Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

People are weird.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Books are my comfort food!

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

He really is that stupid.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

We will not go back.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Food / A Late Evening Snack: Happy Jew Year

A Late Evening Snack: Happy Jew Year

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On Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur (the head of the year and the day of atonement respectively) challah is round, not the standard braided loaf. For those who aren’t carb adventurous, challah is the traditional Jewish egg bread served on the Sabbath. For the religious new year and day of atonement round challah is served to symbolize the circle of life from one year to the next.

This year I decided that I’d do something nice for my Mom for the holiday. So I made her a Rosh HaShana challah from scratch. I used LGF’s Vicious Babushka’s recipe for honey saffron challah, which you can find here. Braiding instructions for a round challah can be viewed here.

It was very easy to follow, everything went smoothly in the prep, and it baked up beautifully. It tasted as good as it looked. One note: I made what are called 3 lbs loaves. So basically my yield from the recipe were two very large loaves of round challah. I’ll be making two more at the end of this week ahead of Yom Kippur a week from tonight. Pics below in order of preparation.

Everything coming together in the mixer:

After rising and waiting for braiding.

Braided and waiting to be made into a round. Or, if you’re prepping for a highland games or Celtic festival, just bake it like this for a Judeo-Celtic Cross. Very ecumenical…

Final proofing:

Proofed and egg washed:

Fresh out of the oven and cooling:

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

83Comments

  17. 17.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I am not immense on the the Jewish High Holidays, but wasn’t one last week and the other beginning next Friday?

  18. 18.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: Rosh HaShana was from Wednesday sundown through last night at sundown. Yom Kippur starts a week from tonight at sundown and runs through just after sundown a week from tomorrow.

  21. 21.

    Jeffro

    I probably should know more about the world’s great religions…seriously, anything beyond Christmas and Easter and I’m lost, and that’s just sad.

    Plus, apparently there might be things like this amazing bread involved. So there’s that, which is no small thing at all. New Year’s resolutions, you’re starting early this year!

    Happy Yom Kippur to all celebrants!

  22. 22.

    Felonius Monk

    Nothing better for french toast than challah.

    ETA: My KitchenAid stand mixer is bright yellow. No bloody red for me. And I’ve got the sausage making attachment. ‘Cause nothing goes better with Challah french toast than home made sausage.

  24. 24.

    TaMara (BHF)

    Yes, but did you wear the frilly apron? Looks delish. I see in the previous thread we’re looking for a Colorado meet up…and no one thought to mention me? Leave town for a week and everyone forgets you. I’ll post a meet up invite when I get back and we’ll see if we can’t give CAIN a big welcome.

  26. 26.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jeffro: Yom Kippur is a 26 hour, or so, complete fast. No food or water. Happy is not usually the appropriate term. For Rosh HaShana it is usually L’Shana Tova, meaning to a good year. For Yom Kippur it is “have an easy fast”.

  27. 27.

    Betty Cracker

    That looks fantastic!

    My husband is the baker in the family, and he’s making rye bread tomorrow.

    PS: Dotard J. Trump sounds even more off his rocker than usual tonight. He tweeted this less than an hour ago:

    Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!

    Sorry to spoil a baking thread by mentioning the demented shit-goblin.

  33. 33.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    Anyone recall the late Jewish comedian Dennis Wolfberg? I remember his one-liner about someone, with genuine regard, wishing him a “happy Chaka Khan!”

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    Supposed to be removed, cut, rolled, braided and put back in, but I’ve gotten into the habit now of not bothering and instead making it as a sandwich loaf.

    Bread Machine Challah

    For 2-Pound loaf:

    1½ teaspoons salt
    1 large beaten egg
    1 large beaten egg yolk
    1 cup water
    ½ cup honey
    2½ tablespoons vegetable oil
    4-2/3 cups bread flour
    1¼ teaspoons regular yeast (not fast acting/rapid rise)
    1 large beaten egg for egg wash* (optional)
    Sesame or poppy seeds (optional)

    Make sure all ingredients are at room temp before using.
    Add salt, egg(s), water, honey and oil to the bread pan. Add spooned to measure (not scooped and tight packed) flour on top of liquids. Make a depression on top of flour, put yeast there.
    Select the Basic/White and the Light Crust setting and press Start.
    Lightly brush with egg wash during final rise, repeat again during baking.
    (optional) Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds after final rise.

    *I just brush on some of the remaining unused egg white as a wash.

    Don’t fiddle much with the measurements or cut back on the salt anymore than a very few grains, elsewise the top of the loaf may collapse.

  41. 41.

    efgoldman

    @TaMara (BHF):

    I’m taking this vaca thing seriously.

    Is vacation time on Balloon Juice allocated by seniority, by first come/first served, by lottery or some other way?

  42. 42.

    Manyakitty

    Wow, looks great! Last time I made the round challahs (we call them birds), I made on plain and the other with rum-soaked raising and I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the egg wash before baking.

  45. 45.

