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WHY Don’t My Challahs Rise????

I attended one of your challah demonstrations which I thought was really good. It really inspired me to make challah in a bigger batch so that I can do the mitzva. I used your recipe that you gave out on a printed card and followed it meticulously but the dough didn’t rise, have you got any suggestions for me? My regular challah recipe which is smaller always works out fine…
Many thanks for your inspiring words and fascinating demonstration!

Thank you for your query and for your feedback! If you saw my demonstration then you know that Baruch Hashem the fact that your dough did not rise would have nothing to do with the recipe I showed since the dough I used at that demo most certainly did rise! So let’s analyze what could have happened.

Before anything else – you are sure you did put the yeast into your dough when you were creating it, correct? Don’t laugh – I’ve actually done that mistake before…

Okay, now that we’ve made sure you did, check these steps:

First of all, what kind of yeast did you use, fresh that you bought in the refrigerator section of your store, or dry that came in a closed packet?

Secondly, how old is your yeast? If you bought it fresh, is it past the date printed on the package?
If it was dry yeast, when did you open it?
In my experience, this is usually the problem. If it was one of those large vacuum packed containers of yeast and you opened it a bit ago, even as recently as just a week – when you first used it, it probably worked really amazingly, correct? But then, and here is the important point – where did you store it once it was opened?

I know the packet says you can store it in the cabinet or the refrigerator BUT if you do so, it will lose its original potency very quickly. Try what I say and see for yourself. Once you have opened the package, empty it out into a good quality plastic container with a tight lid. Then, immediately after using it, put it into your freezer, NOT your refrigerator or your cabinet. Every single time you use it after this point, remove it only when you need to use it, measure off your tablespoon or two that you are using and then, again, immediately after using it replace it in your freezer. This will keep the yeast’s potency at its highest for as long as you have it in your freezer and your challahs should once again rise beautifully, now and always!

This answer I have written here is especially important for those who tell me that for their recipe of just 2.25 kilos (17 cups) of flour they are using at least 4 (!!!!! That’s FAR too much!!!) tablespoons of yeast. Heavens!! Have rachmanus on your kishkes! If you need to use so much yeast in order for your challahs to rise, it’s a sign that the yeast is not working anymore. Throw it out and get a new package…and then follow the directions I’ve just listed for how to keep it in storage for future use.

What’s the Difference Between Water Challah and Egg Challah?

I own your book, A Taste of Challah, you give a recipe for no-egg challah. Is this challah the same as or similar to water challah, my husband’s favorite challah? I need a water challah recipe that permits me to separate the challah from the dough WITH a bracha. Thank you!

This answer depends on w hat you refer to as water challah. Some people call it water challah when only the eggs are taken out of the recipe. Others consider it water challah only if there is nearly no sugar, and no eggs and very little to no oil in the dough a true water challah. The amount to separate (be mafrish challah ) with a bracha is only dependant on the amount of flour used in the recipe. So long as you’ve reached 2.25 kilos of flour (close to 16 or 17 cups of flour) you can be mafrish with a bracha. Some poskim do hold of a bit less but I use this amount because it is the most widely accepted opinion, especially among Ashkenazim.

One more thing- I would not think that my no egg challah is a water challah. It is too rich, even without the eggs inside it, to be a water challah. The water challah on page 110 is probably much more similar to what you husband has in mind.

Recipe for One Loaf of Challah

As a new challah maker, I’m afraid to use all of those ingredients and have it come out poorly. I’d like to try with a smaller batch so I can perfect my skills without so much waste. Thank you.

If you don’t feel ready to make a full batch of challah, here’s the amount for one larger challah or two smaller ones (or maybe about 4 little ones)… but there is no mitzvah of hafrashas challah and certainly no bracha on this amount.

Ingredients

1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
1/2 tablespoon/ 1/2 ounce dry yeast
4 – 4 & 1/2 cups flour
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon salt

Method

Place the ingredients in your mixer bowl in the order listed. Using your dough hook, turn the mixer on a low setting and knead this for 10-12 minutes. You may need to add a bit more oil and water while it is kneading. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water; if it is too sticky add a bit more oil and another 1/4 cup of flour. When the dough is done kneading it should be coming away from the sides of the bowl (if not, add a bit more oil) and it should be smooth, elastic, and just a bit sticky. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Knead again for just 3-4 more minutes. Remove the dough from the mixer. Place it in a large bag to rise, covered by the bag.

Note: You can do the same in a large bowl, if you prefer the hand method or do not own a mixer.

Have a great time with your challahs!

Why do we braid challah with six strands?

