And since I talked about my fantastic Rosh Hashanah plans, I figured it was only fair to post some pictures documenting the dinner-making process. I made my first challah! It started out kinda rocky (the first pack of yeast I used wasn't "live" anymore, resulting in dough that wouldn't proof), but the end result was so delicious and it was so fun to make. I was so intimidated by yeast breads, but now I'm stoked and we bought a pizza stone so I can make homemade pizza doughs and breads. Apparently baking bread on a pizza stone is a good thing - I'll report back after my first attempt. WARNING: There are a lot of photos!!
And so it began: the ball of just-kneaded dough, and then the dough going into the (turned off!) oven for the first proof (proofing?):
The dough after the first rise, and being punched down before the second go-round:
Let me preface this with some commentary - I had NO idea Gus was taking pictures of me. I asked him to take photos of the procedure, but I meant just my hands. Anyway, excuse the flour-dusted pajamas, but at least they were cute pajama bottoms, even if you can't see them. Anyway, this is me separating the dough into balls and then rolling the balls into 6 strands for a 6 strand braid:
The beginnings of the braid, and me making the braid:
The completed braid, and then tucking the braid into the traditional Rosh Hashanah round shape:
Gus contemplating the dough (my personal favorite), and the dough after its last proofing ready to go on the baking sheet:
And here it is, our Rosh Hashanah table! There's my beautiful challah! I thought I had taken more photos of the finished bread, but I guess I (thankfully) didn't. Along with the challah we had chicken with dried plums, apricots, and fresh sage; couscous with golden raisins, green onions and almonds; green beans, and cranberry juice (instead of wine). Also, a pic of the inside of the challah, raisins and all:
A close-up of the chicken, which I'll admit looks pretty gross, but it was delicious. It's chicken thighs/breasts with a sweet/sour apricot glaze, prunes, apricots, and sage. Also, a pic of the finished honey cake, which was equally delicious:
Some close-ups of the cake:
PHEW! I told you there were a lot of photos - but I felt the need to document the event. :) And as if that wasn't enough, here's a video of me attempting to braid the challah. I was a bit befuddled by the time I got to the end of the strands, but for my first attempt, I think it looks pretty good.
And last but not least, here's a picture of me from today, so you can see how long my hair is. It's getting to that awkward phase where it's still too short to style, but it's a bit too long to look good on its own. I'm just happy to have hair, I could really care less!
I think that's enough for one post. Thank you for taking this Rosh Hashanah journey with me! Photos of homemade pizza (dough, sauce, and all) to follow shortly. :)
Hi Jessica. Congrats on the holiday dinner. Homemade challah! I've never tried to make my own bread or pizza dough, but I did receive a pizza stone as a gift last year and have used it many times with the Trader Joe's dough. Also, I bought a large wooden board and pizza handle from Sur La Table which are very helpful. I use flour on the board and rolling pin when forming the dough into my desirable shape, and I sprinkle cornmeal on the pizza stone to assist removal of the completed pie. It's been so much fun! Hope you enjoy yours as well. Let me know if you find a recipe for the pizza dough you especially like. Otherwise, I'm going to try one from my pizza cookbook.
ReplyDeleteTake good care, Peggy.
p.s. you look adorable...