Peanut butter bread

For the past year  I have been teaching Russian at the Global Language Network, a DC-based NGO that offers free language courses taught by native language speakers. GLN helped me to understand what a rewarding job teaching is as well as meet wonderful people interested in Russian language and culture. Last semester, my class presented me with a book by Jim Lahey, owner of the Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC and founder of no-knead bread technique. While many food writers and bloggers, including Mark Bittman and Jaden Hair, celebrate the classic no-knead loaf, they overlook other recipes from My Bread. Today, I want to share the share a recipe for ultimate breakfast/snack/dessert  bread that turns American classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich into a rustic, rich, and sweet loaf.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread 

1 large (about 60 grams) egg, beaten 

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp (280 grams) bread flour            

2 Tbsp (20 grams) whole wheat flour                  

3/4 Tsp (4 grams) kosher salt    

1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant or other active dry yeast
1 cup  plus 2 tablespoons (260 grams) cool (55 to 65 degrees F) water 
3 tablespoons (50 grams) unsalted smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup (35 grams) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, whole
1/4  (35 grams) unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

1/3 cup (100 grams) seedless fruit jam of choice 

nonstick cooking spray 

additional flour for dusting 

Reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg for glazing the bread. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, yeast, and the remaining egg. Blend the water and peanut butter in a blender until smooth (some settling will occur if this is left to stand, so blend just before using). Add mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough without any lumps, about 30 seconds. Stir in the whole peanuts until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, about 12 hours.

When the first rise is complete, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Lightly flour your hands and gently pat and pull the dough into a rough rectangle about 8 by 12 inches.

Now you're going to make a sort of jelly roll: Position the dough so a long side is in front of you. Spread the jam evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Lift up the far side of the rectangle and fold one third of it over toward the center, then continue rolling up the remainder into a cylinder. With the seam on the bottom, tuck the ends of the roll under to seal them, so the jam doesn't ooze out during baking. 

Lightly coat the loaf pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle half of the chopped peanuts into the bottom of the pan. Gently transfer the dough, seam side down, to the loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining chopped peanuts onto the dough. Cover the dough with a towel and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 hour. The dough is ready when it has doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

About 15 minutes before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 450°F, with a rack in the center.

Brush the top of the dough with the reserved beaten egg. Bake until golden, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the peanuts start to darken, loosely cover the loaf with foil. Use pot holders to invert the pan onto a rack, remove the pan, and turn the bread right side up to cool thoroughly. (Don't dawdle--the bread will get soggy if it cools in the pan.

Boozy challah bread pudding

weekly menu notes

There are two issues with challah that despite all of my attempts I could not resolve for a while. The recipe yields 2 large bread loafs and despite the fact that I always give some of it away, I still end up with at least ½ extra loaf. Challah also does not age or freeze well. The bread dries out just in couple days and becomes too chewy when frozen.

Today morning, when flipping through an old issue of Food&Wine, I spotted a recipe for a rhubarb bread pudding… then I lifted my gaze and say half a loaf of stale challah. My mind and stomach started working. First, there are very few fruits still available at the market. Apples would be great, but I am a bit tired from apple desserts after the holiday season, so I went with the second option- pears. Then, my craving for chocolate and a hint of sweet tanginess, in this case golden raisins, kicked in. Brandy came last to adding depth and woodiness to this rich dessert that solve this issue of stale challah.

Boozy bread pudding 12 cups 1 inch cubes of stale challah, crust removed

¼ cup brandy

¼ cup golden raisins
½ cup agave
3 large eggs
2.5 cups half&half
pinch of salt
½ cup shaved unsweetened dark chocolate
2 thinly sliced bosc pears
¼ cup sugar


Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Set aside a cake pan that fits into a larger skillet for the water bath.
Arrange challah cubes in one layer and bake for 10-12 minutes until the bread is slightly toasted. Move the bread into a large bowl. Keep the oven on.
Run raisins under hot water until soft. Place raisins a small bowl with brandy.
Whisk agave, eggs, half&half, salt, chocolate, and raisins. Gently fold in the mixture making sure all pieces of bread are covered . Soak for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the skillet over moderate heat. Sprinkle sugar on the skillet and add pears. Caramelize pears for 2-3 minutes on each side. Pour brandy from soaked raisins over the pears and cook until brandy is completely evaporated. Turn off the heat.

