Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Challah

One of the first "fancy" challot that I ever made was a Parmesan Roasted Garlic Challah.  It was really, REALLY garlicky... and delicious.  This challah is a variation off of that very recipe.  I love savory challot, especially when they involve herbs from my garden, like Rosemary Olive Oil Challah, Pesto Challah, and Pizza Challah (the Hazz's favorite).

This challah takes a bit more time because you have to roast the garlic in advance before preparing the dough, but trust me.  It's worth it.

3/4 c water
2 1/4 tsp active dry or instant yeast (1 packet)
2 eggs plus 1 more for egg wash
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting
3 to 3 1/2 c bread flour
1/4 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 head of garlic
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

First, you'll roast your clove of garlic.  I run the clove under water and pull off any skin with dirt on it.  Then slice off the top of the head, drizzle with a little olive oil, and wrap in foil.  Bake in 425 oven for 20-25 minutes.  When your garlic is roasted and cooled to handle, squeeze out the garlic with a tongs or by hand and mash with a fork.

When your garlic is ready, start with very warm (but not hot) water in mixing bowl. Add yeast and 1/4 tsp sugar, mixing lightly. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or so, until yeast is foamy. Add 2 eggs, 2 tbs olive oil, and garlic in the bowl and mix with wood spoon.

Add flour, salt, and finely chopped rosemary and beat with dough hook on standmixer or by hand. If the dough is not holding together as a ball, add a bit more oil or water. If the dough is very sticky, add more flour. The dough is ready when it sticks together as a ball and is not sticky to the touch when you poke your finger in (5-10 minutes of beating). Turn the ball out onto a floured work surface and punch a few times until very smooth.

Place in oiled bowl and cover in plastic wrap or a towel.

Allow to rise at least one hour, preferably more (usually about an hour and a half), until dough has doubled in size. Punch down the ball in the bowl. Braid in your preferred method. Allow to rise 20-30 minutes. Top with an egg wash and a little more olive oil and a few sprigs of rosemary if you like.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, rotating 180 degrees after the first 15 minutes. You can use a bread thermometer (180-200 degrees) or poke at the seams. Foil if browning too quickly on top.

I just love how aromatic and savory this challah is. Yes, I'm usually a sweet challah gal, but I love variety now and again! The olive oil also makes the dough light and fluffy.


Shavua Tov from our bayit to yours!

Vacation Challah: Herbed Challah Revisited

After our adventures in Cinnamon Sugar Challah, we also tried a return to Herbed Challah while we were on vacation. For this challah, I chopped up some fresh sage and rosemary quite finely.

The Hazz then made a mixture of olive oil, garlic powder, and the herbs. Using a pastry brush, he covered a rolled-out piece of dough with the mixture.

The whole process then get, as one would expect, a little oily. After some slip-sliding and quite a bit of additional flour on the strands, a coil we achieved. Of course by then we had over-floured the strands and couldn't get the bottom to stay tucked in.

Regardless, success was achieved!

This challah was delicious and quite surprisingly flaky. I'm so glad we tried making herbed bread again. I think savory challot may be the way to go for us for a while. There are a lot of options to match with a meal.

What recipes are you returning to this week?

Sukkot 5772: Herbed Challah

I love my garden, and I'm having a hard time accepting that the season is growing to a close.  My herbs, however, are still going strong.  For Sukkot, I kneaded in some fresh rosemary and oregano (I grow the flat leaf variety) along with some Trader Joe's garlic powder (my garlic powder of choice... it's like salt in our bayit). You can use any dough you like, but I recommend something basic. The possibilities here are endless... other herbs, parmesan, roasted garlic. I knead in after rise, before braiding/coiling, but you could definitely do this pre-rise.  I love going from garden to loaf (with washing, of course!)  Yum!







May your Sukkot be delicious!

Challah Shape: Croatian Star

Here is a neat star I made last Shabbat.  I learned this method in A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World by Maggie Glezer.  The author writes that it isn't really a "Jewish shape" but when done with three strands it becomes a "Baroque Star of David."

Silly me, I made it with four strands.  So it's not a star.  But it was still pretty neat!!!!!!  

This bread had some rosemary and garlic powder needed it.  Delicious!

Start on one side and coil around...

And didn't it turn out sooo lovely... didn't last long!

Whole Wheat Rosemary Challah

One of my first adventures into whole wheat challah was a Monday afternoon trial challah.  Monday is The Hazz's day off, and I only work half days that day, so it was a great experiment and it turned out ohhh so tasty even with a very minimal number of eggs.  Here's what we did...

1 c water, warm
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp honey
3 c flour (I use 2 c white, 1 c wheat)
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 bulb garlic
Splash of Olive Oil
1 1/2 - 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped


Roast the garlic bulb splashed in olive oil, uncut, in the smallest oven safe container you have (we have a teeny tiny one from our wedding registry) for 35-45 minutes at 350.  Let cool.

Meanwhile, mix warm water, yeast, and honey until soft eruptions occur.  Once garlic is cool enough to handle, remove from skins.  Blend with egg and rosemary in a food processor or blender.

Add garlic mixture to yeast mixture.  And flour and salt and beat with stand mixer or by hand until ball is firm but not sticky.  Add sprinkles of water as necessary.  Let rise an hour or more, until doubled in size.  (You can do a second rise if you like).  Punch down and get out all those air bubbles.

    

Braid in your preferred way and let rise again 45 minutes or so.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  NOM NOM NOM!