I'd never made challah before test-baking for ITJB, and just loved the beauty and ease of it. I chose this bread for this week because our traditional Christmas Eve dinner is clam chowder with homemade bread (usually Swedish limpa). This year I'm going to substitute this challah for the limpa -- different culture, equally festive. I'm especially looking forward to the variety of braids we come up with -- I tested the six-strand bakery braid in the book and it's a stunner and not as hard as it appears. Looking forward to seeing (and yes, finally, posting) some great pictures this week!

On our last visit to my parents in Germany I chatted with my sister-in-law who lives in Switzerland - about bread.

She tried to make the Zopf many families enjoy in Switzerland on Sundays, but she couldn't reproduce the flaky texture which is so typical.

After a bit of research I found a recipe on www.schweizerbrot.ch which worked very well for me, and this Zopf has become quite popular with friends and family.

It is essentially like a Challah without sugar and goes well with all sorts of sweet toppings, as well as cheeses.

As flour you can get a special Zopfmehl in Switzerland, which usually is a blend of white spelt (10% to 30%) with plain white flour.

I used 20% spelt.

Here the formula:

Mix ingredients without butter first, and work until gluten is somewhat developed.

Add butter and work the dough until it is elastic, smooth and makes a nice windowpane test.

Let double in size (this took about 1 hour at 23C), fold and let rest for another 30 minutes.

Divide and shape into a braid (I usually make 2 braids from this amount of dough, the recipe source suggests one big 2-strand braid)

Put ther braid(s) onto baking perchament, apply eggwash, let rest for another 15-30 minutes, egg-wash again.

Bake on lower shelf in pre-heated oven at 200C for about 50 minutes (depending on size, my half-size braids need about 45 min).

Part of the bread got eaten before I could take a photo, here is part of the remains (Iwill post a better picture when available):

The crumb is flaky as it should be when you tear the bread:

Enjoy,

Juergen

Oh do I have fond memories of nisu. My Grandmother ALWAYS had some at her place. When I was young I would have it with maito(milk) and now with coffee. You can dry slices of it in the oven sprinkled with cinnamon sugar which we call korppu. You can eat the korrpu either dipped in coffee or soaked in a bowl of hot milk as a delicious breakfast or night-time snack.

Nisu is a somewhat dense sweet bread flavoured with cardamom seed. I remember as a child going into my basement with my visiting grandmother to look for a hammer to smash a small handful of cardamom seeds wrapped in a clean tea towel. 

Here's her recipe:

10 or so cardamom seeds (smashed)*

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 1/3 cup milk (scalded then cooled till warm)**

3 eggs (beaten)

3 T butter ***

5 or so cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 t salt

2 t yeast

Glaze

1 egg (beaten)

1 t water

* Cardamom is like any spice, if looses potency as it ages. Therefore if you know you have good fresh cardamom, use a bit less, if it's getting old, use a bit more. My Grandmother never fussed, she'd dump some in her hand and say "that's about right." I specifically say "smashed" and not ground. If you grind it in a coffee/spice grinder, take it easy. You'd be rewarded if you used a pestle and mortar and ground it rough.

** To scald your mild heat it in a sauce pan over high heat till you see bubble/froth developing around the edge, then remove. Stir continuously so you don't burn the bottom.

*** Please, use real butter. Not margarine.

Method

- Scald mild and allow to cool to warm.

- Warm mixing bowl with hot tap water. Add warm water and yeast to bowl. Wait till yeast becomes active (about 5 min).

- Add sugar, cardamom, salt and warm scalded milk. Stir to dissolve sugar.

- Add eggs.

- Now add 1 to 2 cups of the flour to form a batter. Beat until dough looks smooth and glossy.

- Cover with clean tea towel and wait 15 min.

- Now add butter and beat again to incorporate.

- Stir in remaining flour till a semi stiff dough forms. Dough should be slightly sticky at this point and still stick to your hands.

- Knead dough with small amounts of flour added to your hands and board until it no longer sticks to your hands.

- Knead until smooth and elastic.

- Allow to rise in a greased bowl till double in volume. Approximately 1 hour.

- Punch down removing any air bubbles and allow to rise again until almost doubled. Approximately 30 minutes.

- Turn out onto counter and divide in two, then divide each two into three equal sized pieces.

- Roll each piece out to about 16 to 24 inches. Braid the 3 pieces together and tuck the ends under. Repeat for other loaf.

- Gently lift each loaf onto a parchmin covered baking sheet, or a greased baking sheet. Should you use the greased sheet do not use butter as it has a tendency to burn at high temps.

