Challah back!
This recipe is my Ode to my home state.
If you don't know, New Jersey is home to many things, but diners and Italians are at the top of the list.
If you have ever had the pleasure of eating French toast in a jersey diner you know it can be just like sugar coated crack.
The bread is cut into monster yellow-gold bricks that would set Dorothy Gale off on a whole new trip.
Digging your fork into a piece you find that they fall apart like cotton candy; melting slowly and sweetly.
Billowy clouds that soak up syrup like a sponge, then release it in a satisfying bolt, stroking your blood sugar till you’re purring like a cat.
The perfect Sunday morning pick me up.
And any jersey Dego worth his weight in gold chains knows that good French toast starts with days old crusted up challah bread.
Like a good Italian boy you need a bread that is soft enough to love his Mama, but tough enough to give you a tooth ache - its got to be able to stand up to an oil slick of butter and syrup.
And, of course, just like and Italian boy, big where it counts.
When you’re slicing up your bread remember to cut it big and thick.
Stuffing a few slices with cannoli filling is like a dream come true.
Not too sweet, it's the perfect foil to the crusty texture of the French toast.
I feel like making good cannoli cream is just one of those funny things you get a feel for over several attempts.
However I included a jumping off place if you have never made one before.
It was gleaned from a drunken conversation with a cannoli obsessed uncle I met at a wedding.
This same uncle (who will go nameless) was seen later collecting "extra" packets of Jordan almonds off of neighboring tables at the reception.
You know, the pastel/silver coated kind your Nona keeps in her china closet for decades on end.
Those sugared almonds are no joke and most Italians I know take them more seriously than an edict from the Pope.
I would insult someone’s mother before I'd even glance at their almonds-
it’s a death wish.
Any man willing to risk his life over a few extra Jordan almonds must have a serious sweet's addiction. That sort of thing bodes well for a confectionary conversation , and when he starting eyeing up my nuts I got him talking.
When a man like that slurs out a cannoli recipe, you grab a cocktail napkin and start writing.
I cut the ricotta with a little cream cheese for breakfast.
The challah recipe comes by way of recipe zaar.
Not exactly diner bread but delicious.
It cranks out two loaves and judging by my families overwhelming response (There was only one left come mornings light), it wouldn’t hurt to make both.
Just be sure to knead the hell out of it.
I didn’t the first time and while it wasn't tough it wasn't quite as light as I was hoping.
I also dusted some brown sugar on top with the second egg wash.
first the bread:
Chocolate Chip Challah Bread
By Ariella. Reprinted from RecipeZaar
- 10 g dry yeast (approximately 1.5 packages)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 cups warm water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 5 large egg
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.(i used s mix of milk and dark)
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tablespoon of sugar in the water. Whisk until completely combined.
Add vegetable oil and whisk. Then add 4 of the eggs, whisking for about one minute after each egg is added. Whisk in remaining sugar and salt. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing with a sturdy spoon after each cup.
When all of the flour has been added, turn dough onto floured surface and knead the dough to remove all lumps. Clean out bowl and grease it. Form dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Let dough rise for one hour in a warm. The dough should approximately double in size. Punch it down and then put chocolate chips in center of dough and reform dough into a ball so that the chocolate chips are encased in the center of the dough. Allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
Remove dough from warm spot and place dough ball onto floured surface. Using a long serated knife, cut the dough in half and then cut each halve into thirds. Reform all six dough balls so that the chocolate is encased in the center of each ball. Then, using your hands, roll out each ball into a strand approximately 15 inches in length. Take three strands and pinch them together at one end, tucking the pinched ends under the bread. Braid the three strands together. When you get to the end of the strands, pinch the strands together and tuck under loaf. Repeat for remaining three strands to create a second loaf.
Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Gently transfer the challahs to the baking sheet. Whisk remaining egg in a small bowl and brush generously onto each challah. Return loafs to warm spot to rise for another 30 minutes. (this is where I sprinkled on the brown sugar)
Preheat oven to 375. Brush challahs with second round of egg wash. Be sure to get egg wash into all the cracks and crevices. Place loaves into oven on middle rack. Fill a baking dish or roasting pan with about two inches of water. Place dish on the rack below the challahs. Bake the challahs for thirty minutes, rotating the baking sheet once in the middle of baking time. Challahs should have a medium golden brown crust and sound hollow when tapped. Be sure to check challahs near end of baking time in order to avoid over cooking. Continue cooking past 30 minutes if challahs aren't golden brown yet.
