Challah help please!

amother

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 4:19 am

Hi,
I've been baking challah for almost 2 decades and no matter what recipes or methods I have tried, they ALWAYS open up or lose their shape. What am I doing wrong???? 😔 Crying

I have tried using different ovens, different mixing times, rising times, flours etc etc but it doesn't help.
I'd appreciate any and all advice!!
Thank you!

imasinger

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 5:22 am

One thing that helped me was rolling both ends of each strand in the braid to a tapered point before braiding, have you tried that?

jflower

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 5:52 am

Ask a friend if you can watch her the next time she bakes challah.

amother

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 6:18 am

imasinger wrote:

One thing that helped me was rolling both ends of each strand in the braid to a tapered point before braiding, have you tried that?

Thanks! I've tried that but it's not the ends that open up, it opens up in-between the actual braids and totally loses its shape

amother

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 6:19 am

jflower wrote:

Ask a friend if you can watch her the next time she bakes challah.

I've done that as well but still no success Banging head

amother

Stone

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 6:27 am

amother OP wrote:

Thanks! I've tried that but it's not the ends that open up, it opens up in-between the actual braids and totally loses its shape

Maybe it needs to rise more before your braid it?

amother

Slateblue

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 7:22 am

try making with a friend at her house.
then match your oven temp...keep in mind some ovens are hotter than others...so play with this .
I find if oven is too hot mine opens like you said. mine needs 320 degrees not more

amother

Outerspace

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 7:38 am

Buy challah pans
They take shape as they rise and bake in the pans

Someone I know weighs each ball of dough to make sure they are all exactly the same so challah will look symmetrical as it bakes (that’s way too tedious for me)

amother

Sage

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 7:58 am

I find when I let it rise a few minutes before baking it helps. Not perfect though. Also making challah forever and wish I could get that right!

amother

Cyclamen

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 8:15 am

It could be your oven. Maybe get a thermometer to check it maintains its temperature and its accurate.

Also- lightly flouring strands can help. Cover challahs for 30 min with plastic wrap to rise after shaping. Uncover then egg and bake.

It could be you do this all already!

amother

Denim

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 8:35 am

Different yeast
Also stretch each piece of strand first - then roll out. The more you play with the dough the more elastic it becomes. So it will shrink less if you roll each strand twice before braiding.

Let challah rise 3 times.
Originally rise - 1 hour
Turn mixer on for 1 minute. Let rise another hour.
Braid challah - rolling each strand twice.
Let rise another 30-45 minutes depending on how hot your house is

amother

Lotus

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 9:34 am

The trick is more or less what amother denim said. I had the same problem as you and my friend who's an expert baker taught me this.
She lets the dough rise, takes challa and gets to work. First she separates six small balls of challa the size she needs for her six strands. She plays with each and rolls it into a ball. After two or three minutes she gives each ball a few rolls to turn it into a strand, just a couple of gentle rolls into a shorter and chunkier strand than she wants. Don't force it into a long strand. Let it rest again for two or three minutes. Then you roll it out a third time to the length you want, you'll feel it's more pliable and easier to roll out. Then braid and let rise about half an hour. I egg them and sprinkle toppings at some point while they're rising usually half way through or closer to the end.
It sounds like it'll take forever. The first time I did it it was a big bother and I thought I'd never do it again but when I saw how nice the challahs were I decided to do it again. It becomes much easier as you get into it. While the first six balls of dough are waiting you start on the next six pieces. Then you go back to the first balls and while you're giving them a roll the second batch of six balls are rests. You separate a third set of six while the first batch rests partly rolled out and the second batch is still at the ball stage. I know it sounds a little crazy but you end up with your batches of strands all over your counter at different stages of balls, strands and ready to braid and eventually your later batches are waiting while you braid your first challas. After a while it's a routine and you won't even think about it but your challas will look perfect. It's worth the effort of getting started doing this to avoid the awful moment when you open the oven door and you see your beautiful challas turned into a mess.

amother

Denim

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 9:51 am

Also. Always cut the dough with a knife. Never pull is apart. It ruins the dough.

amother

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 11:24 am

I just want to thank you for all your replies!
I'm lighting candles now and don't have time to read them but I'll have a look at them tomorrow night BH.
Have a great shabbos!

nicole81

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 11:33 am

Do you bake on a tray? If so, use pans. Pinch the ends and tuck them under.

When you say they lose shape, what exactly do you mean? If you can explain what happens to them (ie strands melt into each other, challah sinks in the middle, etc) then we can perhaps give more targeted advice.