- Allow to rise till almost double. About 30 minutes.

- Brush each loaf with the glaze and sprinkle with sugar.

Baking

Preheat oven to 450 and move rack to middle of oven.

When loaves go in turn oven to 400, bake 15 minutes.

Turn oven to 350, bake 15 more minutes.

Turkey Loaf of Bread:  Made this for Thanksgiving this year...put cinnamon on the feathers and then cut into them with a scissors.

Alligator Loaf of Bread:  Used cloves for the eyes, this was my first sculpture.

Braided Egg Bread:  My first try at braiding...didn't turn out too bad.

Got any other scultpture ideas or pictures, let me know!  I'm open to anything!

Greetings, bakers!

It's been a pretty good week in Portland. After months of being out of work, I have two jobs, seem to be on track for a third and I'm pretty sure at least one of those will continue post-Christmas. I know it's just seasonal work, but I'm really feeling like this Portland experiment has just taken a decided turn for the better. To celebrate, I decided to do a sweet bread this week. Thumbing through the Point of Departure, the bread book I've been baking my way through, I came across a recipe for a Cardamom Braid. That fit the sweet bread criteria and seemed appropriate for the seasonal nature of the new job. My brother married a woman who is half Swedish and cardamom braid is mandatory at their Christmas morning celebrations. She won't open a present until the braid is sliced and ready to eat. It's always delicious so I decided to see how close this recipe would be to theirs. Turns out, it's not quite the same. Lydia's version is flatter and sweeter, probably uses a softer dough and more sugar. I also seem to remember a bright yellow color, possibly saffron, that this one doesn't have. And my crust was way browner, partly my fault from letting it bake a few minutes too long, but also inherent in the recipe. Hers is barely golden and very soft, definitely not the crispy crust I got. On the other hand, the taste of my loaf was excellent, slightly sweet with a spicy cardamom flavor. I also liked the moist, chewy texture. I'm thinking next time a lower oven temperature, a slightly softer dough and brushing with something other than milk might get me exactly what I want.

Cardamom Braid from The Better Homes and Gardens Homemade Bread Cook Book

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 to 2 cups all purpose flour (I substituted white whole wheat flour here with excellent results)
• small amounts of milk and sugar for brushing and sprinkling

In a large bowl combine one cup of all-purpose flour, the yeast and the cardamom. In a small saucepan heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt until warm, stirring frequently to melt the butter. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the egg. Beat the mixture well for several minutes. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough. (I used almost all of the two cups but I think I will back that off slightly next time.) Turn out onto a floured surface and knead till smooth, about 5 or 6 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to coat and let rise, covered, until double, about an hour and a half.

When double, punch down and divide in thirds. Let rest while you prepare a pan. I use two nested jelly roll pans lined with parchment paper but you can grease if you prefer. Roll each third into a 16-inch rope and place about one inch apart on prepared pan. Braid loosely, pinching the ends together and tucking them under. Cover and let rise until double, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. (Next time, I'll try it at 325, I think.) Brush with milk and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar. (I plan to look for some decorative sugar for this step.) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. (I got distracted and let it go almost 30 which was too long.) Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

I'm looking forward to making this for Christmas morning with the great-nephews. I think it will be a hit. Any of you Scandahoovians out there want to give me tips for making this perfect?

Love this blog and just wanted to share one of my latest creations.

This beautiful braided bread is made with a rich straight dough, layers of pesto and a generous sprinkle of Sumac. 

I made this bread a couple of months ago.  This bread is tender, rich, nutty, salty (evoo, toasted pine nuts and parmesan) and a little sour (Sumac).  This bread requires moderate braiding skills, time and attention.

I have been baking for quite some time now.  I love bread making.  I will gladly post the recipe if someone will show any interest.  I need to translate the recipe into English.

*******************************************************************************

I hope I did a good job translating.  I will be making this bread again in about two weeks.  I will take notes and improve on my writing if needed.

1 loaf

Set oven to 210c (410F)

Prep:

Baking Pan - 26cm (10") springform (no bottom), take a piece of parchment paper and crimp tightly around the bottom of the springform, oil the sides.  Place on top of a baking sheet.  Set aside.

Pesto - I use evoo, basil, toasted pine nuts, parmesan (consistency should be not too thin and not too thick). Keep refrigerated until needed.

