming up with makeshift recipes but that was only 15-20 lbs of dough ......
1. Divide 50(the number of challot you need) by that number to obtain a conversion factor.
2. multiply every single ingredient amount by that conversion factor.
for example, if your challah recipe makes 4 loaves,
1. 50/4 = 12.5 (this conversion factor is how many times the original recipe you need)
2. multiply every ingredient weight by 12.5
example: if your recipe calls for 5g salt, 5 x 12.5 = 62.5 g salt
repeat the same calculation for every ingredient - flour, sugar, eggs, etc.
3. Keep in mind how much a single loaf should weigh so that you can scale individual loaves more easily when it comes time to divide and shape. If your single recipe results in 1000 g dough, and you usually get 4 loaves out of that, then remember to scale 250g pieces of dough from your large batch as well.
*note: if you get a non-whole number for the multiplication factor such as 12.5, you should probably just round up to make the numbers more clean. It can't hurt to have a little bit of extra dough in case a couple don't turn out well.
50 challas are a LOT of challa for sure. If the recipe you are working off of to make ONE challa is pretty solid - you don't add extra liquids or flour as you knead the dough - then to make 50 loaves you would just multiply each individual ingredient by 50. Now, that sounds simple but that is not really what you will want to do - unless you have access to a cooler space to retard the dough or you have an oven in which you can bake 50 challas at one time. What I am saying is that you need to think about the FLOW of your baking - there are several questions you must answer to determine your flow. They are:
- how much dough can I mix at one time?
- how many loaves can I retard at one time?
- how many loaves can I bake at one time?
For most home bakers the "bottleneck" or limiting factor when producing a large number of loaves is the number of loaves you can bake in your oven at one time.
Once you have answered the three questions above, then you are ready to make a baking schedule based on a batch size. For example, when I bake Italian loaves for my family I want to produce 8 loaves. I can only bake 2 loaves at a time in my oven, but I have refrigerator room to retard a maximum of 4 loaves and I can hand mix and knead 4 loaves at a time. So for me I have a "batch" size of 4 loaves that I mix, knead, and bulk ferment. When I divide and shape - two loaves stay out to proof and two loaves go in the refrig so I can delay the proofing of them until closer to the bake time. Two hours after I started the FIRST batch of 4 loaves I start the SECOND batch of four - again mix, knead and bulk ferment. You can see the activities of the two batches are overlapping with the final result being that once I start the actual baking which takes 40 minutes then every say 50 minutes there are two loaves ready to go into the oven to bake. This sounds a bit complicated but if you take time to analyze your baking FLOW you will figure out what scheduling will work for you.
I hope this helps. When baking one or two loaves you don't have to worry about this problem. Good luck on 50 loaves - I am confident if you plan and work through the events which will be necessary to bake such a large quanity that you will be successful - pre-planning and thinking through the process is the key to success.
if you're baking the Challahs at home, keep your "capacity" in mind. Don't make a bigger batch than your oven (or your mixer) can handle. In other words, if you can fit two or three at a time into your oven, make sure only two or three at a time are ready to be baked. If your mixer can handle enough dough for four or six loaves, you could make that much and retard the proofing on the second load by proofing it in a slightly cooler location, so they are ready after the first load comes out of the oven. I'd give the oven at least fifteen minutes to get back up to temperature after taking out the first load, though. Once you factor in the proofing and baking times, you should be able to calculate exactly at what time you need to start mixing your next batch of dough.
BakerBen provided a good summary of the issues. Getting everything worked out scheduling wise will give you tired head. To make it easier, make a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart]Gantt chart[/url] to block out the times and materials for each part of the process, and show the overlaps.
Don't forget to figure your equipment requirements, e.g. how many bulk ferment containers will you need, or what about cooling racks and space, or do you have enough loaf pans if the bread is panned? Regarding the last, you can probably bake five panned loaves at a time, but you'll need three batches worth of pans, i.e. five in the oven, and ten proofing.
i would think the easiest way to do this would be to figure out how much one loaf weighs. i would like to assume you have general knowledge of bakers percentages with recipes. then basically guess and check the weights of your ingredients, and make sure the final number of all of them adds up to however many pounds it will take to make 50 loaves.....or some sort of spreadsheet program could help
ive done this before when coming up with makeshift recipes but that was only 15-20 lbs of dough ......
GOOD LUCK!
how many challot does a single recipe make?
