Baking maven Paula Shoyer declares war on kichel. This killer recipe proves her wrong.
Know what the most popular post on this site is, right at this very moment? By far?It’s a post called “Mmm… kichelicious.”I adore kichel, the dry unsweetened European cookie that has been a staple of Jewish life since… well, probably since someone’s Bubby needed to make cookies and discovered that she was out of sugar. Apparently, thousands of people out there on the Internet love kichel and want to know how to make it well at home. But celebrity kosher baker Paula Shoyer does not. Which is too bad, because in every other way, she’s absolutely perfect. I enjoyed a baking demo she did yesterday at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro. She did a really great job of preparing a couple of basic recipes that I hope to share with you very soon.But the real reason for her crusade to bring simple, delicious pareve baking recipes to home cooks is because, as she said yesterday, “in the U.S., pareve desserts… are absolutely horrific.” Foremost among the horrors? The ki…
What's a good beginner challah making recipe you might have?
ReplyDeleteIf you have a food processor, I recommend my "Reliable Challah."
ReplyDeleteA bit of a description and a printable pdf appear at the bottom of this page.
I recommend using weight measurements. You might feel that's too hard for a beginner, but the truth is, using weights (instead of measuring with cups and spoons) will give you more consistent results so you can learn how dough is *supposed* to behave.
If you don't have a food processor, or prefer to do it by hand, the recipe will still work. Use a little less than the full amount of water unless you're sure you need more.
Let me know if you try it!