{"id":2795,"date":"2016-10-24T12:36:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T16:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=2795"},"modified":"2023-09-16T13:05:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T17:05:33","slug":"no-knead-challah-loaf-or-how-to-bake-yourself-to-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=2795","title":{"rendered":"No-Knead Challah Sandwich Loaf, or How to Bake Yourself to Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"

It takes chutzpah for me to post a challah recipe. My niece Ariel (see Hugs and Cookies<\/a>)\u00a0is the one known for all manner of gorgeous eggy braids, coils and pull-apart rolls. She even uses special challah flour.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve made competent challahs using a traditional recipe, this recipephany is remarkable because it produces the same rich taste and pillowy-soft texture without kneading. You stir it up using only a wooden spoon or (my preference) a dough whisk. What starts as a gloppy, blobby Jabba-the-Hutt mass turns smooth and elastic while it rises. It stops just short of braiding itself.<\/p>\n

I discovered this no-knead challah recently after lying awake in the wee hours thinking of how my paternal grandmother, Lena, dealt with her insomnia: she baked.<\/p>\n

She loved to make strudel. When she couldn\u2019t sleep, she would escape to the kitchen to roll and stretch dough as a way to ward off worries and night demons. For the filling, she would grab whatever fruits, nuts or chocolates she had on hand. Her relaxing baking session ended with both a flaky pastry and a cleared head ready for sleep.<\/p>\n

I thought I\u2019d try out Lena\u2019s Baking Therapy for Insomniacs. Starting a dough without actually baking it seemed like a good option, and just the idea of challah was comforting. So I found a simple recipe for no-knead challah in The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day<\/em>, a game-changing bread book I learned about from artisan baker Dan Friedman. I stirred it up (\u201cWake up, yeast! Stretch, gluten!\u201d) and went back to bed. A high dough greeted me in the morning like a dog with a leash in his mouth. Soon I had a golden loaf ready to be sliced and slathered with Apple Butter, Pressure Cooker Fast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why do I use a loaf pan? My mom would often buy two challahs: a ceremonial free-form braid for Friday night, and a standard loaf for sandwiches and toast the rest of the week. I rarely see sandwich loaf-style challah in stores any more, and I miss it. And for the home baker, it\u2019s practical, easy to make, and the shiny golden braid on top clearly announces its challah-ness.<\/p>\n

So if you can\u2019t sleep and want a cloud-like bread ready for you in the morning, try this out. It bakes up like a dream.<\/p>\n

No-Knead Challah Loaf<\/span>
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(adapted from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day<\/em> <\/em>by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois)\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Makes one large 9″ x 5″ loaf or two 8″ x 4″ x 2 1\/2″ loaves. <\/em>If you prefer a braided loaf, one recipe makes two 3-braid challahs or one very large 6-braid challah. Or, mix and match braided and loaf-pan challahs. This recipe doubles well, so you can bake one or two loaves and keep the rest of the dough tightly covered in the fridge to bake within a few days. <\/span><\/p>\n