This is a common question

We braid with six because we want to have 12 pieces on the table in front of us. Why 12? Because our Shabbos table is reminiscent of the “shulchan” in the Beis Hamikdash, and then, there were always 12 loaves called “lechem Hapanim” on the shulchan. We, too, want the number 12, so we braid each challah with six, and then when we put down two challahs, we therefore have 12 ‘pieces’ on the table, just like the shulchan in the Beis Hamikdash.

Others make a challah that is literally 12 pieces, and the source of the reason is the same.

Healthy and Refreshing Milkshakes

It’s that time of year again when it gets very hot outside and everyone constantly wants something refreshing to sip on. Buying milkshakes or ice coffee in the stores can be very pricey, especially if you are treating a large crowd of your children or grandchildren. Besides, the amount of sugar added in many cases really racks up the calories. Here’s another question I get from readers:

I want to make some kind of milkshakes for my kids but haven’t figured out how to make them that great consistency like the store does. Is there another way to do this, besides having to buy large tubs of ice cream and adding them to my blender with milk?
Do you also have a suggestion for making these healthier, if possible?

Over ten years ago I came up with this “milkshake” idea, mostly because here in Israel, the children are sent home from school between 1-2 pm, the hottest time of day. Couple that with the fact that they have to walk home most often, and are shlepping heavy backpacks on their backs and you get tired, hot, cranky and very thirsty kids coming in your house midday. Mine, especially, were in no mood for a heavy meal then and really appreciated something cold and refreshing.

I never use ice cream. It is expensive, doesn’t work that well for a thick shake, and adds a lot of sugar. I simply use frozen, ripe bananas.

When bananas are cheap, I buy a whole lot of them. I let them ripen to the point that they are delicious and soft, but not totally browned. Then I peel every one of them and freeze them in cheap bags, two at a time. If you freeze them in their peels, it is very difficult to get the peel off easily later on, which is why I freeze them unpeeled. Just one word of caution: bananas have all sorts of things clinging to their outside peels so watch your fingers as you peel them. Check them over briefly to make sure that your unpeeled bananas did not inadvertently become dirty in the process. After that, all I do is place them, bagged and tied, all in one of my freezer drawers, ready for use.

To make my shakes, I then put 2-3 frozen bananas in my blender and add 2 cups of milk. I let it sit for five minutes to soften the bananas somewhat, but not all the way. I cut through the chunks with a knife. If it cuts easily, it can then be blended. Cover the blender, turn it on high and poof—a creamy, delicious, and healthy shake is ready in seconds.

I even keep a steady stash of straws always on hand. Nothing like a tall glass of ‘milkshake’ with a straw to enjoy it with!

This also tends to be very filling and everyone, no matter their age, enjoys it. You can change the colors and tastes by adding in other pieces of softened, ripe fruit. Mangoes, strawberries, blueberries. You only need a small amount of the second fruit for flavor and color, the thickness comes from the bananas.

To make the shake thicker, add less milk per banana. To make it thinner, add more milk. You do not need to add any sugar at all nor any vanilla pudding powder to thicken this nor to flavor it. The sweetness of the ripened bananas is more than enough to make it sweet enough for all! And this milk version has the added plus of calcium.

I have a child who is allergic to milk. What else do you suggest?

You can certainly substitute almond milk, which is also very tasty. Or you can make it entirely from fruit juice and a bit of water. Add in the bananas and maybe 1/4 cup frozen blueberries. Pour 2 cups of orange juice and blend as above. It’s delicious.

I find this is a great way to enjoy a milkshake any time of day, no matter how many people are around and it really saves money too.

Enjoy your shakes!

Spelt Flour Questions

How do I get spelt to rise properly?

I let the dough rise once for 20 minutes, shape into rolls and put in oven without rising and it still doesn’t work. They come out flat.

Hello and thank you for writing:
Spelt flour rises and bakes differently than wheat. Keeping this in mind, the first rising of just the dough should be the full hour or ‘until doubled in bulk’. This is what activates the gluten, yeast, etc. After you shape it into rolls, preheat the oven to 400 F. let the rolls rise only about 15 minutes if its hot inside or 20 minutes if not and then bake immediately . This should keep them from spreading and becoming flat. They rise quicker than wheat and spelt is also a much softer flour and dough. Spelt is gentler/ softer on the digestive tract too which is why many who are wheat sensitive, turn to spelt.

If your dough is very soft to begin with you should also decrease the water in it a bit more, start by decreasing by 1/2 cup. Any very wet or loose dough will make your breads spread, and this is especially so with spelt flour doughs.

How much yeast would you use for 4 cps of spelt flour?

