Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hi,

I was watching a movie called "Deli Man" the other night on Amazon. It's a documentary about the history of delis in the US. It's a fascinating movie with a cure love story to boot.

Towards the end they showed a man braiding a three-strand challah in a way I've never seen before and it produced a beautiful loaf.

He rolls out three strands then stretches them so they are very small in the middle.

Then he starts braiding and twisting from the middle but it's not the standard outside over the middle.

The end result is a braid that has some height and is compact. It tapers at each end. I've seen loaves like it but never seen anyone make them before. And the local bakeries don't make their loaves this way (I worked for one and I can tell from the way they look that other they do not braid them this way).

Anyone know what I am talking about? Anyone have any tips on how I can learn this? I am trying to find someone who makes challah this way to teach me but most places here do not make their own challah and the ones that do don't make this kind of loaf.

I'll look for pictures to post if that helps.

Thanks

Spread the word

      

  

  

[Mike Nolan]

I may have to watch that movie to see the braid, it sounds interesting anyway, we used to live near one of the best deli's in Chicago, and they had something like 20 kinds of lox!

When I was going to New York on a regular basis (for work), I'd visit places like the Carnegie Deli (which I think has now closed), the Roxy (near Times Square) and of course Katz's, the deli made famous in "When Harry Met Sally". But some of the best deli's were the little neighborhood places.

Followup: Amazon Prime says it's not available at the moment, looks like a bandwidth issue! I'll try again later tonight.

[Italiancook]

Aaron, my granddaughter learns a lot of baking methods by watching YouTube. She's found quite a lot of advanced material there. They might have a video of what you want to learn.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks IC. I tried YouTube and have not found it yet. That doesn't mean it's not there, just that I have not found it.

[RiversideLen]

I looked on Youtube for it too but couldn't find that particular method. I watched Deli Man last night, I enjoyed it.

I've learned a lot of stuff on Youtube. Last year I was able to fix my refrigerator from watching a Youtube video, it even gave a link to where I could get the parts.

[Mike Nolan]

I googled the topic as well, the 3-strand braiding topics I found all seemed to use the standard braiding method. I haven't had a chance to watch the movie yet.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Whole Foods makes there challah a couple hours from me. I may head up there to see if they will show me unless I can find a place that does it closer.

[Mike Nolan]

OK, I've watched the braiding sequence 3 times now (about 1:30:00 into the movie), it isn't really a 3 strand braid, it's a 6 strand braid starting with 3 strands that are rolled thin in the center and joined together to form one end of the loaf.

The real secret is the dough, dough like that is always the secret.

I've got 6 pieces of macrame yarn (in 6 different colors) that I use for practice braiding, I think with a bit of study and practice I might be able to do that braid. (Watching the baker do that braid was like watching a surgeon or a symphony conductor at work.)

And after watching Deli Man, boy do I want a good corned beef or pastrami sandwich! The nearest good deli is probably 400 miles away, though.

[BakerAunt]

I don't know if it would be of any help, but there are instructions and illustrations on braiding a six strand loaf in Secrets of a Jewish Baker by George Greenstein.

[Mike Nolan]

That's one of those books that I don't own yet. There are lots of places to see 6 strand braids, there appear to be several variants.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks BA. I don't have that. I have several books, one even dedicated to challah. I think I'll just have to keep watching the movie on Amazon until I figure it out.

[Mike Nolan]

I have 'Secrets of a Jewish Baker' on order now, should be here early next week.

Does Amazon Prime have a way to slow the video down for that scene? That's not something I've tried to do yet.

Do we have any members in Houston? That's where the bakery/deli featured in the documentary is located, I wonder if they'd be willing to explain that braiding technique to someone who came in and asked?

[Mike Nolan]

The 2nd method of doing a six strand braid on this site looks promising:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-braid-challah-6-strand-method/?ALLSTEPS

[BakerAunt]

Mrs. Cindy lives in Houston, but she has not been able to be active on this site, and her health issues probably would keep her from being able to visit that bakery/deli.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks everyone. I thought I had a line on it from a site called thekitchn.com but it's not there. Still they have some interesting recipes and techniques.

I was in New York yesterday with 10 minutes before my train and did a quick run through Grand Central station. The three bakeries I saw all appeared to have the six strand braid but there is something they do that give them more variety in height than I can get.

I'll try and contact the deli in Houston. I may also see if I can spend a week with a bakery in New York or Boston learning how they do it.

I have some challah defrosting and I'll try a six strand braid sometime this weekend (even though it should be for tonight).

Thanks again

[Author]

Posts