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Has anyone tried Levana K's recipe for Spelt Challah?



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Mevater




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 01 2014, 1:03 pm
Has anyone tried Levana K's recipe for Spelt Challah (see below)?
If yes, how did you like it?
Did you convert her recipe for 5 pounds of Whole Spelt Flour? If yes, how?



http://www.levanacooks.com/spelt-challah/

Spelt Challah Recipe and Variations
Posted on 4th of March, 2010 by Lévana

It is no wonder the public often thinks there is no way to enjoy a delicious slice of spelt challah or bread, as it always comes brick-heavy in stores: Mine is light and delicious! It’s not so much in the recipe, no matter how good; it’s in the kneading!
Spelt is my flour of choice not only for baking bread but for all baked goods. I use whole grain spelt flour. If you would rather use wheat flour, all-purpose will do, as well as whole wheat pastry flour, ground much finer than whole wheat flour and yielding a much lighter dough.
Kneading spelt dough is somewhat different from kneading the regular wheat dough you might be used to, as the lower-gluten spelt dough behaves differently with the liquid absorption (it will be understandably slower). Be patient: Practice makes perfect!
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons active dry yeast
4 cups warm water
1/2 cup honey, sugar or sucanat
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
12 cups spelt flour, a little more only if needed
Topping:
1 egg, beaten with 1/4 cup water
Sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
Instructions:
Mix the yeast, water and honey or sugar in a big bowl, and let the mixture bubble for about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, oil and salt, and beat. Add the flour, and mix thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to a lightly-floured flat working surface, and knead for about 15 minutes, turning the dough a quarter of a turn every 2-3 minutes and punching it down often to eliminate any air pockets (or transfer the mixture to the bowl of a dough maker. Set for 10 minutes of kneading). Transfer the kneaded dough into a big mixing bowl (remember, it will expand). Sprinkle flour all around the dough. Let rise, covered with a cloth, in a warm draft-free area for 2 hours.
Shape the Challah: divide the dough into 4 pieces. Divide each piece into thirds and roll each third into a long thin rope. Pinch the 3 ropes together at one end to hold them in place. Braid, and place the braid on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Place the loaves well apart in the pan (you might need more than a pan: Bake one at a time). Brush each loaf with the egg-and-water mixture, and top with seeds if desired. Bake in a preheated 350*F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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SRK




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 01 2014, 1:16 pm
I'm interested as well. Wanted to make for this week
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 01 2014, 1:59 pm
I made it. She writes in the comments she uses whole grain spelt (the pics don't look like that though). It's ok. It's not a sweet challah. A drop crumbly, but all my spelt things are. I think I would have preferred more flavor, more like a traditional challah recipe. I buy my spelt flour in 25 lb bags, so I only use recipes per the cup, not per 5 lbs, so I did not convert this.

I'm still on the lookout for a honey-spelt or some type of sweeter challah.
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jkw




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Feb 01 2014, 10:14 pm
my go to spelt challah recipe is this one: you can use honey instead of sugar but you will have to add a LOT more flour to get the right consistency.

Water Challah
KosherEye.com


By Reyna Simnegar. Persian Food from the Non-Persian Bride

I like using dry active yeast because it is very easy to find and store. I keep it in the freezer to
make it last longer. Also, there is one gadget that I could not do without when making challah:
my beloved Bosch mixer. It can handle huge amounts of dough and, while I agree that making
challah by hand can be therapeutic, I find that keeping my sanity can be therapeutic too.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (3/4 cup boiling water mixed with 3/4 cup cold water)

For the dough
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil, plus additional for spraying on the dough
1-tablespoon salt
3 cups warm water, divided
1 (5–lb.) bag flour (approximately 15 to 15 1/4 cups flour)
3 cups water, divided

For the glaze
1 egg, beaten
1-Tablespoon oil

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the yeast mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a large mixer, place the sugar, oil, salt, 2 cups water, and 7 cups
flour. Mix until a smooth paste forms.

Add the yeast mixture, which should be bubbling, to the dough. Then, add the remaining 1 cup
water and 8 cups flour until a consistency like that of play dough is reached.

Spray the dough with canola oil and cover with plastic wrap.

Let dough rise 1 hour and then punch down. Then shape the challah. You can make braids or
just big balls of dough. Several small balls of dough placed together in a round baking pan that
has been sprayed with oil make a pretty “pull-apart” challah. Remember that challah grows; so
don’t make the balls too big. I shape 12 balls the size of limes and place them next to each
other in a 9-inch baking pan. Spray the dough with canola oil and cover with plastic wrap. Mix
the egg and the oil and paint challot with the glaze. Let it rise another 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Place into oven preheated to 350 °F for approximately 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the size.
The challot should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Wait until
the challot cool before putting into plastic bags. At this point you can use them, freeze them, or
give them away. You can also wrap them in foil and warm them in the oven right before
“Hamotzi.”
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 03 2014, 9:56 am
Do you use white or whole grain spelt for that? I need to make a batch today!
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HappyMommy23




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 03 2014, 10:42 am
I've made this recipe, though haven't made it in a while as we're no longer using spelt. I always got lots of compliments.

6-6.5 c. water
3 T. yeast
2 T. sugar

let sit 10-30 minutes

1 c. oil
2 T. salt
between 1/2 - 3/4 c. honey
5 lb. spelt flour

I think I used lite spelt. The other thing I can't remember is it could be I didn't braid it and rather it was made more as loaves in a widish loaf pan. Taste wise everyone thought it was delicious and was on the sweeter side.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 03 2014, 11:49 am
How long did you let it rise after adding in the rest of the ingredients? Regular 1-2 hours?
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jkw




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 04 2014, 8:56 pm
Hashem_Y,

I use regular dark spelt flour because I can buy it in bulk here -- but try it with either kind or a mix and see what you like!
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