When I could make challah, I used the recipe in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, which gives the yeast a head-start. You mix the proofed yeast with about 1/3 of the flour and let it rise for an hour (2 hours in a trojan winter) before adding the other ingredients. I used a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat bread flour, and the whole wheat flour only went in after the head-start ("sponge") rising. Salt and oil will slow any yeast growth, and they can kill the yeast if it's just getting started. While dilute sugar makes yeast grow faster, concentrated sugar can slow it down or stop it, though this is more of a problem with coffee cake than with bread.
I miss being able to make challah. My ability to cope with pain is limited, and it's been a long time since I've found myself with any to spare at any of the times I thought called for baking challah. Or any real bread. It feels like a welcoming thing to do. Fortunately, the people I most want to welcome have similar buttons. Unfortunately, cookies or quickbreads, which I can occasionally manage, don't have the same emotional impact.
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Date: 2004-09-14 03:17 pm (UTC)I miss being able to make challah. My ability to cope with pain is limited, and it's been a long time since I've found myself with any to spare at any of the times I thought called for baking challah. Or any real bread. It feels like a welcoming thing to do. Fortunately, the people I most want to welcome have similar buttons. Unfortunately, cookies or quickbreads, which I can occasionally manage, don't have the same emotional impact.