I haven't had a blog since I was living in Australia and it is exciting to have one again! I will try and get better at being less wordy and have more pictures over time... Dave is studying for the GRE to take this Friday and it has consumed his life the past couple of days :( We did get to go fly our little kites last night up at the soccer field which was so fun! I forgot the camera so I didn't get any pictures...
Classes started today and I must say, it is SO nice only having 1 class that I have to go sit through! After having at least 15 credits every semester the past four years, this semester is going to be a breeze. I have already finished all of the work for this week with one of my online classes :) Dave has 15 credits including pharmacology, advanced anatomy (where he will prepare... meaning cut into dead bodies.... cadaver's for the first year anatomy students...), sports nutrition, medical terminology, and pathophysiology... needless to say I will not see him very much. I will just enjoy my few classes and my serious search for an internship for the fall!
Yesterday I made challah which is the bread above :) I used to have it with the Jewish families I lived with and have finally found a recipe that comes pretty close to the Jewish bakeries in Melbourne.
The recipe is:
Best Challah (Egg Bread)
Adapted from Joan Nathan
The secrets to good challah are simple: Use two coats of egg wash to get that laquer-like crust and don’t overbake it. Joan Nathan, who this recipe is adapted from, adds that three risings always makes for the tastiest loaves, even better if one of them is slowed down in the fridge.
Time: about 1 hour, plus 2 1/2 hours’ rising
Yield: 2 loaves
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 to 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins per challah, if using, plumped in hot water and drained
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling.
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
2. Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading, but be careful if using a standard size KitchenAid–it’s a bit much for it, though it can be done.)
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
4. At this point, you can knead the raisins into the challah, if you’re using them, before forming the loaves. To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
5. Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
6. If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.
7. Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. (If you have an instant read thermometer, you can take it out when it hits an internal temperature of 190 degrees.) Cool loaves on a rack.
Note: Any of the three risings can be done in the fridge for a few hours, for more deeply-developed flavor. When you’re ready to work with it again, bring it back to room temperature before moving onto the next step.
Today I made:
Texas Peach Cobbler
This one is fast, easy, and great tasting!
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tbsp. baking powder
¾ cup milk (low-fat or non-fat are fine)
3 cups sliced fresh peaches, skins left on
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat until it bubbles and turns golden-brown.
3. Pour the butter into an 8-inch square baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and milk.
5. Pour the batter on top of the melted butter. Do not stir.
6. Without mixing, arrange the peaches evenly on top of the batter.
7. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the cobbler.
8. Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown. The batter will migrate from the bottom of the pan to cover the peach slices partially.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield 6 to 8 servings.
We have had some frozen peaches in our freezer for a while now that were from my parents tree and it turned out so good! I didn't get a picture of it but it was so easy to make and SO YUMMY!!
