September 11, 2008

Roasted Garlic Challah Bread

first

Just when I was writing another post, a thought came to my mind... If I am so self-absorbed creating and making my own recipes and posting them for others to read... then who actually tries the sea of recipes that others write or so painstakingly make? I am sure this has crossed many of your minds.
A lot of recipes are just brilliant, and so unique. It would be a shame not to make and taste them myself.
So, from now on I am making a point to try out some of the recipes that others have tried and tested.
And obviously, since I write mostly about healthy food. I am trying to find the same genre recipes.

This is one such recipe by Vaishali of "Holycow", who is a vegan cook and and made this bread with an egg substitute. Flax seeds is something I use very regularly, and so didn't think twice about making it. They are about one of the most healthful stuff you can find with high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids.

And needless to say, knowing me... I did make some changes here and there, adjusted it according to my taste and came up with a flavored Challah bread infused with roasted garlic. I did not have much time to make the bread since I started later in the day, so I had to use a slightly different method. It turned out to be the most comforting thing I had in a long time.
Bliss...

Roasted Garlic Challah Bread

Ingredients:

Highly active Rapid rise yeast (Dry) - 1 package
Whole wheat pastry flour - 2.5 cups
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Flax seeds - 4 tbsp (ground and mixed with water)
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Roasted Garlic - 3 tbsp (chopped finely)
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Salt - To taste (about 1 tsp)
Skim Milk - A little to knead

Method:

Mix the yeast, flour, olive oil, sugar and salt with bare hands.

Add the flax seeds paste and roasted garlic and form a ball adding a splash of milk as and when needed.

Knead for about 20-25 minutes by hand (a good workout!) pushing and pulling the dough. The more you knead the better it is.

Once the kneading process is done and the dough is smooth, transfer the dough ball into a large container and toss it with a teaspoon of oil just to coat.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place for about 2 hrs or till the the dough doubles in size. You will know when it is done.



Punch the dough with your fists slightly and knead it for another 5 minutes or so.

Divide the dough into 3 equally sized balls and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Covered with a plastic wrap or kitchen towel.

At this point, pre-heat your oven to 375F.

Take each ball and roll with your hands to form ropes about 12-14 inches in length.



Place the ropes on a baking sheet sprayed with oil spray (or dust with cornmeal which I did not have) and press the top end together.
Start plaiting/braiding it as you would style your hair.
Seal the bottom edges together.





Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with some black sesame seeds.

Bake the bread for about 30 min or until golden brown on top.

Let rest for about 20 min. Slice and serve with warm seasoned olive oil.

last

This is wrapped and sent to Ruth's Bookmarked Recipes event



And to Aparna's WBB: Grains in my Breakfast event

34 comments:

  1. I can imagine the nice smell of this bread coming out hot from the oven. Mmmmmm

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  2. Challah bread came out perfect! U r good at baking bread too :) Love garlic bread nice twist to plain challah!

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  3. that looks fabulous! thanks for the recipe!

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  4. Divya, Your challah looks much better than mine ever did! What a lovely job, and I am so happy you tried this out. I will try adding the garlic too next time.

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  5. Very nice looking bread. First of all I have to appreciate that bread baking part coz I feel very intimidated to bake bread. Everytime I see anyone post a bread, I think I must try but I never do. So good job and must say it looks pro quality.

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  6. Hi Divya, nice blog with wonderful recipes. Luv ur challah bread and adding garlic is a terrific idea. thanks for the recipe.

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  7. Wow Divya you rock, what a wonderful looking picture perfect bread...I am truly impressed...

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  8. I am really impressed :) cool!divya superb!

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  9. Nice bunch of recipes here.
    The bread looks crunchy and delicious. Will definitely give it a try, thanks for sharing!

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  10. Bread looks fabulous and fantastic..Really U rock gal!!!

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  11. wow bread looks amazing...really nice..

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  12. wow... bread looks fantastic & Amazing... nice click,,,

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  13. Wow, the challah looks so mouth-watering. I love those braids. But one doubt, you wrote to serve with warm seasoned olive oil, do we have to dip the bread in oil and eat?

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  14. superb divya..am so impressed ...am still trying my hands on making perfect ones..hope to do it soon!!will try this one for sure..

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  15. Uma - Yes slightly warm the oil (or just at room temperature will work fine too) and sprinkle with some oregano, salt and pepper and dip it in. Tastes just amazing.

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  16. wonderful recipe and me too tempted to try out soon.Roasted garlic sounds nice.

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  17. I was just looking for a whole wheat Challah bread a few weeks ago. I actually found a frozen one that turned out pretty good but this one looks spectacular. Excellent craftsmanship, I'm bookmarking this recipe right now!

    Hope to see you at the next PBE!

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  18. Wow! thats looks wonderful and fabulous. Nice pic.

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  19. Looks yummy...am tempted to try too :)..

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  20. Looks just perfect.Love garlic n anything!

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  21. oh my word! You have combined my favourite things in one loaf - wow!
    It looks divine

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  22. The bread looks perfectly browned and the braids have come out so well.

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  23. What a wonderful bread Divya. Whoelwheat & garlic...WOW. Roasted garlic makes it even better. Must say your braid looks so well behaved...very nice indeed. Thanks for the entry to Ruth's 'Bookmarked Event' whcih I am hosting this week. Take care, cheers Deeba

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  24. GReat Divya, very tempting and delicious. I am still poor in baking. two time tried a simple cake and every time it dint come out fluffy. mera to dil he toot gaya hai baking ke nam pe :(.

    Great going :)

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  25. Challah looks perfect Divya and the flavour of roasted garlic must've been just awesome.

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  26. i love challah bread. this looks so good. with some dipping oil, ummmmmmmmm. nice recipe.

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  27. wow...that looks out of the world...

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  28. It's browned so well..and the braided neatly....

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  29. Wonderful looking challah bread...

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  30. wow Challah bread is worth bookmarking....looks really inviting.
    Thanks for sharing

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  31. Hi!
    Thats a very delicious recipe!!!!looking lovely!!!!easy to try too!

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  32. You've been cooking up a storm, girl! All yummy and nice!

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  33. This looks very good. I've made challah before but never without the eggs. Have got the flax seeds and tried them out today. They work!
    Thanks for sending it to WBB. I'm missing quite a few mails. Ijust realised you have send me some entries but I haven't got them. Could you please rese3nd the mails with the WBB details? Thanks.

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I will try to respond to queries as soon as I can. If I miss anything that needs to be addressed... please feel free to ping me again.
Happy cooking/baking or whatever it is you are doing in the kitchen! :)