Who has the best challah recipe?

[fairygirl69]

Let me start by saying I'm not a Jewish. I'm actually a Roman Catholic. But I admire and respect the Jewish faith. A few weeks ago I was very ill with a virus and needed to stay in bed for a few days. While I was laying there, I learned how to check out ebooks from the library from my phone. So I looked through the cookbooks and happened upon Marcy Goldman's A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking. Always wanting to branch out my skills, I checked it out. Immediately I was fascinated. I read the book from cover to cover. I was dying to bake something from that book but had to stay down a few days longer. Finally, I was well enough to get up and bake. So I chose her challah recipe that includes a sponge starter. I'd made challah before but this, this was the supreme challah! My question is this. Is this author some sort of gold standard in Jewish baking? Furthermore are there any cookbook authors that have an even better challah recipe?

 

[CharlieD]

not knowing the recipe, or tasting her chalah it is hard to say anything. I have tasted some excellent chalahs, and I have made some decent chalahs, in the end it is your taste, your taste buds, that's what matters.

 

[fairygirl69]

A picture of my challah.

 

[larry_stewart]

This is definitely not traditional, and I haven't tried it yet ( or know anyone who has), but it was circulating around the internet last week, and Im curious to try it.

Apple Honey Challah - Recipe for Rosh Hashanah Challah

BTW, Your challah is very impressive. It looks great!!

Larry

 

[fairygirl69]

Oooh that looks delicious!

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[taxlady]

I don't really make challah, but this looks really yum: Apple Honey Challah - Recipe for Rosh Hashanah Challah

 

[Souschef]

Czech Challah

My son married a Czech girl, and i wanted to make the equivalent of Czech Challah as a Xmas bread for her. My son e-mailed me the recipe, and the fun started!
The recipe was in Czech, which I had to translate, it was in metric, and they used weights rather that volumes (cups) for the ingredients.
I got the dough done in my bread maker, then braided it like a challah.
I put it in the oven, and after they came over, I proudly opened the oven and took it out. I do not know what i did wrong, but it came out looking like a huge Milk Bone! It still tasted good, however.

 

[fairygirl69]

Hahaha! I have a saying: they can't all be gold. And the hours I spend in the kitchen are my happiest. Baking bread fascinates me. There's just something about hitting that sweet spot where the dough is perfect and baby's bottom soft! I once actually went a year without buying one loaf of bread. Then we moved two times in the course of a year. I'm thinking of challenging myself to try it again.

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[Dawgluver]

My son married a Czech girl, and i wanted to make the equivalent of Czech Challah as a Xmas bread for her. My son e-mailed me the recipe, and the fun started!
The recipe was in Czech, which I had to translate, it was in metric, and they used weights rather that volumes (cups) for the ingredients.
I got the dough done in my bread maker, then braided it like a challah.
I put it in the oven, and after they came over, I proudly opened the oven and took it out. I do not know what i did wrong, but it came out looking like a huge Milk Bone! It still tasted good, however.

Beagle LOVES Milk Bones, and would have appreciated your effort!

 

[fairygirl69]

Oh my gosh! When ever I baked bread, especially my bacon cheese bread, my diabetic dog would find a way to jump up and eat what I baked. He passed on last July. Sure miss him.

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[Addie]

I know that braiding the dough is traditional. But any time I have made challah bread, I just put it in the loaf pan as I would a regular loaf of white bread. I have always used the recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Unfortunately I no longer have my copy of that cookbook. So if I were to make it today, I would look on line for a recipe that looks like what I am familiar with.

 

[fairygirl69]

Oooh, I adore Joy of Cooking

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[Addie]

Oooh, I adore Joy of Cooking

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I always give it as a wedding present. Or a housewarming present.

 

[fairygirl69]

Good idea, Addie! At least one person must cook in a marriage. Well, unless you have unlimited funds and you're one of those people who can eat anything without gaining weight.

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[Souschef]

I always give it as a wedding present. Or a housewarming present.

Addie, here is the link to the Joy of cooking Challah recipe. I compared it to my book and it is the same.
Challah Recipe from Joy of Cooking

 

[fairygirl69]

Oh wow! That recipe looks awesome!

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[Addie]

Oh wow! That recipe looks awesome!

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It is. Just make sure you knead it enough. It is very tasty and light. Makes for fantastic French Toast. A favorite for sure in this family.

Souschef, thank you for showing this. I no longer have my JOC. It is what happens when you have kids. Mine now has a new home at my daughter's home. Copied and saved.

 

[Addie]

Good idea, Addie! At least one person must cook in a marriage. Well, unless you have unlimited funds and you're one of those people who can eat anything without gaining weight.

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My granddaughter received one from her mother when she went off to school. It got a lot of use. And not just by her. All her friends poured over it looking for what they could cook in their dorm rooms. No ramen diet for her and her friends.

After school, the roommate made sure she would have one when she set up her own apartment. She asked for one from her parents when she moved out on her own. There is a good reason why it is called "The Bible Of Cooking."

 

[taxlady]

I think of JOC as a cooking encyclopedia. When I lived in a log cabin, back in the late '70s/early '80s, it was the only cookbook we owned. I used it for cooking, canning, and how to cut up wild meat.

 

[Addie]

I think of JOC as a cooking encyclopedia. When I lived in a log cabin, back in the late '70s/early '80s, it was the only cookbook we owned. I used it for cooking, canning, and how to cut up wild meat.

I have yet to come across any cookbook that covers any subject on cooking as completely as JOC. From table setting for various events to the most complicated recipe there is. Even though Mrs. Rombaurer has passed away, you have to give credit to her son for keeping her book just like she did when she was alive. I think they have done a fantastic job of keeping up with using the appliances we have today, that weren't around when JOC first was published eons ago. The book has definitely kept up with the times.