WW challah w/ olive oil & minimal sugar/honey?

smss

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 12:51 am

I feel like it should be possible, but the recipe I have calls for a LOT of both (canola) oil & sugar. Not sure how to cut them down and if I would need to adjust other ingredients. Anyone have a tried & true recipe?

heidi

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 8:25 am

Be careful. I took advice from a friend and tried my regular ww recipe with olive oil instead of canola and the challah really tasted of olive oil. Not yummy.

Pineapple

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 8:29 am

smss wrote:

How much sugar does the recipe call for?

Try replacing some oo for some of the canola and see if you like it if yes add more oo and less canola etc.

jflower

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 8:45 am

The type of olive oil you use can make all the difference. I used extra light olive oil (not extra virgin) for all my Pesach cakes & they came out fine. There was no strong olive smell & the cakes came out with the right consistency.

AlwaysThinking

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 8:49 am

I've tried a few recipes with regular olive oil, best to start with one to begin with. I often use silan instead of honey so my baby who is under 1 can have it, and it makes a really dark, sweet challah, I like it but I know some people would be put off.

If you really want healthy challah though, you might want to use a soaked flour recipe. (Whole grains are not very good for you at all without being soaked with an acid medium first.)

oliveoil

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 9:23 am

smss wrote:

How much sugar & oil vs. how much flour in your current recipe? If we have a better idea what you consider a lot, it will be easier to make suggestions.

smss

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 5:28 pm

Riff wrote:

I know, I know... Can you actually soak flour? I thought you had to soak the grains before they're ground....

My old recipe (which I actually haven't made in almost a year due to various life circumstances...we've been buying) calls for an overflowing cup of canola oil and 1.5 cups of sugar. I don't mind a recipe that's more bread-like than challah-like, but I would prefer just a few tablespoons of sugar/honey and I guess not too much olive oil since it sounds like that tastes gross.

tichellady

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 5:30 pm

How much flour is in your old recipe? Are you committed to having challah? Maybe pita or baguettes or an herb bread are a better option for you given your needs

mha3484

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 5:31 pm

This the recipe I use:

http://www.food.com/recipe/eas.....90530

it calls for 1/2 cup oil (I use olive and don't taste a difference) and 1/2 cup honey (I use half that).

It makes a yummy fluffy challah and its so easy to make.

I have used both whole and white spelt with success. I cant see why whole wheat would not work.

Last edited by mha3484 on Tue, Apr 21 2015, 5:33 pm; edited 1 time in total

smss

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 5:32 pm

tichellady wrote:

How much flour is in your old recipe? Are you committed to having challah? Maybe pita or baguettes or an herb bread are a better option for you given your needs

5 lbs

yeah, I'd like to make challah specifically....

oliveoil

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 6:12 pm

smss wrote:

For 5 lbs flour that's not terrible. My recipe uses a little less, 1 cup of each, I think, but the end challah is not at all sweet.

Think about it this way. 5 lbs generally makes 6 challahs. using 1 cup oil and 1 cup sugar/honey means you're using approximately 3 tbsp. of each per loaf.

ra_mom

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 6:32 pm

jflower wrote:

This. Extra light olive oil tastes good in baked goods

zaq

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 7:30 pm

The aish.com recipe I posted in the Challah Newbie thread uses 1/3 c. each oil and honey for 10 cups of flour. I use whatever oil is on hand, even EVOO, and we like it just fine, but we're not such feinschmeckers. Some people do object to the taste of extra-virgin olive oil, which is stronger-tasting than regular olive oil or "light" olive oil. I also find olive oil to be greasier than other oils and usually use about 1/3 less if a recipe calls for any other kind of fat or oil.

This recipe is only slightly sweet; it's challah, not cake, and you could reduce the volume of honey without doing much damage. In theory you should add a bit more water to compensate for the water content of the honey, but since you add flour in increments until the texture is right, the small reduction of water would mean only that you would add a bit less flour. I seldom use the full volume of flour the recipe calls for.

smss

Wed, Apr 22 2015, 9:48 pm

mha3484 wrote:

that sounds yummy! I'm going to try this one.