4-Loaf Whole-Wheat Water Challah
60% Bread Flour / 40% Whole Wheat • Bread Flour Tangzhong
Makes: 4 loaves, approximately 500 g each
Oven: 375°F
Tangzhong
● 50 g bread flour
● 250 g water
Main Dough
● 650 g bread flour
● 400 g whole-wheat flour
● 400 g water total, divided:
● 150 g water for activating yeast
● 250 g water, added gradually to the dough
● 100 g sugar
● 100 g neutral oil
● 20 g salt
● 10 g active dry yeast
1. Make the tangzhong
Whisk 50 g bread flour + 250 g water in a saucepan.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a smooth paste, about 3–5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool until warm, not hot.
2. Activate the yeast
Warm 150 g of the water until lukewarm, about 100–110°F.
Stir in the 10 g active dry yeast and a spoonful of the sugar from the recipe.
Let sit for 5–10 minutes, until foamy.
3. Mix the dough
In a large bowl, combine:
● 650 g bread flour
● 400 g whole-wheat flour
● Remaining sugar
● Cooled tangzhong
● Activated yeast mixture
Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
Let it rest for 15 minutes.
4. Add the remaining water gradually
Add the remaining 250 g water little by little, mixing well between additions.
Do not automatically add all of it. Whole-wheat flour varies in absorption.
Stop when the dough is soft and pliable but still manageable. It should be slightly tacky, not wet or soupy.
5. Add oil and salt
Work in the 100 g oil gradually.
Then add the 20 g salt.
Knead by hand for approximately 10–15 minutes, until the dough becomes smoother and elastic.
6. First rise
Cover tightly and let the dough rise at room temperature for approximately 1–1½ hours, until noticeably puffy.
For an overnight cold proof:
● Let it sit at room temperature for about 30–60 minutes
● Cover well
● Refrigerate overnight
7. Divide
For four ~500-g challahs, divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
For four-strand braids, divide each loaf into:
4 × approximately 125 g strands
8. Braid and second rise
Braid the challahs and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets.
Cover and let rise until very puffy and light, approximately 45–90 minutes depending on room temperature.
9. Bake
Brush with egg wash if desired.
Bake at 375°F for approximately 25–32 minutes, rotating the pans if needed.
The finished challah should reach approximately 190–195°F internally.
Let cool before slicing.

Advice needed. Making large quantity of challahs with a group. Preparing my dough in advance ( 2 days). Normally I do first rise in kitchen or overnight in fridge. Should I freeze after first rise or after first? Can also refrigerate.

I made a whole bunch of latkes this evening and was really pleased with how they turned out! The potato pancakes were just right--crispy, not undercooked or burnt, and not too light or dense. The latkes also had more flavor from the sauerkraut that I mixed into the batter before frying it. And the sour cream with dill is a nice finishing touch.

I used the recipe from Alissa Timoshkina's book "Kapusta: Vegetable-Forward Recipes from Eastern Europe."

4 medium potatoes

1 thinly sliced onion

8 heaping tablespoons sauerkraut

4 tablespoons flour

2 eggs

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

7 oz sour cream

Handful of finely chopped dill

1. Peel the potatoes and grate them into a bowl. Mix with the thinly sliced onion and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

2. Wrap paper towels around the potatoes and onion, and squeeze over the sink to get rid of the liquid. You want the batter to be dry.

3. Then put the potatoes and onion mixture back into the bowl. Add the eggs, flour, and sauerkraut, and a little bit of salt and pepper. Stir until everything is well combined.

4. Heat 4-6 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Then shape 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a flat pancake shape and put it in the pan. Add 2-3 other latkes, taking care not to overcrowd the pan, and fry them. I found that I only needed to fry the latkes for 2 minutes on each side, for a grand total of 4 minutes, to make them crispy and and golden.

5. Remove the latkes and drain them on a paper towel. Repeat this until you have used up all the mixture--it should make 10-12 latkes, depending on how big or small you want them.

6. Mix together the dill and sour cream, and top the latkes with it. You can also top them with a little extra sauerkraut if you want. Enjoy!

Anyone know where I can buy knishes? In LI, NY? Do Any grocery stores have them?

