{"id":213,"date":"2010-07-07T07:23:05","date_gmt":"2010-07-07T07:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/homeshuling\/2010\/07\/bread-machine-challah-in-case-it-ever-cools-down.html"},"modified":"2010-07-07T07:23:05","modified_gmt":"2010-07-07T07:23:05","slug":"bread-machine-challah-in-case-it-ever-cools-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/homeshuling\/2010\/07\/bread-machine-challah-in-case-it-ever-cools-down.html","title":{"rendered":"Bread Machine Challah – in case it ever cools down"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you live on the east coast, as I do, baking challah is probably the last thing on your mind. Because we don’t have central air conditioning, I avoid turning on my oven whenever the temperature goes above eighty degrees, and certainly when it hits one hundred. Last week we had a little respite from the summer, and on a cool, breezy summer Friday (do such things really exist?) I finished my evaluation of the numerous bread machine challah recipes<\/a> that you, my dear readers, sent me. Thanks to a little help from my dog, Zev, I am prepared to declare a winner. (Not that it was a contest, but I did pick a favorite.)<\/p>\n

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I bought a bread machine for $7 at a thrift store last year. Before having children, and even after having children but before returning to a full time job out of the home, I was an avid bread baker. I poo-poo’d the idea of a bread machine. I thought it was unnecessary and turned out an inferior product.<\/div>\n
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I still agree that bread made from start to finish in the bread machine is no comparison to a loaf of handmade bread. I’m all about crust, and the crust in the bread machine is never to my liking. (I don’t care for eating rubber.) Also, I prefer bread that looks like bread, not a turban. If all you are looking for is easy bread, this no-knead recipe<\/a> is a far, far better shortcut. I’m drooling a little just thinking about it. Maybe with a slab of fresh mozzarella….and a home grown tomato….with a drizzle of olive oil…a sprig of basil…But I digress.<\/div>\n
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The bread machine has<\/i> become an integral and beloved part of our shabbat preparations. Now that I work until at least 2:30 in Friday, it’s been very hard to bake our own challah. I’ve gotten in the habit of using the machine to prepare the dough while I make and serve dinner on Thursday night, and then braiding and baking the loaves that evening. (If shabbat starts late, sometimes I put the braids in the refrigerator for a slow, overnight rise and bake them Friday afternoon.)<\/div>\n
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On to my favorite recipe. I should be clear that this is not my favorite challah recipe for  making it the old fashioned way. That challah recipe<\/a> can be found here. But the recipe that makes the most delicious, easy to work with, and (believe me, this next one is important for a bread machine) consistent<\/span> loaf of bread is this one<\/a>. Yes, it’s a lot of yolks, and yes, it’s kind of sweet (go for the brown sugar, by the way) but from my experience, it’s no-fail. I use half whole wheat, half white flour, because I’m just that kind of mama. (You know, the annoying, sanctimonious kind.)<\/div>\n
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And how did my dog, Zev, help me determine the winning recipe? Not convinced by my last post about the sanctity of eating, my beloved mutt wolfed down half a loaf of this challah before the guests arrived. He is a great dog, and I don’t remember his ever stealing food from the table before. So, I guess it’s that good. (Though I won’t mention some of the things he wolfs down on his walks through the park.)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"zev<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Thanks, Minnesota Mamalah<\/a>, the recipe. Go check out her blog, sometime. Her writing is as good as the title.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I’m off to the Cape with my girls to visit ima2seven<\/a>, whom I’ve never met before. Hope to write about this journey before shabbat. More likely, I’ll write about it after shabbat.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
If you live in, say, Alaska, and try the recipe this week, let me know how you like it!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you live on the east coast, as I do, baking challah is probably the last thing on your mind. Because we don’t have central air conditioning, I avoid turning on my oven whenever the temperature goes above eighty degrees, and certainly when it hits one hundred. Last week we had a little respite from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-judaism"],"yoast_head":"\nBread Machine Challah - in case it ever cools down - Homeshuling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/homeshuling\/2010\/07\/bread-machine-challah-in-case-it-ever-cools-down.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bread Machine Challah - in case it ever cools down - Homeshuling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you live on the east coast, as I do, baking challah is probably the last thing on your mind. 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