>Michael.May@bmo.com writes:
>
>I have an esthetic problem with the Challah I make.
>
>Although the bread tastes perfectly delicious, I get "stretched" areas
>where the braids meet, which fail to brown as nicely as the rest of the
>loaf.
It sounds to me that the dough could stand a little more rising before
putting it in the oven. The egg wash on your bread is what is doing most of
the browning, so when the dough rises even slightly, the egg is not there
to cover it and brown like the rest of the bread. There are a few other
options, such as not using an egg wash - maybe using milk or something that
doesn't brown so much. Or trying to make sure there is enough egg in the
cracks or between the braids to cover whatever decides to rise up (I'm not
really sure how to accomplish this - it's just something I'm thinking about.)
Remember that your loaves will never be as "perfect" as commercial loaves.
I prefer it that way, since it gives the loaves a little more character,
and you get the pride of making it yourself.
Ben McGehee