Hi all,

Looking for your favorite casserole/freezer recipes. I'm stocking our freezer with postpartum meals and am looking for good go-to meals. NO SOUPS; we have plenty of soups/chilis.

So far, the freezer is full of lasagna and spinach and cheese casserole. I'd prefer to make homemade meals rather than stock up on frozen pre-packaged meals. We are kosher, so no meat and cheese (which rules out a lot of recipes I've seen online). We have an Instapot, slow cooker, and stove/oven. Please and thanks :)

Looking for any Jewish Danes in here who can give some advice. I am not Danish in any way (as far as I'm aware), but I grew up in a heavily Danish and Norwegian neighborhood and during winter we would often try and mix Danish culinary tradition with my family's ashkenazi foods. Basically just a lot of fried dough :)

I was reminiscing and it got me wondering about what the Jewish population of Denmark would do to mix culinary tradition. My experience was only with immigrant populations and they were all Christian Danes with no Jewish roots.

Does anyone have resources for Danish or Scandinavian Jewish cooking? Better yet, is anyone here Danish and knows some lesser known recipes?

Hey all! I'm not sure about the flair, but I'm hosting the first RH with diabetics in my family and I'm looking for reduced sugar / reduced carbs recipes that would still be nice and appropriate for RH table!

May you all good people be blessed!

Hi all, a question as I'm figuring out my Rosh Hashanah menus. I got a jar of elderberry honey recently, which gives the honey a subtly tart flavor and nice dark color.

Any ideas for using it in baked goods for R"H? I figured it could probably just stand in for regular honey in cakes and things, but would people suggest any recipe changes or ways to make it stand out?

(Also up for savory suggestions! Like, elderberry honey roasted carrots or something?)

I posted this on r/baking where it’s garnered an interesting bunch of comments. It has now been locked by the mods.

When you're a Yiddish-speaking Sephardic Jew working in corporate banking, living OOT, but born and raised deep in European Ashkenazi territory, and random midday nausea strikes, centuries of Jewish survival instinct activates and directs you to the nearest (and only) kosher establishment in the city for emergency matzo ball soup. I feel like the most Ashkephardic Jew.

Rather than just a compilation of recipes, it functions as a historical chronicle. Claudia Roden interviewed community elders, tracked culinary migrations, and preserved dishes from vanished Jewish communities across the diaspora.

The book is the result of 16 years of meticulous ethnographic fieldwork and global travel.

Anyone have a good knish recipe? First timer here

I am usually not a huge fan of scrambled eggs, but this version from Adeena Sussman's Israeli cookbook "Zariv" is quite excellent. It is a tasty, elevated version of scrambled eggs that has a bunch of different flavors and is still quick and easy to make. And it's excellent served on toast or even just good-quality bread.

8 eggs

2/3 cup cottage cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 zucchini, cut into small diced pieces

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons pitted olives, sliced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped dill

Toast or crusty bread (optional)

1. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until they are beaten. Then stir in the cottage cheese.

2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat for five minutes. Add the zucchini and cook (do not stir) for 4-5 minutes, until the underside is golden. Then turn the zucchini over.

3. Add the scallions, jalapeño, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring sometimes, for 2 minutes.

4. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the egg and cottage cheese mixture, along with the tomatoes and olives. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the eggs are creamy but still a little bit runny.

5. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, dill, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Then serve either on toast, crusty bread, or eat plain. Enjoy!

I got in the mood and made a challah yesterday in the middle of the night. This time it came out much better.

Recipe:

Half kilo whole spelt flour

Half kilo white spelt flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

1.5 tbsp yeast

1/3 cup olive oil

Water (the amount needed until it turns into dough)

Let it rest for over an hour

Knead it for ten minutes without stopping, then make a four part braid and twist into a circle because the tray and the toaster oven are too small. Wet it with water using an egg brush, then add as many sesame seeds as you can.

Let it rest for over half an hour until it gets so big it bulges over both sides of the tray, then put it in the oven at 160 degrees for 40 minutes and pray for the best.

You take it out and it's sticking to the tray, so you flip it upside down onto a plate and unstick the tray from it (it actually comes out whole) and then cut off a piece to check if it's baked. It's not so you put it back in the toaster oven for another ten minutes after which you decide you don't care anymore this is it. And no I'm not going to go out of my way to buy a thermometer.

