ISO Devora Heller's Challah recipe and advice

Mevater

Fri, May 02 2008, 8:53 am

difr wrote:

Can anybody out there tell us how many tablespoons are in the dry yeast packets?

I measured and can't remember if I used just under or just slightly more than 4 packets.

Mevater

Fri, May 02 2008, 8:56 am

sunshine! wrote:

Ok, here goes:.... Hope they come out YUMMY!!!

Thanks a Mil- They look yummy. They're the nicest looking Challahs I've ever baked.

octopus

Sun, Sep 28 2008, 9:28 am

I use this recipe. It comes out delicious.I made some changes.

I put in a cup and a half of sugar. (I add the 3/4 cup of sugar with the yeast, and the rest of the sugar later when forming the dough).

I bake at 375 until golden on top. It will be slightly raw on the bottom. I freeze. When I warm them up I put it in the oven at 350 for five minutes and let sit even after the oven is off. It gets super crunchy on top and on the bottom (I do not wrap in aluminum foil and it does not get dried out because the oven is only on for five minutes) and super soft in the middle.

I also generously put both sesame and poppy (lots of poppy!) seeds on my challah. delicious!

octopus

Wed, Aug 19 2009, 12:53 pm

SV wrote:

If I don't have high gluten flour and use regular ww flour - how much vital gluten should I add for this recipe?

I don't use high gluten flour at all.

It makes about 8 medium challahs

tzatza

Wed, Sep 30 2009, 12:40 pm

octopus wrote:

SV wrote:

If I don't have high gluten flour and use regular ww flour - how much vital gluten should I add for this recipe?

I don't use high gluten flour at all.

It makes about 8 medium challahs

3 or 4-braided?

Mevater

Fri, Apr 05 2013, 2:13 am

1. Has Devorah Heller made any modifications/changes to her original recipe over the years?

2. What changes would I make (besides baking time) if Im only making Bilkelech?

3. Anyone know if Mrs. Heller recommends changes to the recipe if you use whole grain flour? I tried it once with Whole Spelt and it was good, but Im wondering if she recommends changes when using whole grain flour.

4. Does anyone know the exact amount of packages of dry yeast she recommends, to avoid measuring/buying too many or too few packages?

5. If I like an eggy/sweet//soft Heimishe Challah taste, what changes would I make?

OOTBubby

Fri, Apr 19 2013, 4:38 pm

Mevater wrote:

She has a hotline you can call; why don't you try that. The number was published one of the magazines right after Pesach I think.

ectomorph

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 12:51 pm

Just made this recipe and froze 1/2 the shaped dough. iyH will update next week when I defrost it and bake them. I am baking the ote 1/2 right now as a control group.

ectomorph

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 1:22 pm

sourstix wrote:

Your freezing challa dough? I wonder if it rises when u defrost it?

That's what I want to find out. I see they sell frozen raw challahs in the store so I'm trying to replicate that at home. Seems like a nice compromise.

ectomorph

Thu, Oct 20 2016, 11:01 pm

Update: I defrosted the dough. It rose and was perfect and delicious. I did not time how long it took - sadly. Next time! But I'm glad this worked!

gonnsfly

Fri, Apr 21 2017, 4:17 pm

you inverted the conversion 1 kg is 2.2 lbs not 2.2 kg is 1 lb

the shiur of the chazon ish to be mafrish challah with a bracha is just under five lbs 4 lbs 15 oz (4 lb 16 oz is 5 lbs so if you know the israeli equivalent for shiur chazon ish thats's just under 5 lbs

alis_al_kulana

Thu, Mar 08 2018, 1:06 pm

Just made with 100%whole wheat flour, only had a third of the yeaSt and replaced with baking soda and lemon juice

alis_al_kulana

Sat, Mar 17 2018, 9:28 pm

alis_al_kulana wrote:

Just made with 100%whole wheat flour, only had a third of the yeaSt and replaced with baking soda and lemon juice

Was a disaster. Do not attempt.

Mevater

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 1:44 pm

1. Has Devorah Heller made any modifications/changes to her original recipe over the years? (I called since posting this years ago, and I think at that point she still used the same recipe, no changes).

2. Anyone know if Mrs. Heller recommends changes to the recipe if you use whole grain flour? I tried it once with Whole Spelt and it was good, but Im wondering if she recommends changes when using whole grain flour. (I know the answer to that. I called and she said to use more yeast, I think like a package more).

3. If I like an eggy/sweet//soft Heimishe Challah taste, what changes would I make? (I didnt ask her this).

4. Has anyone cut down the recipe by a 1/4 (not enough to take Challah) and were happy with the results? (For company I want white flour Challah, I use ww or Spelt).

jewishmom6

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 2:09 pm

I suggest upping the sugar.
My challah recipe is on the sweet side and calls for 6-7 cups of flour.
I put in 1 C of sugar just for 6 C cups alone.