Peanut Butter Banana Bread Roll

The next recipe variation was a jelly roll-type bread, meaning you spread the dough into a nice rectangle, plop some filling inside, then roll it up. I have really enjoyed the fluffy yet hardy quality of the challah bread. The flavor reminds me of white bread, which reminds me of my favorite sandwich: peanut butter and banana on white bread. 

 Picture CREDIT

PASTA: Bread’s Unleavened Cousin

Bread and pasta must be related because both are predominantly made of flour. Homemade pasta seems like a natural addition to my blog and it is something that I’ve always wanted to try.

FUN FACT: There are hundreds of different shapes of pasta!

My friend, Sarah, and I have been talking about making ravioli for a while and we finally got around to doing it.

Culinary Deviation

I didn’t have enough time to bake bread today, so I made these instead.

BREAD SCIENCE: Gluten Glue

Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat and a few other grain species.

Honey Wheat Challah Bread

Last week’s recipe was delicious but ginormous! I strayed from the book this week to find a smaller recipe for challah bread. I found a great one here and then altered it just a bit to get what I wanted: Honey wheat challah bread.

I started off by proofing the yeast as usual, then mixed all the wet ingredients together with the wheat flour. I decided to forgo the flour well this time which didn’t seem to affect how the ingredients were integrated.

Next, the activated yeast went in the wheat flour mixture.

Then, the all-purpose flour was added ½ cup at a time. I made sure that the flour was fully incorporated this time before adding more.

For the other beginners out there, here is a snapshot of how the dough transformed when each ½ cup of flour was added.

SIDE NOTE: I’ve learned to make sure each bit of flour becomes part of the dough before adding the next bit. The flour will be incorporated eventually, just keep mixing.

 The dough started with 1 ½ cups flour so this makes 2 cups

2 ½ cups

 3 cups

 3 ½ cups

SIDE NOTE: The dough was so sticky here I couldn't get my hand out, that is why it is in the picture

4 cups

4 ½ cups

This is the dough after 7 minutes of kneading

After trying out the new master recipe last week (see how it went here), I was intimidated by the quantity of flour that had to be added. In retrospect, I didn’t mix the dough very well because I was worried about getting on to the next ½ cup of flour.

The dough this week was a lot softer and smoother than last week’s. I think it is because I thoroughly incorporated each ½ cup of flour before adding the next ½ cup.

I let the dough rise until double in size.

A simple braid seemed appropriate again for this bread. After letting it double in size again . . .

It was baked!

Honey Wheat Challah Bread

Adapted from the recipe here

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

A pinch of sugar

1 package active dry yeast

¼ cup honey

1/3 cup oil

1 ½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 ½ cup whole wheat flour

3 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Add the yeast, sugar, and ½ cup water to a bowl. Stir yeast mixture until dissolved then it let stand for 10 minutes or until foamy.

Add the honey, oil, salt, eggs and wheat flour to a large bowl. Stir until combined.

Add the yeast mixture to the wheat flour mixture and stir until combined.

Add the all-purpose flour to the wheat flour mixture, ½ cup at a time, mixing thoroughly between each ½ cup.

When all the flour has been incorporated, knead the dough for 5 – 7 minutes.

Place dough in a greased container, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in size, about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into thirds.

Roll each third out into a rope about 16 inches long then braid strands together.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

Allow bread to cool completely before cutting.

Classic Challah Egg Bread

Master Recipe #2: Classic Challah egg bread

Remember you can find this recipe in Bread Made Easy found here.

FUN FACT: Challah is traditional Jewish bread eaten for Sabbath or holiday meals

The recipe recommended not using a stand mixer for this recipe because the final dough is a little bit too large for a normal mixer bowl. If you are lucky enough to have an extra-large mixer then it should work just fine.

Start by proofing the yeast. Combine a little sugar, the yeast, and warm water in a bowl for about 10 minutes until nice and foamy.

Add a little of the flour and the salt to a large mixing bowl, a very large bowl, and then make a well in the middle.

Add the eggs, honey, oil, and remaining water to the bowl and mix vigorously for 1 minute with a whisk.

SIDE NOTE: There was really no need to make the well because all the other ingredients have way more volume than the tiny well.

Then add the yeast and mix vigorously for another minute.

Add the remaining flour ½ cup at a time and mix until incorporated. Beware there is a lot of flour to be added.

The recipe says to use a whisk until it is clogged with dough and then switch to a wooden spoon. I had to give up on the spoon and use my hands after a few scoops of flour because the spoon didn’t mix the thick dough very well. 

As the remaining flour was added, it was not incorporating very well. My dough didn’t look at all like the pictures in the book, but I kept mixing and kneading and eventually all the flour was incorporated into the dough.

Moral of the story is: power through this scary time with the giant bowl of flour and keep on kneading because the next part is really fun.

Let the dough rise until double in size, then dump out onto a lightly floured surface.

FUN FACT: According to Bread Made Easy, dough rises better in a narrow, deep container as opposed to a wide shallow one.

The dough should be divided into two equal portions and then divide those two portions into three portions and roll them out.

The dough felt really awkward in my hands because it was so flimsy. Use a combination of palm rolling and rolling on the counter to finally make the logs long enough.

Starting the braid in the middle, which the recipe suggests, was a lot easier than expected.

Before starting the second rise of the dough, a simple egg wash is brushed over the top. This is again brushed on top before baking.