Raisin Challah

What can I say about Challah? Only that it is the best, most delicious, wonderful bread in the world, but only when it's done right. Lots of thing qualify as Challah, but the Challah I am talking about is the delicious eggy, slightly sweet, braids of amazingness. Growing up we always had a loaf from the local kosher bakery, but as I am no longer around the block from that, I decided to be brave, let the yeast adventures continue, and make my own. And I am so very glad I did, it was delicious and massive. The braiding was the hardest part, but well worth the effort since it makes the crust to inside parts at the perfect ratio. It is the best bread for French toast and bread puddings, but it also just tastes wonderful on it's own (and I mean on it's own, no butter or jam or anything else on it, trust me).

Raisin Challah:
2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105° to 115°F)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsbp of honey
4 eggs, divided
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp of salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups of raisins (optional)

In a large bowl dissolve yeast into water and let stand until foamy, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in sugar, honey, 3 eggs, salt, butter, and 4 1/2 cups of flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding additional flour or water if neccesary, but do not over flour. The dough should be soft, smooth and just slightly tacky, about 5-7 minutes. (This is an easy dough to work with by hand because of the eggs and butter). Shape into a ball, and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, let rest 10 minutes then knead in the raisins. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil or partchment paper and grease lightly. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long thick robe, about the length of cookie sheet. Line the ropes up horizontally and close together. Braid the challah (see below). Place the braided loaf on the cookie sheet and and loosely in plastic wrap. Refriderate over night. Position the oven rack in the lower third and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the remaining egg and brush the challah with the egg. Bake until golden and crust sounds hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Enjoy. (adapted from Williams-Sonoma)

Braiding:
Bring the ends together on one side, but don't pinch them together. Cross the strand farthest from you across all the other strands so it is closest to you. Next, cross the strand that is next to that strand (second from you) over the other two strands so it is now farthest from you. *Position the two outer strands so they point out slightly, and the two inner strands straight. Bring the strand closest to you in between the two inner straight strands. Bring the strand furthest from you up and to the opposite side of the strand you moved one step before. Now your original inner strands are the outer strands. Adjust the strands so the new inners are strainght and the outers point out slightly. Bring the strand farthest from you down between the two straight strands, and then the strand nearest to you to the opposite side of that. Repeat from the * until you reach the end of the ropes. Pinch the ends together.

Happy Eating.

Soba Stir Fry in Peanut Sauce

I have been on a bit of a healthy kick lately, and I guess it was noticed by some lovely readers. So Ace Health, a wonderful resource for health and fitness articles asked me to do a guest post (you can check out their other lowering cholesterol specific site here), healthy recipe for them. I choose a fast, easy, delicious, and of course healthy stir fry, in a lightened up peanut sauce. Yum (I actually have the leftovers all set for lunch today). So head over to Ace Health to check out my recipe!

Happy Eating.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia

My seafood adventures continue. Trying to find new and fun ways to make a satisfying meal for a fish lover (me) and a not so much (the boyfriend). After spending 15 minutes in the super market convincing him he would like tilapia and that it was very mild, I figured I better make it very delicious. What is better than crusted and fried? How about the appearance and taste of being crusted and fried, while still being extremely healthy and not a million calories. Perfection. The tilapia is mild and firm, which makes it a perfect fish for crusting, I choose cornmeal for a little texture, flavor, and whole graininess. This delicious dinner was done in about 10 minutes too (well the asparagus took a little longer than that, but you could choose a super fast side), so this dinner is perfect for a lazy and healthy week night meal.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia:
2 tilapia fillets, a little less than a pound
1/4 cup of cornmeal
1/4 tsp of salt, plus additional
1/2 tsp of pepper, plus additional
1 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 a lemon
1 1/2 tbsp of canola oil, approximately

Slice the tilapia fillets along the natural split, so you have four pieces. Squeeze lemon juice over the fillets on both sides and lightly salt and pepper. In a bowl mix together the cornmeal 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper, and the parsley. Dredge each piece in the cornmeal mixture on both sides. Heat the oil in a large skillet, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the two larger pieces and cook for 3 minutes. Add the smaller pieces and and flip the larger pieces. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes then flip the smaller pieces, cook everything for another 1 1/2 minutes. In case that was confusing, the larger pieces cook for 3 minutes on each side, and the smaller pieces cook for about 1 1/2 minutes each side. Serve and enjoy.

Happy Eating.

Soft Pretzels

I have been slowly branching out into the world of yeast. Trying to build up to a point of confidence to conquer loaves of bread. In the meantime, until I feel ready to to handle that, I am having lots of fun with the little yeast adventures. So far I have made angel biscuits (which came out so delicious and perfect), garlic knots (which were very good, but not amazing), and now soft pretzels! I love soft pretzels, and these came out pretty good. My one complaint is that they don't last, I mean a soft pretzel from the store, still tastes good and soft at room temperature, these HAVE to be eaten hot. They re-heat nicely though, so problem semi-solved. My absolute favorite part of making the pretzels was parboiling them, they puff up like crazy and it's really fun to watch. My least favorite part was twisting them into the shape, I found this pretty hard, and not all of them came out so pretty, next time I think I would just make nubs. Looks aside, when hot, they tasted amazing!



Soft Pretzels:
1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 degrees)
1 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp of salt
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of bread flour
1 heaping tbsp of baking soda
Water for boiling
1 tbsp of butter
sea salt for sprinkling

In a large bowl whisk yeast into warm water. Add in brown sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Put flour in the bowl of the food processor (or stand mixer with paddle attachment) fitted with dough blade and pour the water-yeast mixture over it. Blend until a dough forms. Knead with dough blade (or dough hooks if using a mixer) for about 5 minutes, adding more flour or water if necessary, the dough should be slightly tacky. Remove from the mixer/processor and knead dough a few times by hand and then shape into a ball. Wash out and oil the bowl from before, and put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise somewhere warm until it has doubled in size, about an hour. Cut dough into 12 equal sections (or less if you want larger pretzels). Line 2 cookie sheet with parchment. Roll out each section of dough into a long snake about 1/2 inch thick. Twist into a pretzel shape (or cut into nubs) and lay on parchment. Repeat with remaining dough. Let the pretzels rest for 20 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil. Scoop in the heaping tablespoon of baking soda. Drop the pretzels in, 3 at a time (more or less depending on the size of your pot), enough so that they have enough space to reach the surface. Boil for 2 minutes, then flip the pretzels over and boil for another two minutes. Return pretzels to parchment and repeat until all pretzels have been parboiled. Melt the butter, and brush the tops of the pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until the pretzels are golden brown, switching the top and bottom rows halfway through, about 20 minutes total. Serve immediately from the oven, or re-heat in a toaster or a 350 degree oven before serving. (adapted from Sprinkles of Parsley)



Happy Eating.