Whole Wheat Challah Tips and Tricks

ceo

Tue, Aug 29 2006, 12:23 am

I see a lot of postings/questions about how to make whole wheat challah. I have been making w.w. challah for quite a while, even before I was married, so I have a few tips to share with everyone:

1) You can use any recipe for challah and substiute whole wheat flour. You do need to add gluten (to be discussed below), but you do not need to change the number of eggs, amount of yeast, etc.

2) Different brands of flours are ground differently, imaprting a different texture to your challah. I like using Arrowhead Mills or Hodgson Mills stoneground challah. I don't like King Arthur whole wheat flour for my challah, but this is a personal preference.

3) Gluten: " Gluten provides the framework for dough to rise by stretching and trapping the gas bubbles given off by yeast as it grows. The type of wheat, where it is grown, and the milling process all influence the amount of gluten" (I got this off some website about baking). Meaning: gluten is what makes your challah fluffy. I add about 1/3 a cup of vital wheat gluten for every four cups of whole wheat flour to my dough. However, this is not an exact science, and you can use a little more or a ltitle less. If I run out of gluten and use a little less, I don't really notice.

ceo

Tue, Aug 29 2006, 9:53 am

You can buy it at the health food store, or any large supermarket that has a health/natural foods section. Willow, don't you live in Yerushalyaim? You can buy it at one of those large health food stores in the shuk- Nitzat HaDuvdevan, and one other store. You can probably buy it in other shops as well.

ceo

Tue, Aug 29 2006, 10:35 pm

MOM222 wrote:

If I am not mistaken it is called "Chita Mel-e-ah"

I think Willow was asking what gluten is called, not what whole wheat flour is called.

I just looked it up in the Alkalai dictionary. It's called divkit or kemach divkit. That makes sense, because really the gluten is what makes everything in the bread stick together when baking!