challah question: how do you master getting......

shacn

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:04 am

getting the all around right color and "cookedness"

the top always gets dark (obviously) and the bottom is always still raw. if I cook it for any longer it will burn. I bake on 350.

Faigy86

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:07 am

Some may have to do with what type of pans you use and or where your shelves are in the oven, but some of it is just your oven and you may need to adjust the temp and play around with baking time like that.

joyce01

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:07 am

Bake at 225 for the first half hour or so until it grows and is baking on bottom, then turn up to 400 for second half hour. Beautiful color and well baked through.

mummiedearest

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:09 am

sounds like there's something wrong with your oven, it doesn't heat evenly. for now, I would only bake challah on the lowest rack, see if it helps.

shacn

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:09 am

Is it because I use tins? should I put baking wax paper does that help at all? when I use a baking sheet it doesnt happen, only when I use tins. but I like using the tins to get the pretty shape.

shacn

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:11 am

part 2 question - now that my challah is already baked, I have a very soft bottom. can I put it in the oven again today? how? upside down?

Bsimcha

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:12 am

Sometimes happens on the top rack, maybe move rack lower.
If the top rack challahs grow and touch top of oven, the outside will get burnt.

Sometimes Challah looks ready and bottom is not, just keep it in a few more minutes until bottom is done.

Your oven can be off too, you can check with a oven thermometer or see if other things don't bake correctly.

shacn

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:13 am

Bsimcha wrote:

other items bake fine, cookies, kugel, chicken, meat etc.

its just the challah that I seem to be having a problem with

joyce01

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:14 am

Yes you can without the pan doesn't have to be upside down.
Or freeze it for two three hours and then rebake at 300 for half an hour or so

shacn

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:14 am

joyce01 wrote:

Yes you can without the pan doesn't have to be upside down.
Or freeze it for two three hours and then rebake at 300 for half an hour or so

thanks all!

will try this after work Very Happy

baltomom

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:23 am

I always switch oven racks halfway through baking challos. The challos that started out on the top rack and are brown on top get moved down to the bottom rack so the bottom can brown and vice versa. Sometimes I even notice that challos got more brown on the side closer to the oven wall, so I rotate them so the other side is facing the wall.

lkwdlady

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 10:39 am

Are you putting to much dough in each pan? If there is no room for the dough to grow it will not bake evenly.

I always spray the pans with non stick baking spray with flour. (with flour makes a huge difference in the spray.

Also, the bottom will usually be more soft but it shouldn't be raw.

I never bake with the top rack. Maybe it's my oven, but things don' bake well if I use the top rack towards the top of the oven. I place both racks towards the bottom and just bake in the upper one.

Chayalle

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 11:01 am

I use tins lined with parchment paper. I make 8 Challos out of a 5 lb. recipe, and I put 4 on each shelf of my oven. I bake at 350 for about 23 minutes (preheated oven), then I switch the shelves and bake for another 23 minutes.

EmpireState

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 3:21 pm

I make sure that my pan is sprayed well with Pam. I bake the challah for 20 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for an additional 20 minutes. I then take the challah out of the pan, flip it and bake it upside down in the pan for another 7-10 minutes.
If I bake the challah on a cookie sheet, I line the sheet with parchment paper and proceed as above (without the pan).

greenfire

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 3:35 pm

never have a problem ... I bake in all sorts of pans ... disposable, cupcake pans, teflon coated loaf pans, glass pans

if you want really crunchy crust invest in glass oven ware

Blessing1

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 4:06 pm

I had the same problem.
I switch racked about halfway through & I take my challos out of the pans for the last 15-20 minutes or so of baking.
Good luck!

Mevater

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 5:03 pm

Like with anything else thats browning too quickly, before its totally baked, why not loosely cover with foil, as soon as you get the desired color?

Last edited by Mevater on Fri, Apr 01 2016, 5:14 pm; edited 1 time in total

flowerpower

Fri, Apr 01 2016, 5:06 pm

I bake for one hour on 350. I never had a problem.

emunahmother

Sat, Apr 02 2016, 10:02 pm

I also switch racks in middle. I like for the bottom to be a golden brown too so that I am sure it's baked fully. Other posters wrote they take out of the tins to do this but I don't - I just switch places. This way has ensured it for me but then again maybe it means my oven is getting old.

cookiejar

Sat, Apr 02 2016, 11:25 pm

Mevater wrote:

Like with anything else thats browning too quickly, before its totally baked, why not loosely cover with foil, as soon as you get the desired color?

do not cover challah while baking