Challah Baking Help for a newbie!! TIA

amother

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:09 pm

Hi,
I'm married a long while BH, but due to many life circumstances, I never baked challah. Now that the children are older, and are requesting homemade challah, I'd like to see if I could undertake the project. What's the most user-friendly machine to use? I already have a kitchenaid, however it doesn't fit the amount of flour to take challah with a bracha...
What's most recommended nowadays? bosch? Magic mill? Also, I saw mention of some women who use a bread machine for making challah dough? Is that recommended? Any other hacks/tips I should know about? also, I'm guessing making sourdough is that much harder and I shouldn't start with that, correct? Thanks so much!

sbs

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:13 pm

I have a Bosch for challah and I love it,
I always make 5 lbs at a time so I can be mafrish challah with a bracha and then freeze for a few weeks.

Sourdough is a much bigger job, you have to create a starter and "babysit" it.
I make an artisan bread which has a drop of yeast so you don't need a starter, but it rises for a long time, it's not as sour as sourdough, my family really likes it.

amother

Maple

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:15 pm

Why don't you try one week kneading it by hand before investing in a machine? I prefer it that way. Enjoy, making challah is one of my favorite things!

amother

Watermelon

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:17 pm

I used a bosch in my single days, it's a good machine.
Now I need by hand, takes the same amount of time and I just have one bowl to wash out.

amother

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:19 pm

I find kneading by hand difficult and the challahs are not fluffy. Makes sense? Also, I was told that if I want to make whole wheat challah, I'll need a machine. Is that correct?

amother

Tiffanyblue

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:23 pm

amother OP wrote:

I find kneading by hand difficult and the challahs are not fluffy. Makes sense? Also, I was told that if I want to make whole wheat challah, I'll need a machine. Is that correct?

No, I don't think that's true.

Whole wheat is definitely harder to tackle,especially to make fluffy. Maybe start with a higher part of white flour until you know how it works and then start experimenting with more whole wheat...

honey36

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:26 pm

You can make challah with a bread machine, but definitely won't be enough to take with a Bracha. Pretty sure most bread machines max out at 2-3 loaves of bread. One challah recipe will get you closer to 5-7 loaves.

amother

Watermelon

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:28 pm

amother OP wrote:

I find kneading by hand difficult and the challahs are not fluffy. Makes sense? Also, I was told that if I want to make whole wheat challah, I'll need a machine. Is that correct?

Makes sense that the whole wheat is weighing it down. My daughter claims that the Challah dough rises much better where we live than in NY. Could be the higher elevation in our city. I also don't put eggs in the dough and find the Challah's come out lighter.

cholentfan1

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:48 pm

amother OP wrote:

unnamed, or anyone else, do you have a knead-by-hand recipe that works for you? Thanks!

https://www.imamother.com/foru.....84151

I've been making Essie14's recipe now most weeks, from whenever it was I posted. It comes out delicious. I will admit that the first time I accidently put in 3 eggs, not just the whites and it seems to work, so that's how I always do it as I find it more difficult to separate the eggs.
What I find works to do it by hand is that you're not kneading all the dough all at once. You make it in steps, so you're first only mixing half the flour, then the other half.
Also something else I have done in the past before my mixer broke, was mix the dough in 2 lots, so I would have enough to make a brocha.

unnamed

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:52 pm

amother OP wrote:

unnamed, or anyone else, do you have a knead-by-hand recipe that works for you? Thanks!

With pleasure, but I've only tried it with white spelt flour. Are you interested?

amother

Canary

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 2:53 pm

amother OP wrote:

I find kneading by hand difficult and the challahs are not fluffy. Makes sense? Also, I was told that if I want to make whole wheat challah, I'll need a machine. Is that correct?

I also find making challah by hand to be difficult.

I use a Bosch and love it too.

The kneading part of the process builds the gluten strands which allows the challah to rise and become fluffy.

If you want to attempt by hand, one trick is the mix minimally to just wet all the flour and let it rest for 30 min. Then knead it for a few min. Let it rest again. And repeat the process until the dough becomes soft, smooth and squishy.

Whole wheat will yield a more dense loaf. I personally don't make whole wheat challah but I have used it in sourdough and it does weigh it down and makes it thicker/denser. I don't think you specifically "need" a machine to make it though.

amother

Maple

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 3:13 pm

I use whole spelt and knead by hand, it's very fluffy. Trick is to need at least 10 mins until you can "window pane" the dough (stretch a bit of it out thin like a window pane).

amother

Winterberry

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 6:43 pm

I have an amazing egg free spelt recipe.
Everyone who taste it takes the recipe
2 kilo flour - spelt or regular works
2 TBS salt
2 cups sugar - I do about 1.5
4 TBS dry yeast
1 liter warm water
1 cup oil- I use approx 2/3 cup

At the bottom of the bowl add salt then the flour on top make a ditch for the sugar and yeast on top.
At the water and wait for the yeast to bubble. Add half the amount of oil then knead when nearly fully kneaded at the rest of the oil and knead it in the best you can.
Rise the dough. Plaid the challahs and rise for 30 to 60 mins. Egg and sesame if you want.
Bake on 170 until the color is golden or brown to your liking.

Posting anonymously as too many people have taken the recipe from me.

I usually do it by hand but have done 2 halves in a Kenwood and kneaded together after.

amother

IndianRed

Thu, Jan 25 2024, 8:09 pm

I never heard if these tricks to wait and then knead again but I find making challah by hand particularly strenuous on me and I’ma healthy normal young person

For the first 7 years after I got married I did it by hand (and even before I got married I did so at home) and then I got a Bosch and I’m the happiest person!
My mother did it by hand for years and years.. then someone told her how to split a a 5 lb recipe in two and she does half at a time in her kitchen aid so she can still take challah. Maybe try something like that first.
It shouldn’t be rocket science to split a recipe

My challah recipe has 3 eggs, but technically you can put them all in a measuring cup and use half in each batch in the machine.
But it’s not whole wheat…