ADVENTURES IN CHALLAH!

I’m pretty sure it’s the hands on nature and rich history of this bread that drew me in. I follow bakers that have been making it weekly and their braiding tutorials had me mesmerized. Watching both lionsbread and onesarcasticbaker gave me the confidence to give it a shot. If you are looking for recipes or helpful tips you should check them both out.

The first recipe I used was Ima’s challah bread from food52 (www.food52.com). This recipe gave the option to use half white wheat flour so I decided to use half whole wheat instead. I was worried it might alter the texture too much but it ended up working quite well. The texture was soft and it pulled apart so nicely. The wheat added a bit of nuttiness to the taste which works well due to the of sweetness the honey.

My second attempt at challah was a bit more eventful. None of the excitement had anything to do with the recipe. It was simple, clear and easy to follow. LeAnne from www.lionsbread.com provided a lovely step by step with photos as well.

The dough came together beautifully and rose nicely. I was so excited to try this recipe because LeAnne suggests you can make one of the loaves a traditional braid and the second into a sweet twisted babka. The efficiency enticed me. Getting two different breads from one bake was right up my alley, and I could practice two techniques with one recipe.

Ha! Well the baking goddess had other plans for me. As my dough grew close to doubling in size I preheated the oven. This was the exact time my oven decided to malfunction. Perfect. Of course it did. Just as I was processing this setback my mother called and saved the day. She offered her oven and I was able to continue.

I made the first loaf by doing the 4 strand braiding technique I learned from Dee at www.onesarcasticbaker.com. She does an easy to follow tutorial in her Instagram stories. This four strand method yields a beautiful braid that is tall and very pretty.

My plan for the second part of the dough was to make the twisted babka I had been fantasizing about. In my haste to get this portion done, so i could get the dough over to my mom’s house, I made a bit of a mistake. I divided the remaining dough into two portions when should have kept it as one. I was thinking that you have to twist two pieces together to form the babka, but i forgot that you cut the rolled dough lengthwise, once you fill it. All this means is that I ended up with two smaller babkas instead of one. Better for sharing, I say!

I decided to use a blueberry jam as the filling. My first attempt, which turned into the wreath shape was a bit overfilled. It turned out well, but was a bit slippery trying to twist and move it to the sheet pan. The second twist turned out to be much easier to shape with a bit less of the jam used.

The final tip I’ll give is to follow the timing provided on the recipe. I didn’t think my loaves were done, as they didn’t look brown enough under the oven lights. I left them in for an additional 5 minutes, which in hindsight was a mistake. Because they were a bit smaller they should have come out sooner.

I decided to add a lemon glaze to the blueberry babka. This added a bit more sweetness and a nice tang. The final finish of lemon zest was mainly an aesthetic choice, however i do think it adds to lemon flavor.

Overall this was a fun bake, and as always I learned a lot.