Welcome to my Oscars’ Countdown! The past few years, I’ve done a tasting menu the night of the Oscars where I make as many installations as there are Best Picture Nominees. It all started as an idea in 2019, the morning of the Oscars, when I was nursing a hangover at a diner. I hastily scrambled during the day to buy all of the ingredients and make 8 different things that night, without ever watching one of the movies. Since 2020, I’ve made it my task to watch each nominee before coming up with a respective culinary offering. This year, though, I’m trying something a little different. Instead of posting everything the night of the big show, I’m going to lead up with daily posts, as well as two final posts on Sunday.
This year’s Oscars menu should have been themed: there will be bread. I’ve always marveled at challah, and now was as good a time as any to make it. The lovely loaf appeared in a scene in The Fabelmans, during a meal, most likely at a Saturday Shabbat dinner with Spielberg’s dad’s friend. He was always around, and for a reason: he had a keen interest in Spielberg’s mother. Perhaps he was the only one interested in her, because I found her extremely annoying and the movie itself was kind of long and uninteresting. Anyway, here’s an easy, delicisous challah recipe.
Challah
adapted from Challah, Cook’s Illustrated
Maybe my oven runs hot, but this was ready much sooner than I anticipated. I’ve adjusted the recipe for this reason. Be sure to have a thermometer at the ready.
3 cups AP flour
¼ cup sugar
2.25 tsp instant yeast
1.25 tsp salt
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk (white reserved)
½ stick of butter, melted
½ cup warm water, roughly 110 degrees
Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a larger bowl, briefly whisk.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, mix the 2 eggs + 1 yolk, melted butter, and warm water until combined, on low speed. Then, add in the flour mixture and knead for about 4 or 5 minutes until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides. If the dough is still tacky after 4 minutes, sprinkle in a little more flour (wasn’t an issue for me).
Lightly oil a bowl and dump the dough mass in, rolling it around to oil the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 2-2.5 hours, until doubled in size. Gently press the dough down, cover and allow to rise again, 60-90 mins.
While the dough rests, whisk together the egg white and 1 tbsp of water. Cover and refrigerate.
Once the dough has completed both rest/rise periods, lightly grease a baking sheet and very lightly dust a counter with some flour. Separate the dough into ⅔ and ⅓ portion. Cut the larger portion into 3 equal parts and roll into ~16-inch lengths. Lay the 3 ropes side-by-side, pressing 3 ends together, then braid the ropes and pinch at the bottom. Lay the braided portion onto the greased baking sheet and brush with egg wash.
Repeat this process with the smaller ⅓-sized portion, placing it atop the larger half-loaf on the baking sheet (but don’t cover it in egg wash just yet). Loosely cover the entire loaf with cling wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes. With about 15 mins to go, place an oven rack in the lower third and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Once the loaf has rested, then brush on some egg wash on the top loaf. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or when the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190 degrees.
Remove to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 mins or until fully cooled if serving later.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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