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| Round three ... | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 14 2010, 09:21 PM (272 Views) | |
| brenda | Jul 14 2010, 09:21 PM Post #1 |
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... of cooking for the cast and crew of our local community theater group. Week 1 was the pocket pies, apple and cherry. Week 2 was big pans of Brenda's Thunder Cookies done as bars. Week 3 (tomorrow) will be Challah bread. I'll have plenty of unsalted butter on hand to serve it, but it's a bit like gilding the lily. ![]() I'm planning to make either 20 or 28 pounds of Challah dough tomorrow, with most of it going to feed the theater people as a snack during their break time tomorrow night. I figure the loaves will be either 2.5 or 3 pounds each, and enough for at least 60 servings at the theater, plus a full loaf for here at home. Those teenagers at the theater can really eat! They are doing Footloose, which is a very physical performance. They need the calories to keep up their energy. I also know many of the teens have not had dinner yet before practice, and they are so hungry. Daughter is loving this. She helps me make the treats, which gives us some fun Mom/daughter time during the day. It puts a big smile on her face when I carry the treats into the theater later in the evening. Come to think of it, that seems to make everybody smile. Have you ever had fresh Challah bread with butter? It's quite a treat. It's not as sweet as pastry, but the honey in it gives a very pleasant sweetness, and I make a very moist version that is very tender inside. After applying an egg wash, I sprinkle the tops with a very coarse sugar for extra sweetness and a nice crunch. My relatives go crazy for this bread at holiday time. Last Christmas, I made a loaf for each family. That's a lotta, lotta dough. ![]()
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| musicasacra | Jul 15 2010, 12:55 AM Post #2 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I don't think I've had challah bread. IT and I had an awesome pretzel bread from La Brea Bakery in LA. I must get a recipe . . . |
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| big al | Jul 15 2010, 07:38 AM Post #3 |
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Bull-Carp
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Find a good Jewish bakery, MS. My sister-in-law (who's Catholic) bakes an excellent challah for Rosh Hashanah, in particular. Big Al |
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Location: Western PA "jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen." -bachophile | |
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| Aqua Letifer | Jul 15 2010, 08:06 AM Post #4 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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Sounds awesome, brenda! I'm sure they'll all just wolf it down. Wolves of the Challah you could call them.
Indeed I have. My great aunt used to have some lying about her house pretty regularly. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| brenda | Jul 15 2010, 11:52 AM Post #5 |
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Well, that's what I get for posting long after looking at the recipe. I mistakenly noted the number of cups of flour as the total pounds of dough! It's rising this very minute, and we have 17 pounds of dough made from over 28 cups of flour, 18 eggs, 1 pound of butter, 2.5 cups of honey, 7 cups of water, the yeast, and other goodies. I'll get five three-pound loaves and one two-pound loaf. We'll keep the two-pounder for here at home, and maybe there will be some of one of the three-pounders left for us, too. I know at least 60 very substantial servings will disappear at the theater tonight. We feed the cast, crew, and all the various volunteers. That reminds me, I need to set some more unsalted butter out to bring it to room temperature. |
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| brenda | Jul 15 2010, 11:57 AM Post #6 |
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Oh, MS, you should try it. I only make it once in a great while, because it is a rich bread and is a treat. I use the recipe from the Five-Minute book. It's a very loose dough, and that's what makes it so moist once it's baked. Today I added two extra eggs to a quadruple batch of their recipe, and an extra half cup of honey and enough flour to finish it. It's still a very loose dough. |
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| musicasacra | Jul 15 2010, 11:58 AM Post #7 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Well, you know, I'm from the prairie. This is also why I hadn't heard of Hebrew National hot dogs until I met IT.
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| brenda | Jul 15 2010, 11:59 AM Post #8 |
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I get a kick out of making and giving a Jewish bread at Christmas. It's all good.
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| brenda | Jul 15 2010, 12:04 PM Post #9 |
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Wolves of the Challah! Oh my gosh, that is too funny. I love that! Well, your great aunt knew a good thing, didn't she?
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| brenda | Jul 15 2010, 08:46 PM Post #10 |
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Oh my. The challah was a big hit. Even though not all the cast was there, it was mostly the teens, they went through four of the three-pound loaves. Most of the kids had two or three pieces, and I was very generous with the thickness of the slices. Some had four slices. Daughter and I took the last three-pound loaf to her piano teacher. She has two teen boys and a hubby. I hope she at least gets to taste it. ![]() I made one two-pound loaf for us here at home. That's all that's left.
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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| Horace | Jul 15 2010, 09:13 PM Post #11 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Challa has that crusty/chewy bready goodness thing down pat, probably the king of all breads. I'm sure you make a great one Brenda!
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| As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good? | |
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| jon-nyc | Jul 16 2010, 02:03 AM Post #12 |
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Cheers
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I can see the attraction there, but its not nearly as funny as sneaking bacon into dishes at passover.
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| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| big al | Jul 16 2010, 04:59 AM Post #13 |
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Bull-Carp
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Once, my mother-in-law was staying at our house and watching the children while we were out. After they were in bed, she went rummaging through the refrigerator for something to nosh on where she found a left-over grilled pork chop. When we came home, she told us that the veal chop she had eaten from the refrigerator was the best veal chop she had ever had. We've never had the heart to tell her what it really was. Big Al |
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Location: Western PA "jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen." -bachophile | |
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| brenda | Jul 16 2010, 06:49 AM Post #14 |
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Jon! You've never actually done that, have you? |
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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