Sunday Baking

Sometimes I think I spend all week looking forward to Sundays. It is the only day of the week that we spend together, just the two of us and the dogs, doing whatever we want. Sometimes we stay in bed until lunchtime watching the True Movie Channel (Paul jokes that despite my affected intellectuality, I actually prefer this made for TV movies to much more famous ‘good’ movies – he may well have a point). Other days, we decide to go to Subway and split a foot long sub, Club-style. He has mayo and ALL the salad, I have mayo, onion relish and some of the salad (no pickles).
When we’re flat broke (which seems all the time at the moment), we bake. I have come to terms with the fact that I am not one of those London types who shop at Borough Market for their groceries. If only. However, I do know that with just one pair of hands, a bag of flour, some yeast, butter and eggs working together in a mystical alchemy, something magical can happen.
I don’t remember my mum ever making bread when I was a child, although she did bake on special occasions, Christmas, Birthdays. I think that she found (and still finds) cooking to be a chore, a necessity rather than a joy. However, she did enjoy indulging her artistic side by decorating cakes which she doesn’t consider to be ‘cooking’ but rather ‘art’.
I suppose that this is where I first thought that certain tasks in the kitchen, such as baking bread, were for the experts only. It wasn’t until Paul started baking bread, and then I caught the itch off of him, that I realised it is really, incredibly simple. Even soft, sticky dough like Brioche is so simple to make with the most basic of electric hand whisks. The only 'difficult' part of breadmaking is the kneading and with stand-alone mixers (or husbands keen on baking), even this step is easy. However, I enjoy the almost ritualistic kneading of the dough - it is both therapeutic and relaxing.
Usually though, Paul kneads the dough. It is wonderful to see his large bakers hands working the dough until it starts to come to life. He does it so effortlessly and he responds to the bread as much as it responds to him.
Challah was our bread of choice this weekend. I love soft, egg-rich breads like Brioche and whilst browsing several of my baking books, Challah (pronounced Hallah) seemed to be an interesting variation on the sweet egg bread.

Challah is of great cultural importance within the Jewish faith, and it is traditionally served on the Sabbath or special occasions. It has a familiar braided shape which often varies to symbolise, for example Rosh Hashanah (when it is braided into a circle to represent birth-death-rebirth) and other observances of the Jewish faith.

To us it represented another step in our baking history: shaping bread. I had originally planned on making two simple braids (or plaits, as we call them), of three dough strands apiece. Paul decided he wanted to go bigger! So, we ended up with a sort of 4-strand plait shaped into a ring. Once baked to a rich, shiny, dark pine lustre though, it looked stunning and would be a truly memorable loaf to place on your celebratory table (whether you are Jewish or not). The taste is reminscent of soft American dinner rolls, a tender crumb with a satisfying crust. Even the next day, when I had forgotten to put the bread ring away, it felt slightly drier but still tasted delicious with butter and strawberry jam.

If you wanted to omit the artistic element of the bread, I think that this dough shaped into bread rolls, or a more traditional but free-form loaf shape would be just as good, just adjust the baking times accordingly. The proving time is slightly shorter than some breads, 2 x hour long rises, plus a 45 minute 'shaped' rise. I also found that it took a much shorter time to cook than the original recipe states.

n.b. If you prefer a sweeter loaf, reduce the salt by half and add a little more sugar.
This bread also makes great french toast, bread pudding and croutons if you find you have some that has gone stale.
If you want to make Challah, here's the very simple recipe:
CHALLAH - makes one large braided loaf, two small braids or experiment as you wish.
Ingredients:
500g Strong White Flour
2 Teaspoons Salt
20g Fresh Yeast (I used 2 and a quarter packets of instant yeast - about 16g)
200ml Lukewarm Water
2 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
2 Organic Eggs
3oz Melted Butter
1 Egg Yolk mixed with a tablespoon water for the glaze
METHOD:
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour.
In a small jug, mix together the water, sugar and yeast. Pour into the flour, along with the 2 eggs and melted butter. Stir well with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough and turn out onto a lightly floured board.
Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is soft and pliable and feels as though it is coming to life. Effectively it is - the yeast is activating under your touch.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm room to prove for an hour.
Knock down the dough which will have more than doubled in size, cover again and leave for another hour.
Knock down the dough once more, knead lightly and turn out onto a lightly floured board.
If you are shaping the dough, separate into three or four equal pieces, rolling each one out to about 18" long and 1" thickness. Plait using these directions here.
Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and leave to rise for 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180c.
Brush with egg wash.
Bake your Challah for between 20-40 minutes, depending on how you've shaped it and how efficient your oven is. Our large loaf took less than 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and leave to cool on a rack.