1. Divide 50(the number of challot you need) by that number to obtain a conversion factor.
2. multiply every single ingredient amount by that conversion factor.
for example, if your challah recipe makes 4 loaves,
1. 50/4 = 12.5 (this conversion factor is how many times the original recipe you need)
2. multiply every ingredient weight by 12.5
example: if your recipe calls for 5g salt, 5 x 12.5 = 62.5 g salt
repeat the same calculation for every ingredient - flour, sugar, eggs, etc.
3. Keep in mind how much a single loaf should weigh so that you can scale individual loaves more easily when it comes time to divide and shape. If your single recipe results in 1000 g dough, and you usually get 4 loaves out of that, then remember to scale 250g pieces of dough from your large batch as well.
*note: if you get a non-whole number for the multiplication factor such as 12.5, you should probably just round up to make the numbers more clean. It can't hurt to have a little bit of extra dough in case a couple don't turn out well.
Thank you so much. I think I have an idea to go about this. Thank you everyone for responding.;-)
Moriah
50 challas are a LOT of challa for sure. If the recipe you are working off of to make ONE challa is pretty solid - you don't add extra liquids or flour as you knead the dough - then to make 50 loaves you would just multiply each individual ingredient by 50. Now, that sounds simple but that is not really what you will want to do - unless you have access to a cooler space to retard the dough or you have an oven in which you can bake 50 challas at one time. What I am saying is that you need to think about the FLOW of your baking - there are several questions you must answer to determine your flow. They are:
- how much dough can I mix at one time?
- how many loaves can I retard at one time?
- how many loaves can I bake at one time?
For most home bakers the "bottleneck" or limiting factor when producing a large number of loaves is the number of loaves you can bake in your oven at one time.
Once you have answered the three questions above, then you are ready to make a baking schedule based on a batch size. For example, when I bake Italian loaves for my family I want to produce 8 loaves. I can only bake 2 loaves at a time in my oven, but I have refrigerator room to retard a maximum of 4 loaves and I can hand mix and knead 4 loaves at a time. So for me I have a "batch" size of 4 loaves that I mix, knead, and bulk ferment. When I divide and shape - two loaves stay out to proof and two loaves go in the refrig so I can delay the proofing of them until closer to the bake time. Two hours after I started the FIRST batch of 4 loaves I start the SECOND batch of four - again mix, knead and bulk ferment. You can see the activities of the two batches are overlapping with the final result being that once I start the actual baking which takes 40 minutes then every say 50 minutes there are two loaves ready to go into the oven to bake. This sounds a bit complicated but if you take time to analyze your baking FLOW you will figure out what scheduling will work for you.
I hope this helps. When baking one or two loaves you don't have to worry about this problem. Good luck on 50 loaves - I am confident if you plan and work through the events which will be necessary to bake such a large quanity that you will be successful - pre-planning and thinking through the process is the key to success.
Ben
Moriah,
if you're baking the Challahs at home, keep your "capacity" in mind. Don't make a bigger batch than your oven (or your mixer) can handle. In other words, if you can fit two or three at a time into your oven, make sure only two or three at a time are ready to be baked. If your mixer can handle enough dough for four or six loaves, you could make that much and retard the proofing on the second load by proofing it in a slightly cooler location, so they are ready after the first load comes out of the oven. I'd give the oven at least fifteen minutes to get back up to temperature after taking out the first load, though. Once you factor in the proofing and baking times, you should be able to calculate exactly at what time you need to start mixing your next batch of dough.
Stephan
That sounds like a lot of work! I get stressed coordinating only 4 loaves at a time...and we have a double oven!
Is it truly possible to do 50 loaves in a conventional home kitchen without working through a 24+ hour shift??
I have no idea, but for a fundraiser, it seems worth trying. Good luck and let us know how things turn out Moriah.
--Rick
BakerBen provided a good summary of the issues. Getting everything worked out scheduling wise will give you tired head. To make it easier, make a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart]Gantt chart[/url] to block out the times and materials for each part of the process, and show the overlaps.
Don't forget to figure your equipment requirements, e.g. how many bulk ferment containers will you need, or what about cooling racks and space, or do you have enough loaf pans if the bread is panned? Regarding the last, you can probably bake five panned loaves at a time, but you'll need three batches worth of pans, i.e. five in the oven, and ten proofing.
cheers,
gary