Another View of Yeast
Yesterday I was coming up ways to kill yeast (as in yeast infection) if it occurs as a result of taking antibiotics. Today I am trying not to kill yeast as I am baking a challah for tonight’s shabbat dinner. What a difference a day makes!
I haven’t baked bread in a very long time. But my worst fear of bread-baking is killing the yeast by overheating. I love the feel of the warm dough as you knead-and-turn, knead-and-turn until it has a sort of elastic feeling. It always amazes me that the little round ball in the bottom of the big bowl does double in size in about an hour and a half as it rises in a warm place. That’s where my fear comes in. The ideal warm place is a gas oven with a pilot light. But since I have an electric oven, I always have to turn it on briefly and just hope it is not too hot. I suppose the easy thing would be to use a thermometer to check the temperature. But I never bother with a thermometer, hoping that my instinct will work as well.
I have now gotten through the first rising. The dough was all puffy and definitely doubled in size. It looked very cool with little flecks of saffron here and there, a natural way to add just a hint of yellow to this already eggy bread. I punched down the dough and carefully divided it into 4 smaller pieces. Then I made 3 long ropes and braided them together to form the base of the challah. I cut the remaining piece into 3 pieces, made 3 additional ropes, and then made a smaller braid to adorn the larger one. It’s now rising a second time in what I hope isn’t too hot an oven. It will then get an egg wash and poppy seeds on top before being baked.
In baking my Shabbat challah, I am joining the ranks of countless Jewish women who have baked their bread in preparation for the weekly ritual of celebrating Shabbat. Tonight we are hosting 8 other Temple Micah members for Shabbat dinner as the congregation takes the weekly Friday service to people’s homes. It’s a chance to get to know new and old friends better as we kindle the Shabbat candles, bless the wine and the bread, and share dinner together.
Shabbat shalom.
I haven’t baked bread in a very long time. But my worst fear of bread-baking is killing the yeast by overheating. I love the feel of the warm dough as you knead-and-turn, knead-and-turn until it has a sort of elastic feeling. It always amazes me that the little round ball in the bottom of the big bowl does double in size in about an hour and a half as it rises in a warm place. That’s where my fear comes in. The ideal warm place is a gas oven with a pilot light. But since I have an electric oven, I always have to turn it on briefly and just hope it is not too hot. I suppose the easy thing would be to use a thermometer to check the temperature. But I never bother with a thermometer, hoping that my instinct will work as well.
I have now gotten through the first rising. The dough was all puffy and definitely doubled in size. It looked very cool with little flecks of saffron here and there, a natural way to add just a hint of yellow to this already eggy bread. I punched down the dough and carefully divided it into 4 smaller pieces. Then I made 3 long ropes and braided them together to form the base of the challah. I cut the remaining piece into 3 pieces, made 3 additional ropes, and then made a smaller braid to adorn the larger one. It’s now rising a second time in what I hope isn’t too hot an oven. It will then get an egg wash and poppy seeds on top before being baked.
In baking my Shabbat challah, I am joining the ranks of countless Jewish women who have baked their bread in preparation for the weekly ritual of celebrating Shabbat. Tonight we are hosting 8 other Temple Micah members for Shabbat dinner as the congregation takes the weekly Friday service to people’s homes. It’s a chance to get to know new and old friends better as we kindle the Shabbat candles, bless the wine and the bread, and share dinner together.
Shabbat shalom.
posted by Barbara at 12:23 PM
4 Comments:
I think the bread yeast must have gotten yesterday's message in the end, because mine is a most unusual challah. It doesn't have that chacteristic braided shape any longer and it is far more compact that I would have liked. In fact the only noteworthy things about this challah are that I made it and it is a nice shade of brown. I thought for a moment about just chucking it in the trash and running out to Best Buns, where I usually buy my bread. But instead I decided to just throw a cover over it and let everyone try my rather dense bread. After all, it has the right ingredients, just not quite enough air bubbles. What went wrong? I'll probably never know. But I don't think I'll wait another 10 years to try again. The kneading part was very therapeutic.
I need to knead........you are right it is incredibly therapeutic! It has been more than 10 years since I made a challah and as I remember they were delicious but not always perfectly shaped. No one to make them for now so I buy mine, usually at TJ's.
Enjoy the evening. It sounds like a lovely way to enjoy the Sabbath.
So sorry I'm missing this beautiful dinner. I'm off now to Friendship Heights Animal Hospital with a very sick little Shadow. Hope they'll have something soothing for her stomach.
Surprise, surprise! The challah tasted better than it looked. We had a stimulating evening of discussion and non-stop eating. Reya, we missed you, but understand that you had to be responsible for Shadow. Hope you're both doing better now.
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