Okay, tonight marks my third go at Challah and tomorrow with be my fifth Shabbat. So far every time I’ve kneaded the challah, I’ve been greeted by slightly different dough. Last week was a late night baking disaster that culminated in coming home from temple to find my stove top covered in Strega Nona type Challah Dough. A mountain of dough, spilling over the cookie sheet. Mere grooves where the braid had been once.
Tonight I stepped up the yeast water from tepid to warm and the dough feels very different. I noticed the last two weeks that there was sugar left in the yeast/water/sugar cup each time. Tonight I mixed the hell out of it and used warmer water. The dough had a totally different feel and seemed to mix better, although it was a little lumpier. I’m back to vegatable oil, last week I used olive oil.
I’ve got it doing the first of the rising cycles right now. Sitting on the stove top. While I wait for these two hours to pass, I think I’ll work on the book Mom lent me. Blink.
