Wedding Cake

Rice, Rice

 During the last school holidsy, cousin Jeremiah came over to stay with us. He and Sam cooked several times, and we even made scratch lasagna (meaning, we made mixed and rolled our own pasta) but used a precooked sauce. Isn't this so chunky and delicious? The picture speaks for itself.

This is mushroom rice :) I made it myself. It's a quick-and-easy one-bowl lunch.

THE Traditional Challah

Baking With Beka: Making Challah from Rebekah Mui on Vimeo.

The Bread Bible at the Book Depository

Recipe by Rose Levy Beranbaum - the Bread Bible

(I adapted the recipe slightly, combining with the sourdough challah recipe on the blog found here: )

Quote:

Dough Starter  (Sponge): minimum 1 hour, maximum 24 hours Minimum Rising Time: 4 hours Oven Temperature: 350°F. (tent with foil after 30 minutes) Baking Time: 45 to 55 minutes Makes:  A  14-by-6-by-4 1/2-inch-high-loaf  Equipment: An 18-by12-inch baking sheet, lightly greased with cooking spray or oil or lined with a Silpat or parchment; a baking stone OR baking sheet Dough Starter (Sponge) INGREDIENTS MEASUREMENTS WEIGHT volume ounces grams water (70o to 90o F) 2/3 liquid cup 5.5 ounces 156 grams instant yeast 1 teaspoon -- 3.2 grams unbleached all purpose flour 1 cup . 142 grams 3 large eggs scant 2/3 cup liquid 5.25 ounces          150 grams (weighed without shells) honey 2 tablespoons  about 1.5 ounces 40 grams 1) Early in the morning or the night ahead, make the sponge. In a mixer bowl or other large bowl, place the flour, yeast, water, honey, and eggs. Whisk until very smooth to incorporate air, about 2 minutes. The sponge will be the consistency of a very thick batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and set aside, covered with a plastic wrap.  Flour Mixture and Dough INGREDIENTS MEASUREMENTS WEIGHT volume ounces grams cider vinegar 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour (use Harvest King) 4 2/3 cups (plus 2 to 3 tablespoons for kneading) 23.3 ounces (plus 0.7 ounce) 662 grams (plus about 20 grams) instant yeast 1 1/4 teaspoons . 4 grams salt 1 tablespoon 0.7 ounce 19.8 grams 2  large eggs 6 tablespoons (3 fluid ounces) 3.5 ounces          100 grams (weighed without shells) honey 6 tablespoons (3 fluid ounces) . 120 grams corn oil  1/3 liquid cup 2.5 ounces 72 grams 2 ) Combine the ingredients for the flour mixture and add to the sponge. Whisk the flour and the yeast. Then whisk in the salt (this keeps the yeast from coming in direct contact with the salt, which would kill it). Sprinkle this mixture on top of the sponge. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it stand for 1 to 4 hours at room temperature. (During this time, the sponge will bubble through the flour mixture in places; this is fine.) 3); Mix the dough. Mixer Method Add the eggs, oil, honey, and vinegar. With the dough hook, beat on medium speed (#4 if using KitchenAid) for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and shiny. Lightly sprinkle some of the flour for kneading onto a counter and scrape the dough onto it. Knead the dough, adding a little flour if necessary so that it is just barely tacky (sticky). (The dough will weigh about 3 pounds, 5 ounces/1504 grams) Hand Method Add the eggs, oil, honey, and vinegar. With a wooden spoon or your hand, stire the mixture until the flour is moistened. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together, then scrape it onto a floured counter. Knead the dough about 5 minutes, just to begin to develop the gluten structure, adding as little of the extra flour as possible. Use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead it. At this point, it will be very sticky. Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. (This rest will make the dough less sticky and easier to handle.) Knead the dough for 5 minutes or until it is very elastic and bounces back when pressed with a fingertip. Add a little more flour if necessary so that it is just barely tacky (sticky). (The dough will weigh about 3 pounds, 5 ounces/1504 grams) Both Methods 4); Let the dough rise. On a lightly floured counter-top, round the dough into a ball.  Place the dough into a 4 quart dough rising container or bowl, greased lightly with cooking spray or oil. Push down the dough and lightly spray or oil the top of the dough. Cover the container with a lid, plastic wrap or a damp towel. With a piece of tape mark on the side of the container approximately where double the height would be. Allow the dough to rise, ideally at 75 to 80 °F., until it has doubled, 1  to 2 hours (to 2 quarts).  Gently deflate the dough by pushing it down, give it 2 business letter turns and allow to rise a second time. (The second rising takes about 45 minutes to an hour, or refrigerate it overnight. Flatten the dough gently by pressing down on it, so as not to activate the gluten, making it stretchy. If desired, for best flavor development, the dough now can be placed in a larger container or wrapped loosely with plastic wrap, placed in a 1 gallon plastic bag, and refrigerated overnight -- in which case give it a turn or two first. Allow it to sit a room temperature for 20 minutes after dividing in 4 pieces and preshaping into logs. Glaze  INGREDIENTS MEASUREMENTS WEIGHT volume ounces grams lightly beaten egg 2 tablespoons . 33 grams water 1 teaspoon . . Optional: poppy seeds 4 teaspoons . 12 grams 5) Shape the dough, glaze it, and let it rise (See Pages 72-74 of the Bread Bible) Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (214 to 217 grams each). Shape them into little logs, cover them with proofer or greased plastic wrap—no need to rest unless refrigerated overnight as they get more gluten development. Start by rolling one piece of dough on the counter into as long rope, 13 inches.  (Keep the rest covered while working with one-at-a-time.) Taper both ends of each dough rope to about 4 inches down so that they are narrower than the rest of the dough rope. (Allow the ropes to rest covered if stretchy.) Starting from one tapered end, (middle, if doing a 3 strand braid) braid the strands. Pull the dough more as you come to the ends of the braid so that it comes to more of a point. Pinch the strands together at the end of the braid. Don't allow too much bulge in the middle, i.e. braid tightly so that it doesn't spread when rising and baking. Push the ends together a little so that the loaf is about 14 inches long by 4 inches wide by 2 1/2 inches high. Place the loaf on the prepared baking sheet. 6) Brush with glaze and cover. Let it rise about 1 hour. 7) Preheat the oven: 45 minutes before baking preheat the oven to 325°F. Have the oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating. 5) Glaze and bake the challah.  Remove the plastic wrap and brush the challah all over with the egg glaze, going well into the crevices of the braid. Sprinkle the top with poppy seeds if desired, tilting the pan slightly to have access to the sides. Quickly but gently set the bread onto the hot baking stone or hot baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes., then tent loosely with a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil, and bake for another 25-35 minutes or until the bread is a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean. (An instant read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 190°F.) 6) Cool the challah on a rack.

This recipe does not belong to me. Please do buy a copy of the Bread Bible. It is well worth it!