The Fresh Loaf

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Crunchy Bits in my Challah

sustainthebaker's picture
sustainthebaker

Crunchy Bits in my Challah

I recently made a loaf of Challah for my family. It was my first Challah and it came out with great flavor. It was a six-braided loaf which I did not let proof long enough, which lead to a bit more oven spring than you'd want from a Challah. The texture was light and fluffy, with a bit of creaminess to it. However, at the end of most bites there would be a gritty crunch to the bread. Any ideas?

I have two thoughts:

1.  I used honey, which had crsyallized. I did however, warm the honey back up to a liquid state before adding to the dough.

2. I also made Sourdough Rye and I had a bowl of flour set aside for dusting. And some rye flour may have mixed into the bread flour. Thus may have found it's way onto the the strands as I rolled them out.

Any ideas on this texture?

 

Thank you.

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Hi, STB,

If any rye flour happened to float over into your Challah dough, it would have been absorbed by the water in the dough.  Rye flour isn't crunchy.

I am guessing that the crunch you taste is crystallized honey that didn't quite make it back into a pure liquid state, or possibly hardened up again when it hit the cooler dough.

BTW, I think if you had posted this in one of the regular forums, it would have been seen earlier.  Not sure if you are aware it is in the "advanced topics" section.

Sounds like it was a nice Challah.

sustainthebaker's picture
sustainthebaker

Hey,

I wasnt sure where the best place to post this was. I am leading towards the honey. I will make the dough again when I return from holiday travels, without the honey. Thank you for your thoughts.