Enjoying a nice piece of challah with a slice of swiss cheese and fresh tomato slices from our garden toms. Was a bit ambitious yesterday and made chocolate almond biscotti and a challah. :)
Wonderfully Soft White Bread Original Recipe was from recipezaar.com, but I've tweaked it quite a bit as far as prep/rising/baking. I've been searching endlessly for the "perfect" wonder bread type texture/crumb, and this one is the BOMB. ;)
1 cup tepid water 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons margarine 1 tablespoon honey ( I used buckwheat honey) 3 cups all purpose flour (I used Robin Hood-Best for Bread-Homestyle White) This made a BIG difference in the texture of the bread. 1/4 cup powdered whole milk 2 teaspoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons SAF Gold Instant Yeast
Sprinkle yeast on water. Blend till yeast dissolves.
In this order add: honey, sugar, powdered milk, salt and stir well till blended
Add margarine and stir well again.
Add 1 cup of the flour and mix till fully blended (mixture will be like batter) Add remaining two cups of flour and blend with a fork till completely blended. Take dough out of mixing bowl and fold till smooth. Do NOT over work or knead! Just fold and press, fold and press.
Shape into boule and place in lightly oiled bowl for approx. 1 1/2 hours or till doubled.
When risen, take out dough and on a floured surface, shape into loaf and place in loaf pan. (again, DO NOT overwork).
Let rise in a warm place for approximately 40 minutes until doubled in size.
Bake on centre rack of preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.
Cool on wire rack before slicing.
Here is a picture of the "attacked" loaf. DH LOVES Wonder Bread, and now he's a convert! LOL
They're NOT hot flashes....My body is just vacationing in the tropics!
This is my fourth challah. I decided to stray from the traditional braid "out of a pan" to braiding first, then letting it rise in the pullman pan today. I am pleased so far. It's hot out of the oven, so I will post the cut picture later this evening. ;)
My first attempt at using my new KAF pullman loaf pan. The recipe I used was their insert that came with the pan. It's cooling as I type this, so I won't have cut pics till sometime tomorrow.
I've been learning how to bake breads the past month or so (without much luck with the artisan bread types). BUT, today I decided to try my hand at a Challah. Here is the pictures of the results. Needless to say I am extremely happy with this recipe! Great "crust and crumb" on this one! I LOVE Challah, and this one tops any I've had from the bakeries.