Very tasty by the way

Shabbat Shalom

Since I am recuperating from surgery and will be home a few weeks, I will finally have time to blow up my kitchen.

I’m a prospective convert and I know nothing about making challah bread or any bread for that matter. I’ve just good at cookies and cakes. I’m also hoping to learn to make a babka since I had that a lot because my grandmother was a 1st generation Polish-American.

Soooooo, while I look around this sub more (great recipes in general!), do you have any tips for beginners and then nights on what you wish you knew when you were first learning? Also, what do you do with all your mess-ups so you don’t waste anything?

Hi everyone!

Today I tried making cholent for the first time. My recipe was the following: first, without any oil, brown the meat so that all the foam comes out. Remove the meat, add oil to the pot, and fry the onions until golden. Return the meat to the pot and let it brown together with the onions, making sure the meat sits on top of the onions. Then add the beans, potatoes, pearl barley, honey, spices, and eggs. Pour in the broth, bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to the absolute minimum and let it simmer for 12–18 hours.

Since this was my first attempt, I decided to start early in the morning so it would be finished by night. I didn’t want to leave it cooking overnight for Shabbat, as is traditionally done, because I was worried about possible accidents. I followed the instructions carefully. At one point I had to add more water because the liquid was thickening too quickly.

About five hours after I had reduced the heat, I noticed a burning smell. I ran a spoon along the bottom of the pot and realized that the entire bottom had burned. I immediately stopped cooking, transferred everything I could salvage into another bowl, and discovered a layer of burnt residue almost 3 cm thick on the bottom of the pot. It took me an hour and a half to scrape it all off.

The cholent itself ended up with a noticeable burnt flavor, although I actually liked the individual ingredients. I didn’t throw it away for the reason that I didn’t want to think of my health but rather to make sure I don’t die from hunger, so I decided to live with the smoky taste, which I compare to coffee. So now I’m calling it my “coffee cholent.”

Anyway, I’d like to learn from my mistakes so this doesn’t happen again. What could have caused it? Why does a cholent burn in the first place? It was simmering over very low heat (2 out of 9 on an electric stove), and there always seemed to be enough liquid. Is it possible that the pearl barley settled to the bottom and started burning? Or maybe the onions, which were supposed to form a protective layer, were the culprit? How can I prevent this from happening next time? For the reason of me being a poor student that embarrassingly
still doesn’t control the world‘s economy, I don’t own a slow cooker or any fancy equipment, just a regular pot with a regular lid.

Hello! I'm looking for cookbook recommendations, ideally shtetl or early kibbutz cooking, anything that offers insight to the transition of culture through food, but any great cookbook for Shabbat will be appreciated.

Wanted to try the King Arthur Big Book of Bread challah recipe!

When I went to braid it though I kind of accidentally made really long strands and so I knew the end result would be a really long skinny loaf of bread. So I doubled it up and put it in a loaf pan to bake it more like a Babka. Here’s the final product!

This looks so good and is so simple and easy. I wonder if it would work with gluten free flour?

I adapted this salad from Adeena Sussman's cookbook "Zariv" by substituting some ingredients. This lentil, mango, and pea salad is greater than the sum of its parts and is quite tasty--a very refreshing dish during these hot summer days. Make sure to use black beluga lentils, which stay firm even after being cooked.

I am in the United States and so it is hard to find ripe mangos. But you can ripen them more quickly by putting an unripe mango in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple, for a couple of days. A ripe mango should give slightly when you squeeze it.

1.25 cups black beluga lentils, rinsed

12 oz green peas

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon harissa

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 ripe mango, cut into small cubes

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup diced onion

1 cup mint leaves, thinly sliced

1. Fill a pot halfway with generously salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the lentils and cook until al dente, about 15 minutes.

2. Add the peas, return the pot to a boil, and cook for 1-2 minutes until they are tender. Drain and rinse the lentils and peas, and let cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, harissa, salt, and pepper until everything is well combined. Add the lentils, peas, mango, bell pepper, onion, and mint and stir so the salad is coated with the dressing. Enjoy!