challah collapsing?

ludicrous

Wed, Feb 12 2014, 4:45 pm

Why does my Challah collapse when I egg it after it has risen?
Should I egg right after I braid it, before it rises the last time?
Does it make a difference if it collapses, in terms of the texture of the challah?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

zaq

Wed, Feb 12 2014, 5:23 pm

Always egg it as soon as you form the loaves. If you wait till it rises, a fragile "skin" forms where the dough rose and stretched, and your brush is breaking that skin and letting the gas out. You are esentially baking a broken balloon. You may also be letting your dough rise too long. Longer rising makes for a more complex falvor, but overrising leads to collapse. Like a balloon, the dough can stretch only so far before it bursts, so if you let it rise too long, it will break before it bakes. You can get around this problem by letting dough rise twice before braiding, and then allowing a shorter rising time after braiding.

Of course it makes a difference in texture. Dough that collapsed has lost the gas that makes it light and airy and will be denser and chewier. The actual flavor won't change, but remember that what we perceive as taste is a combination of flavor, smell and texture.