    Redshift

    Since this is an open thread, does anyone have any tips for how to argue without getting too worked up? I have a rule about not getting into arguments with idiots, so I’m not taking about hopeless cases. I’ve gotten into it a couple of times lately with people who were wrong, but not ill intentioned. One was a a guy I used to work with who jumped into a fairly reasonable anti-Trump discussion with some bothsiderist BS. Then last night a guy responded to a friend’s post about NPR explaining to Cassidy what was in his bill with a multi-comment rant about how none of these politicians know what they’re doing and we should just get government out of it and the problem with the ACA was that it wasn’t bipartisan and everything was completely broken and random anecdotes about Germany and Latvia…

    Anyway, the point is that in both cases, I didn’t want to duck the argument (though that would be easier), because I want to try to convince people who can be convinced. But when I do jump in, and see that I’ve gotten a response, I dread going back to look, and too often just let it die without even seeing if I’ve made an impact.

    I’ve gotten better at toning things down when I respond, but it still makes me tense and uncomfortable. I wish I could do better.

  47. 47.

    khead

    @Redshift:

    Well, no. Can’t really help you with those tips. I’m someone who can’t tone it down FOR A SECOND with some folks. You can’t duck the argument. You either talk that shit and let the chips fall where they may – or duck the argument. Seriously.

  48. 48.

    efgoldman

    @Redshift:

    I wish I could do better.

    Having met you IRL, I have to say you have too much common sense and therefore brook no bullshit, so I can’t help you with toning it down.

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    @Redshift

    As always, YMMV.

    1) Don’t react, rather respond.
    2) Do so in small doses rather than taking on everything from the other side at one go. Create a chain of evidence/argument, not a blanket.
    3) Be the Vulcan: logic over emotion.
    4) Some will flat refuse to recognize or acknowledge factual data. That’s their problem, not yours. Life is too short to be arsed (as the Brits say) with blockheads and the arrogantly or proudly stupid..

  52. 52.

    normal liberal

    @Adam L Silverman:
    True; they’re everywhere. Williams-Sonoma is now selling an overpriced mini 3 quart version.
    I got mine (also that gorgeous red) back when they introduced the glass bowls, which I bought intentionally, instead of the stainless steel.
    Very stupid decision. Still a great mixer.

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    As it’s nominally a cooking thread, repeated from below.

    Picked up a sturdy metal adjustable spoon measure – ½ tsp to 1 tbl, in ½ tsp increments – while on the NY trip. Among the most welcome additions to the kitchen utensil collection in years.

  56. 56.

    ArchTeryx

    @Redshift: What NotMax said, but the #1 thing about arguing without losing your shit, IMHO, is being able to sort the persuadables from the arrogant blockheads. That’s…not always easy, and the latter can become the former with the right external shock, but it is rare.

    And then there are the arrogant blockheads who are also trolls, who will try to sucker you into an argument just so they can piss you off and crow “checkmate, libtard!”. Arguing with these types is like trying to play chess with a pigeon. The pigeon will just upend all the pieces, take a big dump on the board, and declare victory.

  57. 57.

    Amir Khalid

    I don’t know if this helps with your problem, but I try to avoid personal digs at the other person and to ignore any that come from them. Also, resist the impulse to “shoot down” the opposing argument: to say, “You’re wrong, let me list the ways.” It’s gratifying to do, but it’s confrontational and it risks the discussion going south into personal insults and a shouting match. Worse, it just makes people dig in and refuse to listen.

    Rather, invite them to think through their stand. Where the pitfalls lie, what negative outcomes might result. Maybe, if they convince themselves they were wrong, this might work. But it won’t work on everyone, of course; the sort to cling to their beliefs no matter what have come not for a fair dispute but for a confrontation. With those fuckers, just save your breath and back out.

  58. 58.

    Redshift

    @NotMax: Thanks, that’s helpful. I’m really trying to only take on people who I think could be convinced, and people (like my former coworker) who just someone to risk a bit of conflict so they’re aware not everyone agrees.

  59. 59.

    normal liberal

    @Luthe:
    Yes, I keep meaning to do that. They are surprisingly hard to find, except directly from Kitchenaid. I want one like Dr. Silverman’s, with the handle and maybe one of those plastic covers, on sale, which doesn’t happen often.
    The glass (and ceramic! people just do not learn) bowls are always on sale.

  60. 60.

    Redshift

    @Amir Khalid: Good points. I did some of that in the first round in the health care argument (suggesting that using Germany as a good model didn’t fit with “getting government out”), but I probably also did a bit too much pointing out where he was wrong.

    I’ll try to be brave enough to go back in tomorrow.

  61. 61.

    lamh36

    I’m off to bed. That looks like some good cooking you did there Adam.

    Last post of the night…here’s a bit from the young MLB rookie that knelt tonight on why he did!

    Since I’m surely older than he is, I can call him kid” right?

    Good on kid…good on you!!!

