I'm making Challah from PR's Artisan Breads Every Day (page 94. The instructions say to put the dough in the frig overnight. I put the dough in the frig at midnight and I'd like to start braiding the dough around 5 AM. Is 5 hrs long enough? FYI: There is no prreferment in the receipe.
Thanks!
Hi DianaM,
You surely are "up and at'em" so early in the morning! Now that's dedication!
I've been retarding challah dough for a long time. I used to just chill it for a couple of hours to make it easier to handle, but, after a suggestion from Maggie Glezer, I now retard it anywhere between 12 and 48 hours. I do have to keep degassing it (a sort of gentle stretch and fold in the bowl). It's amazing how it develops more complex flavor. I have also been adding a couple TBSP of "old" (no more than a week old) starter; that also adds to the flavor and also the moistness of the crumb. And, no, there is no preferment (other than that starter, which I don't always use). I suppose you could add some pate fermentee (that is, a few pieces of old challah if there's any left from the previous loaf) as well, although I've never tried that.
Hope this helps,
Joyful
Seeing as how some professionals here have suggested that Challah dough needs from zero to very little bulk proofing, I don't see any worries here. At least in the sense that the 5 hours in the fridge is not enough time. Should be plenty.
Guess it just depends on how much yeast was used in far as how long the final proofing, after the braiding, will take.
Could be a misunderstanding on my part though.