Cool challahs completely on wire baking rack.
Below are a few bread making tips:
You catch more flys with honey...
* Make sure your yeast isn't wicked old. You want this bad boy to rise and tired yeast is'nt going to get it.
* A warm spot does not mean the top of your frigidaire or ,God bless, standing over an open bowl with a hair dryer. Place it on the stove top while the oven is preheating or out in the sun. I also place a wet/ damp paper towel over the top of rising bread to keep it from drying out. or getting any bugs/debris in it. As you can see from teh abov epicture there is nothing you can do if its out in the open.
* I would also suggest baking on a pizza stone if you have one, or undercooking it by a few minute sto avoid burning the bottom.
* I didnt really get the cutting instructions. I mean, I did it but it didn't make sense to me entirely because when yopu keep placing all teh chocolate chips in teh middle , only the middle of each bread, and subsequently the middle of each loaf has all the chips. There is no reason why you can't distribute a few in teh outer edges of the bread by pressing them in in order to avoid this problem.
* Wetting your fingertips makes them dough glue sticks. Rub them along the tips of each rolled out dough braid before mossing them together and they will adhere to on another a little better.
* Your boyfriend or girl friend may hate it, but this is one place its ok to BE KNEADY! knock that dough around for at least 7 minutes. A standing mixer helps with this but there is nothing quite as satisfying as adding in a little elbow grease.
This is a place to get butch.
Ruff.
The bread maker bread.
Alternately,
the first time I experimented with this was using the Dr. Admiral's bread machine. I have judged bread machines harshly in the past, snickering at wedding parties and calling friends homo's. But , as teh slow cooker of the bread world, it really does cut down your work load. It is always nice to wake up early inth emorning and do all of these steps while your multitasking with laundry and paying bills. But a bread maker cuts your chain and your free.
I just added some chocolate chips to the "add ins" phase of a regular challad bread recipe.
The only bummer is that they mostly fell to the bottom , but having a crust filled with chocolate is never a bad thing.
Cannoli filling
The original recipe handed down to me was i part sugar to 2 parts ricotta. Cannoli can have a lot of personality depending on what region the recipe comes from. I added a cap full of vanilla and substituted some cream cheese to make it a little more breakfasty. If your after something more traditional, leave out the cream cheese and put the same amount of ricotta back in. Add in a little citron , pistachios, maraschino cherries or a pinch of coco powder / cinnamon.
As for my personal cannoli recipe? Im not giving it up.
- 1 1/2 C plus a little extra dry ricotta
- 1/4 - 1/2 C cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- capfull vanilla extract or about 1/2 a vanilla bean's innards
The trick here is to make sure your ricotta is DRY. If its very wet, wrap it in cheese cloth (or a coffee filter) and stick in in the fridge suspended over a bowl over night. The filter/fabric will absorb and express some of the liquid.
When you are ready, beat the ricott and cream cheese together with the vanilla, adding the powdered after the two "cheeses" are well combined.
Here comes the most important part.
Taste it.
Add more sugar if you want.
Then dump in the chocolate chips and any add ins.
If you cant find the mini chips , run of teh mill baking chisp will do or you can grate , beat or chop them into little bits.
Putting it together: French Toast
It may seem sort of pretentious / presumptious to tell you how to make French toast, but I just had a mystified friend (one of my intelligencia mind you) ask last week.
There is no shame in that.
So, just in case...
- 1 egg beaten
- pinches of both cinnamon and nutmeg
- splash of milk / cream * optional
Beat the egg. Add in the milk if your using it along with the spices.
I usually do this right in a bowl , and then drop the sliced bread in.
I let it sit on each side for a minute to be sure it absorbs the egg mix and is super duper coated. I usually fry them two by two - allowing pairs to hang out in the egg bowl while frying up two others.
Generally I don't add the milk to keep the bread away from teh soggy side but it does help carrry the spices.
Alls you've gots ta do is fry the eggy pieces in a pan with some butter on each side till perfectly browned and then add the filling.
The lazy way: spread with the cannoli filling like a sandwhich.
The not as lazy way messy way: cut slices in the bread to make them into little pockets. Fill with cannoli and fry.
The not as lazy and not messy way / aka the best way:
Slice the bread on its lateral side after frying and stuff with the cannoli filling.
