Food Glorious Food...Oliver
The Chulent Cook-Off is finally here. Who will win our GOLDEN APRON this year. We have 8 participants vying for this honor, so please come out this Shabbat for ruach davening indoors and out, groups for all ages, and enjoy, taste and vote on your favorite chulent.
Since it seems everything revolves around foods, following is a great recipe from Jamie Geller combining sufganiyot and challah for a delectable holiday treat.
Sweet Sufganiyot Challah - by Jamie Geller
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups warm water 2 eggs
1 Tbsp + 3/4 tsp active dry yeast 6 T. canola oil
1/2 cup granulated white sugar 1/2 T pink Himalayan sea salt
1/2 T. or to taste Vanilla Bean paste 5 cups bread flour
Filling: Strawberry jelly, halava, or flavor of your choice.
Directions:
1. If you are using a bread maker, place ingredients (except for the challah fillings) in order of manufactures instructions. If you are making this by hand or mixer, place water, sugar, and yeast in bowl. Mix lightly for a few seconds, and allow yeast to proof (about 5-10 minutes). You want to ensure your yeast is potent/alive.
2. Next add eggs, oil, and mix.
3. Add flour one cup at a time and salt. You might find you may need slightly more or slightly less flour than the 5 cups the recipe calls for. That’s ok! You can also add a little extra oil or water if your dough feels dry. If using a mixer, continue to “knead” until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and develops a smooth and silky texture. If kneading by hand, it helps to keep a small bowl of oil or cooking spray nearby to coat or spray your hands. A common mistake people make is adding more flour when they feel the dough is sticky. In fact, it’s not the dough that is sticky, but your hands that are warm, which make the dough feel that way.
4. If you find your dough is tough to work with, allow the dough to rest for a few minutes to allow the gluten to relax. Not only will you feel slightly refreshed and relaxed, your dough will too.
5. Spray your workspace with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil spray to make your life easier.
6. Once the dough is well kneaded, place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Place it in a warm spot and let it rise for at least an hour or two, until it’s doubled in size.
7. Next, punch down the dough, and give it once last knead. Now it’s time to divide it up.
8. Using a sharp knife separate your dough into evenly sized balls. I find a kitchen scale is a challah saver which yields even, beautiful challahs that look incredible and bake perfectly. I recommend 6.5 oz per ball but it’s up to you.
9. Roll out each dough ball into a short snake. Then flatten each snake ever so slightly lengthwise and widthwise with a rolling pin. You want your snake wider rather than longer so it’s able to hold the fillings. I suggest using a pastry bag or cupcake decorating/filling tool for even distribution but a spoon works just as well when adding jelly.
10. Bring up both sides of the strand and pinch together to seal and roll gently on counter to hide the seal. Continue with the remaining strands and shape/braid as you wish.
11. Place on parchment lined baking sheet or in a sprayed loaf or challah pan and
Allow to rise approx 20-30 minutes while preheating your oven to 350°F.
12. Meanwhile, beat 2 eggs with a teaspoon (or more) of honey or sugar, and mix well. Using a pastry brush, brush egg mixture over challah. Sprinkle on some sugar in the raw or Swedish pearl sugar.
13. Bake 25 minutes before checking on your challahs.
14. Rotate pans and continue to bake another 10 minutes.
15. You can tell the challah is fully baked by checking the bottom. It should sound hollow when tapped and be golden brown. The top should also be slightly firm without any soft spots.
16. Remove from oven and cool slightly before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Once challahs are cool, slice and enjoy! A light (or heavy) dusting of confectioners sugar on top of the sufganiyot challah really takes it over the top.
Shabbat Shalom
Donna Moskowitz
president@soicherryhill.org
