It's got a much finer consistency the challah I've had and the outside is darker. What does it taste like?

lol, damn you yimyammer:



In the pastry class I took the teacher always scolded me for "man-handling" the dough, maybe thats what I did here

It looks too dense, flavor is meh, looking forward to others showing me the way

If I **** up I'm blaming the recipe/humidity/saturn's moons!

lol, definite hate crime, mine is nothing like that but thanks for the video. Outside of watching the how to braid video, I tried to just go off btc's recipe in the hope it was dummy proof, apparently it isn't

Rexx, it tastes ok, like slightly sweet, dense bread...would probably work better as a paper weight

I said I sucked at baking, too impatient or something

Haha. I can’t bake either. I made some bread in a Dutch oven once that turned out great. Hung up my apron and ended on a W.

show us the way and make this thread proud, I dropped the ball

mine kind of tastes like a cracker, its likely heading to the garbage

Nice attempt. It looks like maybe it didn't rise enough the second time, hence the density and/or maybe you cut into while still hot? How long did it cook, 30 mins? Also how big of a splash of water went into your eggwash and did you use the whole egg? How much flour/water did it take?

Not all challahs are created the same. Some people like airy, some doughy, some like a cake. That's a nice video but not every challah has the same texture. Try try again until you get what you want...

P.S. That will still make some french toast in the morning so it's not a total loss. Leave it out overnight.

lol, smart man, I'm still looking for my "W"

thing is, I like the process, I just lose patience having stop and start and stop and start and I guess that ultimately sabotages my efforts. My teacher had fantastic biscuits that she had us make, everyone's were tall, light and fluffy.

Mine were hockey pucks

lol, I dont know what my problem is

Patience.

The first rise was probably 5+ hours while I was out running errands, the second one was probably only an hour, how long should it have been?

I did cut it while it was hot

I cooked for 30 minutes but I split the recipe in 2, so I'm letting the next one go for 40 minutes which I just pulled from the oven and I really don't see much difference.

I really "man-handled" the dough making the braids, maybe that made it dense?

Its hard to say how much water I added to the egg wash, I basically just slapped the water while it was running a few times and then whipped it and applied with a silicone brush. I didn't use the whole egg either, probably only used 1/3rd to half for both.

I used exactly 3 cups

lol, sounds like I broke every rule of the challah!

kind of fun though, I'll probably try again after I watch how you experts show us how its done

that used to be the only thing I had going for me at the poker table

I think for that recipe to have any hope of working it should be proofed overnight. My house is so dry and fridge so cold that I rub the exposed area with a little oil so it doesn't get that hard crust while it proofs. And cover the bowl tightly with saran wrap.

I don't have that much experience but I imagine the more you work it after it proofs the less bubbles there'll be. But if the science is off it's not going to rise and bubble properly.

FYI-I got a hard crust on the top of the dough of my first proof and it flaked off all during the process

Yim,

The main thing is you had a go

Hang on, you haven't lost yet either imo. You can still pull out a win here if El D nails a great challah per your original recipe.

thx amigo

I think someone else should give bcc's 2nd recipe a try, I'm sure I botched what should have been a relatively straightforward recipe

yim: nice effort! lemme know a charity to give $50 to. Or if you just want to pick a cause (homelessness, food bank, kids, clean water, cancer, etc) just let me know and I'll donate to a good organization for it.

zik/btc: Rexx is also doing one! I'll prob try mine either tomorrow or Thursday.

challah at your boy yim

Someone should bump the bread thread and identify the bread pros - iirc JL514 was pretty good at bread - and see if they’d do a loaf using the btc formula

Certainly not expected on my part but if you feel so inclined, consider giving your old flash drives or a cash donation here:Flashdrives for Freedom

I despise the North Korean leadership and this is a peaceful way to hopefully put some chinks in the armor

lol

propa challah!

<I'm becoming a horny old man, I found those ladies and their accents sexy as hell>

Anyway, no one got time for that...after watching this video, I did pretty much what they did with the following exceptions:

1. I used AP flour, they use bread flour

2. I used my mixer and let the dough hook knead the dough for 8 mins, didn't check for a gluten window

3. I didn't oil enough on the initial proof and the dough got dry and flaky. I then probably over compensated by added more oil as I made the strands

4. Their initial proof was 1 hour, mine was 5+ and in retrospect, I don't think my dough doubled in size like theirs did (does yeast in a sealed package go bad?)

5. I made the strands in a similar way but probably spent far more time working the dough than they did which may have caused the dough to get tough

6. My second proof was fr about an hour, theirs was 30 minutes

7. I baked for 30 minutes at 350 throughout and they did 12 minutes at approx 390 and then 18 minutes at approximately 356

I'm tempted to try again but I'll here first to see if that gives me my fix

G/L to everyone!

AP is fine, so far so good

Using a mixer is ok to bring all the ingredients together, but use your hands for kneading.

You only have to oil/spray the bowl. pop the dough in, turn it over so the sides are coated and that's it.

Yeast can go bad, it can also be killed if your very warm water was actually too hot.

If you want to braid, roll out the ropes and go to town. Some like stuffed challahs and stretch the ropes into a sheet before rolling it back up with a filling inside.

They are in a test kitchen, you aren't. Proof times are not exact, your dough will need however much time it needs. The first time it should double, the second time it should also rise close to double as well. You can press a finger into the dough and see if the dough comes back or keeps the imprint. *You're not on a clock.

bake at 375 for 30 or you can try 375 for 15 and 350 for the rest.

I didn't refer to texture or crumb which is my fault. If you want a cotton candy type texture that is light an airy, try removing an egg. If you want a cake type crumb in a richer bread, leave as is. That's just a preference and there is no right or wrong.

found this lovely lady who makes a very similar recipe (only difference is she used butter instead of oil ehem goyem) and uses her mixer to knead just like you.

good stuff, thx btc

Have fun and be patient. There are dozens of recipes and she uses the ingredients with a different preparation you might find easier than mine. Go with whatever works for you.

She's good. I got my potato bun recipe from her which for me is better than brioche for burgers (brioche was my previous champ).