Day 43 (fun)

I spoke with an employment counselor from Nefesh B'Nefesh this morning. Her advice isn't applicable just yet, but it's good for when I look for a job off of the kibbutz. One job search at a time, though.

After that was the day's real excitement: I made challah. Last Motzei Shabbos, the Husbinator found a tiny little oven. On Sunday, he found a shelf that fit inside (after he folded it, anyway), and we've been playing with it this week. Because, well, see the photos at the bottom of the entry. That's why.

After 3 pans of challah (2 small loaves and some little rolls), I felt comfortable enough with the oven to make Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake. Yum yum yum yum yum.

It's nice to be cooking for Shabbos again. Next time, I'll 1/8 the challah recipe (2c flour) instead of 1/4-ing it (4c flour) as I did this time. I don't have a freezer worth speaking of. And that's fine: less is more, ladies and gentlemen.

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Challah - Double Recipe Me as adapted from Ema as adapted from Zayda (Abba's father)

1½ C warm water

1 T + 1 t sugar

¼ C flour

6 T yeast powder

3 C hot water

¼ C kosher salt

1½ C sugar

1 C corn oil

8 eggs (OR 6 whole eggs + 4 egg whites, reserving yolks for glaze OR 4 yolks + 6 whole eggs)

5 lbs.(=16c) flour and a bit more as needed so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands

24 oz. raisins, optional OR chocolate chips OR spices

Combine warm water, sugar, flour, and yeast in tall jar.  Mix and put in warm place for 10 minutes.  In large mixer bowl combine hot water, salt, sugar, raisins, and oil.  Stir to dissolve solids.  In separate bowl, lightly mix eggs, then pour gently into yeast mixture.  Pour eggs and yeast mixture into the mixer and stir.  Add the flour in 2 – 3 batches and mix until dough is not too sticky.  Grease large bowl and drop in dough.  Cover with towel and place in warm spot for 45 minutes (the dough should double in size). Knead dough and put back to rise for another 45 minutes.  Take Challah with a bracha (assuming you’ve made a full recipe). [At this point, you can freeze the dough for later use, though you need to use it within a month or so, or else the yeast in the dough will die. Bag the dough in 1 qt. bags and put in freezer. When you’re ready for the dough, either defrost in the fridge for a night or on the counter for a few hours. Continue as usual.] Shape challah and place on greased cookie sheets. Variation: before rolling each strand, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into something like a rectangle. Sprinkle liberally with chocolate chips OR garlic/onion/chili power and roll up into a log. Pinch the dough together along the seam, then shape as usual.  Allow loaves to rise for about 10 minutes.  Paint challah with egg yolks.  Bake at 325° for 13 minutes then rotate pans and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The challot are done when they sound hollow if you tap the bottom, and/or don't feel doughy when you poke where the strands meet. Allow to cool completely on cooling racks. Wrap well.

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HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING (recipe follows)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

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The oven. Note that the dial in the left corner is a thermometer, not a thermostat.