    Here are Bruce Maxwell’s words. The rest can be found in @susanslusser’s story: sfchronicle.com/athletics/arti…

    twitter.com/jeffpassan/status/911816742401400832

  62. 62.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Amir Khalid:

    Also, resist the impulse to “shoot down” the opposing argument: to say, “You’re wrong, let me list the ways.” It’s gratifying to do, but it’s confrontational and it risks the discussion going south into personal insults and a shouting match. Worse, it just makes people dig in and refuse to listen.

    Yeah but then you don’t get the smug satisfaction of echo chamber headlines about how you DEMOLISHED a republican on HBO or whatever.

  66. 66.

    Geeno

    I grew up in a school district that was like 95% Jewish (Christians who could afford it sent their kids to parochial (usually Catholic) schools). So we got Jewish Holidays off. Between weekends, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipur, I always ended up having my birthday (September 27th) off. It was a great first encounter with multiculturalism. Episcopalian me thought it was great, but I can’t imagine what the god-botherers would have thought.
    My sister freaked out on her first day of school there when the school bus dropped kids off at the Temple for “Hebrew school” (kids practicing for their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs) – she didn’t know if it was part of the new school she was going to or what?

  67. 67.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    Lots of their stuff shows up on Amazon but be forewarned that prices among sellers can vary wildly.

    Happened to pick that one up at Bed, Bath & Beyond (we don’t have that store here).

  68. 68.

    Diana

    @Jeffro: all you really need to know is that with a truly uncanny synchonicity they all hit the solstices of the year (religions from more northern places, where it’s really important to know that this winter is coming to an end, e.g. anything indo-european) or the equinoxes (generally religions where winter isn’t so big an issue, generally Jewish, Hindu, or Orthodox Christian) and that’s when they pitch their holidays.

    Does anyone know of any truly equatorial religions? It would be really interesting to see what the key dates would be for a religion that developed from a culture that didn’t depend upon either the harvest or the return of the light.

  70. 70.

    MomSense

    I hope I’m only hearing squirrels on the roof and not in the attic or walls. Also too I feel like I’m about six years old sleeping on one of the old twin beds unable to sleep because of strange noises.

  72. 72.

    Feathers

    @Redshift: My rule when dealing with my wingnut brother is – one point. Listen to his side (which is totally and completely incorrect), but then take a Miss Marple (or Hercule Poirot or Colombo…) air and point out one thing that is utterly preposterous in what you opponent is saying. Focus on that and don’t back down. Choose it well, and you can invariably get them to concede the one point. This is also a way to tell if someone is thinking things through at all.

  73. 73.

    Amir Khalid

    @Diana:
    There’s always some interaction between incoming religions like Christianity and Islam — both of which have a long history of proselytising — and the traditional beliefs and practices of the communities they spread themselves to. For instance, Christmas was invented to compete with the winter solstice celebrations of pre-Christian Europe. And the same is likely true of Easter vis-à-vis traditional spring festivals.

    Islamic holidays are hard to sync up permanently with seasonal transitions, though. The Muslim calendar is lunar, and a year of 12 lunar months is 11 days shorter than a solar year; so our festivals are 11 days earlier every year relative to the seasons.

  74. 74.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Redshift: I usually start out by correcting their errors or informing them of knowledge they may not be familiar with, e.g. how healthcare has many structural imperfections that prevent it from achieving Pareto efficiency through competition.

    After I’ve established I’m smarter, I move to mocking them and telling them how stupid they are. If it’s an in person argument, I usually end it by laughing at them and telling them I don’t mind them being wrong.

  76. 76.

    Diana

    @Amir Khalid: That’s a very good point, because Islam is from the Saudi peninsula, which is one of the few points of the world which is between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (there’s also parts of Africa, South America, Indonesia and India, but India is dominated by Indo-european Aryan culture, so that may take them out of the picture) and that answers my question: holidays would depend upon the schedule of the moon, not the sun.
    thank you!!!

  77. 77.

    Big Jim Slade

    Agh, Dell Technology ad coming through with sound (bad techno music, ok, that’s redundant, playing).

  78. 78.

    Captain C

    L’shana Tova y’all!

    Hey Adam, I was just thinking of a comment you made in a (when I saw it) dead thread around the time Kashmir died about how you would or do get puppies for your dog(s). I would totally get a pair of kittens for Misty (Kashmir’s sister and littermate), but I’m pretty sure they would only annoy her, even though I think she’s part Golden Retriever (the shaggy, extremely mellow, likes-her-belly-rubbed part).

  80. 80.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @NotMax:

    Yeah, I did some cross-checking. Lots of interesting items, though. Good source of ideas for gifts for foodie friends.

  81. 81.

    Major Major Major Major

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: the beginning of Principia Discordia is a zen story that ends with a student meditating and people walk by. “And one asked, who is that man? And another said, he is a wise man, and yet another said, he is a shithead. And it was at that moment that the student became enlightened.”

  82. 82.

    Shalimar

    @Adam L Silverman: The Deep State obviously intentionally set up the emergency number to be similar to the phone sex line so they could make this mistake at a critical time to embarrass the president.

    You know that excuse is coming, just trying to get ahead of the Jones curve.

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