Esther by Charles Filoni
If you are like me, with one of the beautiful Jewish Family Congregation calendars next to your other calendar(s) on your kitchen wall, you have like I did, received the “Purim invitation” if you didn’t forget to turn to the February pages.
Yes, Purim is around the corner, remind you February is a short month, and even though the persistent freezing weather is making it feel like it is endless, soon enough the joyous holiday is going to be upon us.
I will probably have many occasions to blog about Purim, so bear with me! But already, I wanted to remind you to mark your calendars for Sunday February 28, as JFC will be bustling with excitement nearly all day long, with the Purim Carnival first which this year will feature an exceptional attraction – the giant caterpillar - that no child wants to miss!
The Carnival will be open from noon to 2:00 pm – and students in attendance for Religious School that morning will have their start at 11:00 am already. The bnai-mitzvah class of 2010 is getting ready to prepare the fun, so I might know more soon enough.
Also Purim service will be held at JFC at 6:30 pm that same Sunday February 28. It is a mitzvah (a commandment) to hear the meguilah (reading of the scroll of Esther), and to make noise to cover the cursed name of the wicked Haman (I am curious to know if we we have found where our groggers went, because if you recall well, last year, they had gone missing!). Another Purim tradition, that we have faithfully kept, is to hold a purimshpiel, so don’t miss the show that night, and come listen to My Fair Maidel!
But in the meantime, there will be lots to rejoice in anticipation about. Do you like baking? It’s certainly time to start thinking about, and come share your hamentashen recipes!
I was talking about the challah the other day, and here is a delicious recipe of a Purim Chocolate Chip Challah:
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Purim Chocolate Chip Challah
So simple, so unique, so obvious and so good! Add some cocoa for a chocolate challah or leave it out. The vanilla is optional – the bread is excellent in its pure form or with a touch of vanilla in the dough.
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract,
optional
3 tablespoons cocoa,
(for chocolate dough)
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
6-8 cups bread flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Egg wash and garnish
1 egg, whisked
Sugar for dusting top of bread
Generously spray one 5 by 12 inch loaf pan or two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. You may also bake one or two freeform challah twists on a baking sheet.
In a large mixing bowl, briskly whisk together the water and yeast. Let stand to allow yeast to dissolve about 2 minutes. Add in two cups of the flour, and then briskly stir in the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, cocoa (if you are using it) and salt and most of the remaining flour. Mix, then knead on slowest speed of mixer to form a smooth but resilient dough (a soft but elastic bread dough). Add additional flour and knead – 8-10 minutes.
Let dough rest 15 minutes and then press out on a lightly floured work surface. Press the chocolate chips into the dough, with fingers or a rolling pin, folding over dough to cover the chips.
Let dough rest 10 minutes and then form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl and place this in a plastic bag and seal loosely. Let rise until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide in 6 (for two medium breads) or in three (for one large bread).
Form each portion into a rope and braid three together to make a large braided bread.
Alternatively, you can form three balls of dough and place each beside each other in the prepared bread pans.
Whisk egg wash ingredients together. Brush on egg wash as thoroughly and generously as possible. As dough rises, you will have to reapply.
Place loaf pan(s) inside a large plastic bag to rise. Let rise until doubled or dough is puffy and has almost reached just above the top of the pan – 45 to 90 minutes. Brush tops again with egg wash and dust with sugar.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place bread (s) in oven.
Bake 40-45 minutes until well browned. If top of bread starts browning too quickly (and bread interior is not done), cover lightly with a sheet of foil to protect top crust.
Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a rack.
Makes one large or two smaller loaves.
Serve with butter or honey or sweetened cream cheese (flavored with orange and cinnamon would be especially nice). |
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This recipe is reprinted with permission by Marcy Goldman, author of The 10th Anniversary Edition of A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking, Whitecap Books, 2009.
She is also the host and editor of www.BetterBaking.com and creates Kosher Cuisine with www.Clabbergirl.com.
In honor of Purim, Ms. Goldman has offered 3 free BetterBaking memberships! Send me your email address, and you will receive access to the recipe archives for you to browse. Don’t miss the offer!
What is gratitude? It is a way of looking at things: if you don’t know what it is to be homeless, remember to be grateful to have a roof, to know where you will sleep, even if the home isn’t spotless and tidy. If you don’t know what it is to be bedridden, be grateful for being able to take a walk outside even if it is windy and people are grumpy on the road. And if you are too sick to go outside, remember that you can enjoy the beauty laying outside your windows, and notice the little details that make life tell you the seasons.
If you cut open a pomegranate, you’ll find hundreds of juice sacs, in the shape of a nearly perfect star. In many cultures, the fruit symbolizes fertility and abundance, Jewish tradition included.
It’s been quite a moment since I published a blogpost and I feel like this is really not right when so many things around me are in the spirit of the coming holiday. I know that we are always longing for this feeling, when Spring arrives and it is not early in our East coast State of NY! The trees are still too bare, the wind is still too chilly, the threat of yet another storm, rain or snow is still upon us (I remember some strange snow on an improbable April 7th or 8th when the previous day everyone was sunbathing and rejoicing at 63°F!!).
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