4 cups of flour is approximately a bit more than a half kilo. For one kilo (about 2.2 lbs.) I would use for wheat, a tablespoon of dry yeast, for Spelt I would do a bit less, about 2 teaspoons plus another 1/4 teaspoon.

So for a half kilo, I would try 1 teaspoon and a half of dry yeast.

If the dough is too airy after the first rise, you will know for next time to cut down the yeast and the water too, by even a bit more.

I also make my own spelt low sugar bread loaves for weekday use, no bread machine and it comes out great. They are always high and nice. To keep them at their freshest, I slice each loaf after it is cooled and then store it in freezer bags in the freezer sliced and only remove what I need each time.

Just to verify further, how much yeast were you using for 4 cups of spelt flour prior to this email?

1 & 1/2 tablespoons dry yeast to my four cups of spelt flour

NO WONDER your bread over-rose so quickly and flattened out!! This is far too much yeast for so little flour. Plus, just digesting so much yeast is also hard on the system and makes a person tired and is unhealthy. I’m sure once you cut the yeast down — by more than half if you do the 1.5 teaspoons instead of that large amount of yeast, to your four cups, I’m sure you will also feel better after eating the bread, aside from it also looking better

Just to get back to you, I tried your suggestions and they did help a lot. Thank you for your time.

One of the most often asked questions my readers send me is:

Can I freeze my challah dough?

To this I answer – it depends. I have heard that many do it and say that it works. Those I’ve heard or read about it from say that they shape the challahs and then freeze them before they are risen. The day they want to bake them, they put them frozen into the desired size pan and let them defrost and then rise. When risen, they bake it.

However, I have never had success with this method. I tried it and the challahs simply did not come out the same. As my very large challah dough is rising on my table as I type this to you, I prefer to bake them all, and only freeze them after they are baked and cooled off. If you use good quality heavy plastic freezer bags and have a good freezer, your challahs will always stay fresh this way. And best of all, it’s completely done and ready! Just defrost 4-5 hours before you will be eating them.

Yeast Questions and Information

What is the difference is between fresh and dry yeast?
Do certain recipes require one particular kind or are they used indiscriminately?
What is the exact conversion from dry yeast to live yeast and vice versa?

There is a scientific difference between fresh and dry yeast. However, I do not have all the information on that. For me, it matters very little since the differences I have interest in is how they work, what the amounts are when you want to substitute one for the other, and why one would prefer one over the other.

There are definite differences when you use fresh or dry yeast. For one thing, many people do not know how to effectively store and use dry yeast so when you want to ensure that your yeast is really, really fresh, they will be told to buy only fresh yeast! Both yeasts have active cultures in them, but you use them slightly differently.

Fresh yeast is something I personally prefer for challahs simply because it works so well and when it’s very fresh, it tastes very nice. A typical challah recipe of 5 lbs. / 2.4 – 2.5 kilos of flour will call for 2.5 – 3 ounces of fresh yeast, depending on who is giving you the recipe. Two ounces of fresh yeast is the basic equivalent of 50 grams (plus a tiny bit more if you want to be very exact), of a fresh yeast cube OR 2 flat tablespoons of dry yeast. Every tablespoon of dry yeast is like 1 ounce of fresh yeast. If you look it up on charts, a scientific chart can give you exact grams and milligrams, but for the purposes of this article, these are the measurements I have been using for years and it always works.

Fresh yeast needs to be activated before being used by placing it in a small pareve bowl with very hot but not boiling water and a bit of sugar. You cover the bowl loosely and wait about 10 minutes. It should foam and bubble. Then you add this mixture to your challah dough in-the-making, and knead it all together.

Dry yeast can be just added into the dough mixture as you are preparing it without bubbling it up.

However, many, many people misuse dry yeast. Although the larger vacuum packs will tell you that you can store it after opening in a closet or in the fridge, if you do so it will not be as fresh or as active after just a few days. If you really want your dry yeast to work just as well as the day you opened it, it is crucial that you pour it out into a good plastic container with a strong lid and store it in the freezer for long term use. This way, every time you need it, you simply remove it from the freezer, twist it open, (I use large peanut butter plastic jars that I have saved and washed out, they work great for something like this!) and measure out the amount of tablespoons that you need for your dough. Presto – it will work great every time.

I don’t know all the reasons that some people prefer one type of yeast over others for different recipes. I just know for myself that I use fresh or dry yeast for challahs all the time, both work great. For ruggelach and yeast doughs I do prefer fresh yeast only and this is probably mostly because my mother and grandmother both did it this way. For flat breads, whole wheat loaves, and many other types of breads I often use dry yeast and it works very well.

Hoping that all your challahs come out excellent!