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Needs more egg in the dough for my preference, but otherwise they look scrumptious!
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The recipe called for two whole eggs plus one additional yolk, with the extra egg white reserved for brushing the tops of the loaves before baking. It makes a very “fluffy” crumb, which my daughter loves. Does a more eggy recipe make for a denser loaf? Do you have a recipe that you like?
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One of the greatest food creations known to mankind.
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Sounds yummy! Like I said, personal preference. How much flour for that recipe?
Oh, and no, more eggs does not make it denser. I don’t want to say it’s a wetter crumb, but it’s more squishy and less dry.
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500 g bread flour, 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast, 2 tsp salt.
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk, 3/4 cup water, 1/3 cup safflower or olive oil, 1/4 cup honey.
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Interesting: less water than I would use. I just looked quickly for my old recipe (I’m down to only one kid at home, and she’s vegan, so a lot of my recipes are languishing these days) and couldn’t find it. Are you creating a sponge first, or just going ahead and making the dough all at once?
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We always used whole egg for our egg wash. And you gotta make sure to get a good coat on all of it to get that all over shine. Just from the look I’d say the only thing off here is not enough egg wash.
Its a “shorter” dough the extra fat from the yolks interferes with gluten development. So you end up with smaller internal bubbles, and a softer more tender loaf. The yolks and their fat make things ■■■■■, but egg whites make things dryer and firmer. More yolks than whites ends up swinging things towards soft and buttery.
So from the photo I’d say maybe add another yolk, you want the dough to be yellow. Like brioche.
I’m not a great baker, but challah was one of the few things I was good at. Use a recipe my grandmother clipped from the NY Times in the 60’s. Used yeast not a sponge but spent 2 days slow rising in the fridge. Think it was a no knead recipe but haven’t been able to find my copy for a couple years.
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Nope, no sponge. It’s a mostly no-knead recipe. Mix everything together, and let it rest on the counter for a few hours, coming back to it every 45 minutes (30 in the summer) or so to hand knead it in the bowl a bit. Then into the fridge for an overnight. The next day, form the loaves and bake.
Yup, it’s a bit sparse with just the white of one egg.
I have no idea how “authentic” this recipe is, but it is tasty, the family gobbles it up, and it’s easy to make. I’ll be giving loaves as holiday gifts this year, I think. Maybe there’s some humor in that: an agnostic giving bread of Jewish origin as gifts in the “buckle of the Bible Belt”…
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I’m an Irish American who learned to make this from his yiddish speaking but totally non-jewish grandmother. The two bits of savory baking she did were challah and brown bread. I guess its a Bronx back in the day thing. So I think you’re fine on that front.
I have weird with egg wash. I find it very had to spread evenly on things. And it never seems to do the thing when it’s just whites. So whole eggs, and I thin it with water. It’s a bit like my great grandmother’s crepe recipe (from the non Irish-but-for-some-reason-Yiddish-speaking side). It needs just enough liquid to cut it so that it flows smoothly, but there isn’t really a fixed measurement that’ll do it. So I beat whole eggs then add water till it’ll flow smoothly off the brush.
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Meringue, yes, but whipped cream?
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Far out! I wonder what it tastes like?
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Sugar, with a dash of vanilla? 
eta: as well as non-dairy diets, I imagine this solves some Kosher problems too.
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Aquafaba is bonkers stuff! I haven’t tried making whipped cream with it, but I’ve had it in restaurants – it had all the foaminess and whipped-peakedness of dairy, but with a lighter mouthfeel. No ‘bean’ flavor at all.
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I’m going to try these lamb shanks tomorrow. Dry brining them overnight before searing and then braising at low temp in the slow cooker for 8 hours. I may do it Bourguignon style with red wine, bacon, and veggies. Candying the outside like I recently tried at a Romanian place in Paris called Ibrik would be great, but that may be something to add for Thanksgiving if all goes well. Suggestions are welcome.
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Braised lamb shanks in an apricot tagine is a classic.
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That does sound great, thanks for the suggestion. This one looks fairly doable:
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Pan-seared some lamb shanks and put them in a slow cooker with red wine and carrots, celery, and raisins until the meat fell off the bones.
Swell flavor.
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I’ve always liked this place: the kind where the salads are served in faux-wooden bowls with Saltines on the side.
Having said that…
The other thing adding to their alleged nefarious associations, was that they only took cash, not credit cards. However, I do not recall that actually being the case in a long time. But it’s probably been 15 years since I ate at the original restaurant (they’ve since opened a counter at Love Field).
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