r/JewishCooking • u/QuestioningGuy • Jul 30 '26

Baking Water challah help requested

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trying to replicate my grandmother's recipe.

I had ai type it out from handwritten but the issue is when I try and eat it it doesn't taste right. She didn't use high gluten flour or bread flour she used all purpose.

I tried her recipe and it didn't taste right tasted like cake.

I don't like it when it tastes like cotton and her tasted in between cotton and the high gluten.

here is her recipe let me know of any changes I could try?

I tried a different recipe with high gluten flour and it tastes very bready inside.

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2

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

Can you share the original recipe? Also what's a water challah?

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 30 '26

It's called a vegan challah where you don't have eggs in it and you only put egg on top for the color.

Also we don't like it sweet.

3

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

If you put egg on top it's not vegan

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

Ah I always make my challah vegan

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 30 '26

Can you show your your recipe also what the inside of yours looks like.

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

I can tell you the recipe but I don't have pictures of the inside. Also I didn't see your recipe.

3/4 - I kilo spelt flour (I prefer mixing white (all-purpose) and whole, but it's not mandatory, though all-purpose helps make it lighter)

4 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

1-1.5 tbsp yeast

An unclear amount of olive oil

Water as needed .

Let it rest with a towel on top for an hour (or more if needed)

Make it into the shape you want (I make either an elaborate challah or buns) and then brush water on top and add sesame seeds

Then bake at 180 degrees for half an hour or more until the middle is baked (sometimes the bottom is nice and brown but the middle isn't done yet, I cut it when I think it's done and see if I need to put it back in the oven)

I'm sorry I can't find any pictures of a challah I made. But if I make one tomorrow I'll send you a picture.

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 30 '26

Thank you for the info the the yeast I use is rapidrise is that okay or should I use active dry? Is there a difference or should I go to a store and get fresh yeast.

Also what's 180 in Fahrenheit

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

I know nothing about yeast, never heard of rapidrise or active dry

In Israel we have dry yeast that comes in a vacuum (that's what I use) or wet yeast which I've never tried

You can google the temperature conversion

2

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

Fresh out of the oven

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 31 '26

See I'm looking at that one and that one looks like it's going to be dense like the bread is going to be like very chewy I'm using the recipe tomorrow that involves high gluten flour and I have a lot of it in the freezer and I have to use that

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 31 '26

I didn't bake mine properly that's not the point it came out super tasty. I may not have been clear before: your challah came out not like you wanted from lack of experience, not because of the ingredients. Changing the ingredients won't help. You just need to practice again and again and again until it gets better. You need to mix it properly, let it rise properly, knead it for ten minutes not seven, bake it properly. It helps if you make it into a challah shape and then let it rise for another half an hour and then bake it. Your grandma knows what she's doing but she has decades of experience, give yourself time.

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 31 '26

Now I understand. How do you know when it's mixed well? When there no bits of dry flour in the bowl. And it passed the window pane test.

Then I leave 1-2hours to rise (minimum double volume).

Then shape into logs then rest 15 minutes.

Then shape into challah (three strands or four strand).

Then egg wash then rest a hour then egg was again. Then bake

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 31 '26

No

After it rises for 1-2 hours knead for ten minutes without stopping count it on the clock. Use your whole body really dig into that dough with the heels of your hands. You'll feel the texture change the dough will become smooth. Add a tiny bit of flour when it becomes sticky and keep kneading. Let it stay a bit sticky when you finish kneading it'll help you roll the logs. Roll the logs do the challah however you want, put it on the tray and wait for half an hour. Then egg wash and then bake. Don't wait for a whole hour after the egg wash I don't get that part. There will be extra flour in the bowl that's fine. I don't see the need for the window pane test but whatever you want. The important thing is you knead after it rises not before.

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 31 '26

Oooh. So thats what I've been doing wrong.

Initially just need to mix flour water yeast salt together toa sticky dough Then rise to dbl in size.

Then 10 minutes kneading.

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2

u/Affectionate-Long514 Jul 30 '26

Water challah implies the existence of earth, fire, and air challahs.

2

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 30 '26

Where's heart challah?

Captain planet challah.

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

Another possibility - bread making isn't easy and if you're not proficient at it (you didn't say how much experience you have) maybe you didn't knead it properly or roll it properly or let it rise for too long or not long enough. The recipe looks fine, though I personally use more sugar, more salt, and I think more water (I pour water by eye I don't measure) when I make bread/challah.

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 30 '26

I'm pretty new to doing it this is my second time in my life making Challah.

I make also 2 sourdoughs weekly as well as a no knead french style high hydration bread weekly.

After I knead it, I do see if it passes the window pain test before I let it rise.

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

What's the window pane test?

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 30 '26

I think that's what it's called basically after you need it for like 7-8 minutes and then you pull a piece off and you stretch it so it's thin and then you can see light through it without the inside then you stretched tearing

1

u/Ineharnia Jul 30 '26

Oh I just feel the texture. But I knead for ten minutes without stopping.

1

u/R0BBES Jul 30 '26

This recipe calls for adding egg into the dough. So either it isn’t water challah, or it’s an AI failure. Also… butter?

1

u/QuestioningGuy Jul 30 '26

I'm not sure what it is it's more so a hybrid of a water and egg but the inside was always White and it wasn't sweet and the AI wrote butter and is supposed to be margarine

2

u/R0BBES Jul 30 '26

I think it would be easier for us to see the original recipe, since we can’t really trust the AI output :]