May 18, 2014 - 4:12am
Stuck on a sourdough challah quest
Not sure sourdough challah will ever be as light and tasty as my foolproof commercial yeast recipe. Bread-#46 has been tried three times, once to decent, though mediocre results. My starter has given rise to many a bread, but no wonderful challahs thus far.
Suggestions welcome.
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I have had good results with sourdough challah, even making a 100% whole wheat sourdough challah that was light as can be. As for the recipe from your blog, I would at least double the amount of pre-ferment, even going up to 50% of total flour, and up it's hydration percentage a bit. After the pre-ferment is good and bubbly, put it in the fridge to proof overnight. Finally, once you've mixed the final dough, extend the initial rising times as much as possible (3-4 hours) and adjust the final rising as needed. Overall, I think adjusting the hydration of and amount of pre-ferment are your keys to a great loaf.
I have recently been thinking about this too! I'm going to try this recipe tomorrow I think: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14803/sourdough-challah-quota-blessing-breadquot
I've converted some of my starter to firm for this recipe and it's looking pretty happy. I can post about results in couple of days.