Move pears to the cake pan arranging them in a single payer.

Instead of trying to scrape of the caramel from the bottom of the skillet, fill up the pan half-way with water.

Spoon the bread mixture and any remaining liquid over the pears. Place the cake pan into the skilled filled with water. Bake for 1 hour.

Remove the cake pan from the water

 bath and place on a wire rack to cool.

*if you want to get the tart-like design as shown below, line the pears evenly on the bottom of the cake pan. When the pudding is cool, run a spatula around the edge of the pan and invert the pudding carefully.

Challah – challah - challah

In the early 90s back in Kazakhstan, we lived across the hallway from a Jewish grandmother, who I adored for her kindness and … her amazing challah. Every time I smelled sweet, fluffy, buttery odor of freshly baked challah, I found an excuse to stop by the neighbor’s apartment. Many years passed since then, we changed half a dozen apartments, and I moved overseas, but the weakness for challah remained.

About a year ago, I spotted a loaf of challah at the Firehook bakery, DC native bread producer. The $8 loaf looked like a yellow painted brick of dough (result of yellow food coloring often added by commercial bakers for a rich look). While the Firehook challah did not make my mouth water, it pushed me to pursue a recipe that resembled the challah of my childhood. 

It took 20+ loafs and about a year of research to find a perfect challah in the recipe book of my friend’s mother. Elliot and his brothers assembled the recipe book in memory of their mother. The book contains over eighty Jewish, Asian, Moroccan, and American recipes dated  back to 1966.  I am honored to own a copy of the book and share this recipe with you.

 Challah

1 Tbsp dry yeast

¼ cup lukewarm warm

1 cup boiling water

2 tsp honey

1 tsp kosher salt

2 Tbsp mild oil (nut oil or sunflower oil)

4 ¼ cups white flour (1/4 more for kneading)

3 eggs (instead of yellow food coloring (yaks), I use fresh farm eggs that have deep golden yolks as result of the grass-based diet of chickens)

Dissolve dry yeast in the lukewarm water.

Dissolve honey, salt, and oil in the boiling water. Cool the mixture until it is lukewarm.

Sift flour in a large bowl. Make an indention in the center, with a wooden spoon mix-in 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk, water and yeast mixture. If the dough does not come together into a ball after 3 minutes of mixing, add a bit more flour. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and soft adding flour to prevent sticking.

Transfer the dough into a large bowl lightly oiled with a vegetable or nut oil. Turn the dough around to cover it evenly with oil. Close the bowl with a plastic wrap or a lid and let the dough rise in a draft free place (72-75F) for 1 hour or until the dough doubles.

Remove the dough into a lightly floured surface. Depending on the design of challah, divide the dough into 1, 4, or 6 pieces. Different braiding techniques are demonstrated in these videos:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11B8leqk0RY
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_guFQR-6dw4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA2mG2neGIc

Braid challah directly on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Let the loaf rise in a draft free place (72-75F) for 45 minutes until the dough puffs and doubles.

15 minutes before the end of the second rise, pre-heat the oven to 375F. Mix reserved egg white with 1Tbsp of cool water. Brush challah with the egg wash and bake on a middle rack for 45 minutes or until a firm golden crust forms.

Cool on a wire rack until the bread is completely cool (otherwise challah will “sink” and lose it’s airiness)

½ cup of raisins (optional) if you wish to add raisins, soak raisins in a hot water for 5 minutes and roll in a little bit of flour. Mix-in raisins before the first rise.

2 Tbsp poppy or sesame seeds(optional) sprinkle challah with seeds after applying the egg wash.