Sumac - for sprinkling

Dough ingredients:

AP Flour 600g (21oz)

Fresh Yeast 28g (1oz)

Sugar 10g (0.35oz)

Salt 10g (0.35oz)

Canola Oil 50cc (1.7 fl oz)

White Vinegar 1 tbls

Water 300cc (10 fl oz) this is approximate

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl, add the water carefully as you start mixing.  Use the

dough hook 2-3 mins. on low speed and 2-3 mins. on medium speed.  Dough should be

supple and not sticky to the touch.  Add water or flour if dough is too stiff or too loose

(respectively).

When dough is ready, spray a bowl with oil and gently put the dough in the bowl.  Spray a

little more oil on top and cover.  Let rise (80%).  My kitchen was at about 22c (72F), 35-45%

humidity and proofing was about 40 minutes.

Lightly flour a work bench or a large table.  Put the dough on top and flatten gently with

your hands.  Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to a very thin circle, as thin as you

can.  When rolling out the dough, try not to lift and move it too much.  You can try and

gently pull the dough to stretch it thin (like bakers do with Strudel dough), this requires some skill.

Apply a thin layer of pesto on top of the dough (leave the edge clear 1/4").  Sprinkle Sumac

generously on top of the layer of pesto.

Slowly, tightly and very gently roll the dough into a roulade (pinwheel ).  You will now have a

very long roulade .  Take a sharp chef's knife (not a serrated knife) and cut (not saw) the

roulade lengthwise trying to keep the knife in the middle so you end up with two equal parts

(you can cut down from the seam but it is not make or break).

Place the two halves crossing each other (open roulade layers facing up) to create and X

shape.  Gently pick up the two ends of the bottom half, cross them over the top half, and

place them back down.  Continue this process, taking the two bottom ends and crossing

them over the top until all the roulade has been used.  You now have a two strand rope

shape.  If for some reason some of the open roulade layers are pointing down or sideways,

carefully turn them so they are facing up.  Gently pinch the ends to seal.

Look at the braid.  If one end looks a little thinner make that your starting point.  If not, just

start from either end.  Slowly and very gently, roll the braid sideways (horizontally) without

lifting your hands from the table.  You should keep those open roulade layers facing up.

Pinch the end delicately.  The end result should look like a giant snail shell or a very large

cinnamon bun.

Lightly sprinkle Sumac on top of the braided loaf.

Carefully pick up the braid and place in the prepared springform.  Keep it flat on the parchment.  The

 bottom of the braid should set nicely.  Cover.

Let rise until the braid hits three quarters the way up the springform.  In my kitchen conditions it

proofed for a little over 30 mins.

Bake at 210c (410F) for 5-10 mins., lower oven to 180c (355F) and bake for another 20-30 mins.

Their should be a decent amount of oven spring.  The bread should rise above the springform edge.

When the bread is out of the oven lightly brush evoo on top and sides.  Let cool on a rack.

I tinkered with my classic King Cake recipe this year, and came up with this Bavarian Cream Cheese King Cake, inspired by the King Cake my friend brought me from New Orleans after the Superbowl.

A while back, Julie J was asking for advice on how best to crush cardamom for her Finnish cardamom buns. As soon as I saw the recipe, I knew I had to try it! And finally, this week, I got the chance.

I'm not sure if this is how the buns are supposed to look. I pretty much guessed about how much of an indentation to make for the butter. And as I was inserting butter into the thumb holes, I completely forgot about sprinkling extra sugar on top as per Julie's instructions. But I did think of using some inferior apricot jam on two of the buns. It turns out that this is a great way to use and improve apricot jam! I decided to make a 3-strand braided loaf as well. And then when I was placing the buns on the tray and worried that they were too close together, I shaped 4 of the rounds into snakes and braided them together into a smallish 4-strand round loaf.

Did I take my advice to use the coffee grinder to crush the cardamom? Ha! That would have been too easy. I used the mortar and pestle. Remind me to use our big sharp knife next time. The mortar and pestle is way too labour intensive and leaves rather large chunks of cardamom behind. Or perhaps I will follow my own Fresh Loaf advice to use our coffee spice grinder. Luckily, large chunks of cardamom taste good and are soft enough that we aren’t risking getting broken teeth... and the crumb is beautifully soft and moist. Absolutely delicious with or without extra butter! (The extra butter is really unnecessary! But oh so good!)

• Julie J's Finnish Mother Inlaw's recipe
• my take on Finnish Cardamom Bread recipe

-Elizabeth

edit: link to JulieJ's pulla recipe fixed.

For those who might be interested, I've detailed my baking of Scali here:

http://www.breadcetera.com/?p=164

SteveB

Adapted from http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2008/01/13/challah/ (I used half KA whole wheat flour and half KA bread flour)