Ethnic American Cooking by Lucy M. Long

Author:Lucy M. Long [Long, Lucy M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2016-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

Jewish, Ashkenazi (North America), Jewish; American Jewish

Challah is the egg-rich bread traditionally eaten at Ashkenazic Sabbath and holiday meals. Any bread made from wheat, rye, oats, barley, or spelt could be used as ceremonial bread, but this type of bread, made from white wheat flour with oil and eggs, has become the symbol of a festive Jewish meal in the Ashkenazic tradition. A Sabbath meal traditionally begins with two challahs, each made of six braided strands. For the New Year it is traditional to make a crown-shaped challah, and some Sabbaths during the year are associated with special challah shapes, such as a key-shaped challah for the Sabbath following Passover, but these shapes have fallen out of common use. In the United States, challah has become a popular ingredient for French toast on Sunday mornings.

Matzo is an unleavened bread, similar to a large cracker. They are usually sold in American groceries, oftentimes in the international section. Matzo balls, or kneydlekh, are a beloved Passover food in spite of their having no historical connection to the holiday. Traditionally they would accompany chicken soup, so butter, a dairy product, would not be a possible ingredient.

Some Orthodox communities do not make matzo balls or other recipes that combine matzo with liquids during Passover because of concern that leavening might occur if matzo becomes wet.

Challah (Bread)

¾ cup warm water

3 packets active dry yeast

4½ eggs (leave over part of one egg for the glaze)

4 yolks (So that you have about 10 ounces eggs and yolks, combined. You can make it more or less yolky depending on your plans for the whites.)

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup honey

6½ cups bread flour (30 to 32 ounces)

4 teaspoons kosher salt

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add eggs, oil, honey, flour, and salt and work into a still dough. Knead the dough for about fifteen minutes and allow it to rise, covered, in a warmish place until doubled. Punch down the dough. At this point you can begin shaping the loaves, or allow the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Divide into twelve pieces and roll each piece into a smooth, seamless sphere. Roll each dough lump slightly to elongate. Go back to dough lump number one and roll each one a little more. Continue until you have twelve ropes about 12 to 15 inches long. Braid into two challahs of six strands each. To braid six strands, fasten them at the top, then move the leftmost rope to the center and the rightmost but one to the left. Then move the rightmost to the center and the leftmost but one to the right. Continue to the bottom and pinch the ends together.

Allow the challahs to rest 40 minutes or so. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Brush with remaining half egg beaten with a teaspoon of water and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for 30 minutes or until brown.

Kneydlekh (Matzo balls)

4 eggs, extra large or jumbo

1 cup matzo meal (preferably Streit’s)

½ cup melted butter, coconut oil, or olive oil, or a combination

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