I am a little confused by your description of the state of the bread dough. Was letting it rise for 90 minutes different form the norm anyway?

I would just put it in the fridge now until after the appointment and maybe until the morning. Putting it in the fridge now means it will rise slow while you are gone. An overnight rise in the fridge would be fine if you want to bake tomorrow. Actually the flavor is often improved with a slow rise.

You can also put it ion the fridge now, take it out after you are home, allow to rise and then proceed with shaping etc.

-Robin

Sounds like the 5 minute Artisan? Not an expert here but I don't think it would hurt to refrigerate it and take it out when you are ready to form challah. I would keep it there as long as you origianlly planned and then take it out with enough time to come to room temp and shape your dough and proceed as planned. I don't think it hurts most doughs to slow proofing in fridge for a time. I wouldn't worry about it.

Oh, thank you, Robin. Your last suggestion sounds perfect.

The norm is: rise 90 min, punch down, wait 10 min., then shape, then rise either (1) 45 more min. (or til doubled) OR (2) up to 2 days in fridge, then bake. I was planning on the latter, because I don't want to bake until Friday a.m.

So now it has risen for 30 min. I will put it in the fridge, then after dinner take it out and let it rise ... how long? 60 min., or a little more to let it warm a bit first?

Then into the fridge until Friday.

Sound okay?

I will check this thread when I get home and see how long to let it rise this evening.

Thank you SO much for coming to my rescue. I have finally hit on what we consider our perfect challa recipe, but I'm still an inexperienced baker.

I am sure it will need longer then 60 minutes as it will need to warm up to really start to rise. However once i left a dough to rise in the fridge slower and it went really fast, never had to warm up as it rose the full amount while slow. So check the dough and shape it when it has risen like usually before shaping.

When you have time will you please share the recipe? I made an average challah a while back and would love the perfect one. Mmmm, challah french toast.

-Robin

Bread will rise at it's own rate....NOT by the clock! The rate and the time that should be allowed is variable to the max....
No one can say how long it will take, If i tell you 2 hours, your kitchem night be cooler than mine, or your yeast slightly less active or all manner of other variables.
Let it rise until it is doubled in volume...if that happens in 60 minutes (which it won't!) so be it...but more likely it will take 3 to 4 hours.Properly risen bread should not "pop back" when you poke it with a finger....it should stay "poked".
Never make bread by the clock. That practise accounts for many many of the people who post here..."what happened to my bread? it was fine the last 2 times I made it and now it's heavy and dense?"
Simple...you let it rise by the clock, not by the bread.
Remember, yeast dough is like a little old man. Keep it warm, free from draughs, feed it a little sugar to get it started in the morning, and nothing you can do will hurry it along.
Linda C

Here you go, Robin:

Gellchom's Favorite Challah - a very rich and sweet type

Adapted from The World of Jewish Cooking, by Gil Marks
Makes 1 very large, 2 large (what I usually make), or 3 medium loaves

2 pkg. active dry yeast "or 1 1-oz. cake fresh yeast>
2 c. warm water (105-110 for dry yeast, 80-85° for fresh), divided
¾ c honey
4 large eggs
½ c vegetable oil
1 T regular salt or 5 t kosher salt
about 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (may need more)
1 egg beaten with 1 T water (I usually forget the water!)
sesame or poppy seeds (we like sesame)

Dissolve the yeast in ½ c. of the water in mixer bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of the honey and let stand until foamy, 5-10 min.

Add the remaining water, the remaining honey, eggs, oil, salt, and 3 cups of the flour. Using dough hook at speed 2, stir in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until it holds together. Then let the machine knead it at speed 2 for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Place in a well-greased bowl (the dough is very sticky), turning to coat, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature (I sometimes use a slightly warm oven) until double in bulk, around 90 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight.

Punch down the dough and let it rest 10 minutes. Shape into braids (see below), crowns, or whatever shape you want. Have plenty of flour handy; the dough is very sticky and gooey. It sometimes helps to sprinkle a little flour on top as you go. (At this point, after shaping, you can freeze the loaves. When ready to use, thaw 6 hours covered on a baking sheet to let it rise.)

Place the shaped loaves on a greased baking sheet with a little corn meal sprinkled on it, or in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise at room temperature or in warm oven until double in bulk, around 45 minutes, or in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Put rack in center of oven and heat to 350°.

Brush challah with egg wash (donÂt drip on the baking sheet, or youÂll have a real mess) and sprinkle with seeds, if desired. If you dip your finger in the egg and make slight indentations, the seeds stick better. Bake until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped; about 35 minutes for medium challahs or large ones with just slightly underbaked centers (as we like them), about 45 minutes for large ones. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

NOTE: Sometimes, the dough doesn't look like it is rising much, but when I bake it, it rose more in the oven. It always seems to come out fine, even though it sometimes behaves different before baking. If you find the dough too hard to work with, or you don't want it quite as sweet and rich as we like it, use 3 eggs and 1/2 c honey, and don't underbake.

To braid: separate dough into 3 or 4 strands. Pinch together one end and tuck under. With 3 strands (which is what I do), braid like hair, loosely, then pinch together ends and tuck under. 4 strands looks really pretty, but it is hard to describe without a drawing! Basically, bring outside strands in and cross inward over 2 at a time. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Jewishrecipes.org has instructions.

Finally, for it to be "official" challah, after kneading but before shaping, you need to take a pinch of the dough the size of an olive and burn it. But I usually forget.

Shabbat shalom!

thanks!! Yum. So how did yours turn out?

-R

It turned out fine, thanks. Thank you to all who gave me advice -- and confidence.

We demand pictures. And a piece of challah. With schmaltz. And a little herring. Now I'm hungry!

lol, jessyf!

Well, it's almost gone now, so there isn't much to photograph, but I'll try to remember when I bake the other loaf in the freezer.

My challot aren't much to look at, though. I think it's because the dough is very soft, because of the large quantity of eggs and honey that I like for the extra-rich dough, so it doesn't hold the braid shape so well. I often have to sort of smoosh it back into shape a bit after the second rising if it spreads. Fortunately, it cooperates.

I mean, they look pretty, and you can still see that it was braided, but the overall shape is almost all smoothed out, not like a challa-shaped long knot. It doesn't look as fancy, I suppose, but a bonus is that it's easier to slice leftovers -- if there are any.