Category: Breads
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Pulled Beef Babka
I thought long and hard about how to prepare this simply with minimal cleanup. And, I think I nailed it. Because, it really was simple to prepare. And, it was easy to clean up afterward. Best of all, the pulled beef babka was delicious and gorgeous.
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Sukkos No-Knead Ciabatta: Harvest and Humility
The Autumn Jewish holiday of Sukkos is referred to as Zman Simchaseinu (season of rejoicing) and Chag Ha’Asif (Festival of of Gathering). It falls at the time of year in Israel that the grain, grapes and olives are ready to be harvested and brought to market. The winter, spring and summer months of hard work in…
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Challah: Wrapping Up a Bit of Heaven
Traditionally, we bake braided challah for Shabbos. The Hebrew word, challah, actually means loaf of bread and alludes to the mitzvah (commandment) of challah, the blessing and setting aside of a small piece of bread dough during the bread preparation process. At our Shabbos meals, after we say the kiddush (blessing on wine), we recite a blessing over…
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Same-Day Ciabatta is in the Bag
For those weeks when you remember to start the ciabatta the night before, my no-knead ciabatta recipe is perfect. It requires no kneading, very little effort in preparation and produces a delicious ciabatta bread with a crusty exterior and large air pocket holes on the inside. The only downside to this recipe is that it requires slow…
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Davida’s Easy and Delicious Calzones for a Melave Malka Feast
Melave Malka (Saturday night meal) is the name given to the meal that we eat at the Shabbos has departed. The literal meaning of the words Melave Malka is “accompaniment of the queen”, referring to our escorting of the Shabbos Queen out of our homes after the spiritually uplifting Shabbos. The Shabbos is often metaphorically described as a…
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Simple and Delicious Croutons Fashioned from Leftover Bread or Challah
Last week, I focused on bread and challah-related recipes. This week, you may have some leftover challah. I rarely put leftover challah into my freezer. Instead, I convert it into croutons or bread crumbs. I find that when I put leftover challah in the freezer, it usually just sits there until just before next Pesach…
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Deliciously Simple Onion and Garlic Rolls
These onion and garlic rolls are simple to prepare and delicious. When I was first married, I prepared these onion/garlic rolls regularly. Since the total rising time is less than two hours, I found that I was able to start these after work on Friday and still have them ready for Shabbos.
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Pretzel Challah: Crusty and Salted
One challah recipe would never suffice in a family with many types of palates and personalities. This pretzel challah recipe is unique, delicious and oh, so reminiscent of hot pretzels that you may just want to serve it with mustard. Our youngest daughter, Davida, decided to try a new pretzel challah recipe. We were all skeptical,…
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Simple and Delicious Challah to Wow your Shabbos Guests
I recently hosted a few boys for a friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah. As a token of appreciation for hosting these teenage boys, my friend sent over some delicious baked goods and the most delicious challah ever. This challah was everything that one can imagine a challah to be. It was beautiful. It was moist. It was…
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Ciabatta Challah: a Simple No-Knead Solution
In case you haven’t noticed, our family table accommodates many different personalities and food choices. Among us, we have meat lovers and vegetarians, those with simpler palates and those with more adventurous palates. Of course, our taste in challah varies, as well. We have some who love the sweet refined taste of a traditional challah and those…
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DIY Everything Mix Topping: Perfect for Breadsticks and Challah
Now that Pesach (Passover) is behind us and chometz (leavened food items) are back on the menu, I would like to highlight a week of challah and bread-related recipes. Over the next few days we will count down to our first Shabbos after Pesach with challah. Many people who don’t ordinarily prepare home-baked challah choose to bake…
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Simply the Best Challah Recipe…ever!
I bake Challah for Shabbos. It is a real treat for our Shabbos table and it makes the house smell heavenly as it bakes. The mitzvah (commandment) of Challah is especially designed for women and is a privilege and opportunity for special prayer. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer for kneading the dough. Since…