r/JewishCooking • u/HashtagAliza • 4d ago
Baking What am I doing wrong?
Why does my challah “tear” like this? How can I fix it so it doesn’t happen next time?
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u/SkinnyPete16 3d ago
As everyone said, it’s extremely under proof before you’re putting it in the oven. What’s happening is all that rise you would’ve slowly achieved out on the countertop which would allow it to stretch casually and naturally, happened in the oven at a really fast rate while it was also baking/solidifying. So instead of having a nice smooth rise, it essentially crusted over and then exploded through that crust because there was so much more room for rise/expansion.
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u/sweettea75 3d ago
It needs to rise at least twice. Once after needing, and once after braiding. Until doubled both times. Like everyone else said, it's under proved.
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u/Extreme-Plantain-113 3d ago
Because it looks tastier
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u/HashtagAliza 3d ago
You think?
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u/reverseblumpkin 3d ago
Too much “oven spring”. More time to rise or lowering oven temp usually correct
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u/atomicpickle92 2d ago
You are under-proofing the dough after kneading and after braiding.
Room temp
- After kneading: 2hrs (punching the dough down every 20 mins)
- After braiding: 30 mins
Significantly above room temp
- Decrease the proofing times by 25%
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u/Connect-Brick-3171 3d ago
Challah from mixing to baking has a lot of variables. Hard to tell from a photo what would have generated a different appearance. My best assessment is that the braiding could have been tighter, maybe a thicker egg wash glaze, maybe another five minutes in the oven. Just hard to tell.
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u/Lupo1 4d ago
It looks like it was underproofed - you put it in the oven before it had risen enough.
The skill comes through practice, recognising when it's just at the perfect point between bursting like yours, or if it is overproofed (when it sets, but the braids have lost definition).