Whole-grain Gingerbread

(Photo: Clare Barboza)

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Gingerbread — it's not just for dessert. Especially if you ask breakfast-lover Megan Gordon, whose recipe from Whole-Grain Mornings relies on three forms of ginger (ground, crystallized and fresh) to give it a rich spiciness."This bread gets even better with time — and, to me, tastes best on the third day," she says. "It gives those dark molasses flavors time to settle in."

Whole-Grain Gingerbread

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)

1/2 cup packed muscovado sugar or brown sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

1 Tb. grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 Tbs. grated orange zest

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (optional)

8 Tbs. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses (Gordon uses blackstrap)

3 Tbs. honey

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt, homemade (see recipe below) or store-bought

1 large egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch square pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, the three kinds of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, orange zest, and pepper. Use your hands to break up any clumps of sugar, and whisk well.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the molasses and honey and cook, stirring, until the mixture is warm but not boiling. Pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Add the milk, yogurt, and egg and fold together until combined. With a little arm power, the mixture will soon look like a loose brownie batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the edges pull away from the pan slightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the gingerbread cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving. Any leftovers can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Yield: 9 servings

Per serving (3-inch square piece): 333 calories, 54g carbohydrates, 6g protein, 12g fat (7g saturated), 3g fiber, 50mg cholesterol, 172mg sodium

From USA Weekend

Lisa Mael's Challah

We made this challah recipe, perfected by Lisa Mael, at Congregation Beth Israel, for a challah-day in January, 2014.  It was a huge hit!  Lisa says it also won a prize at the Bloomsburg Fair

It's a good thing the challah was popular.  We also tried to hold a Saturday service, complete with an English translation Torah reading, while the bread was rising.  That's when we learned why the Torah is often not read in English - a lot of the section was on how to treat your slaves, and your enslaved daughter! It didn't help that we had several guests and newcomers in the audience. What an introduction to Judaism!

Notes from the recipe:
The tradition of serving twisted loaves on the Sabbath has its origin in the manna the Israelites received in the desert. They would collect a double portion of manna on Friday for the Sabbath, as manna did not fall on the Sabbath. Therefore the use of two loaves. The manna fell on a cover of dew and was covered with dew. We duplicate these two covers with the tablecloth below the loaves and a special cover which is removed only after the Kiddush (blessing over wine) and the appropriate blessing for the loaves. The twisted shape of the loaves duplicates the loaves in the Temple. So says Bonnie Kupinsky, who is quoted on the recipe.

Ingredients:
• 2 T yeast
• 2 C warm water
• 2-3 eggs
•1/4 to 1/2 C honey or sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 T to 1/3 C butter or oil
• 7-8 C whole wheat flour (actually, this makes for a heavy bread. I'd recommend using 1 cup, maybe 2, of whole wheat, but not more.)
• Sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
• Add 1/2 C each soy flour and wheat germ for high-protien Challah.

Dissolve yeast in water. Add eggs, honey, salt, butter and about 3 1/2 C flour. Beat well.

Add remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead 5-10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary.  Use as little flour as possible for a delicate Challah. It should be velvety soft.

Let rise until doubled, 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours in a warm room or overnight in the refrigerator.

Punch down and either let rise again or braid immediately into two loaves.  (A 3-strand braid is fine.  But feel free to look up variations - you could write a good-sized article on braids alone.) 

Brush with egg wash (one egg beaten with a pinch of salt.) Sprinkle with seeds if you like.

Bake 350 to 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

Variations: Use scalded milk instead of water, or add 1/2C dry milk powder. Use 1/2 to 1 C butter and up to 2/3 C honey or sugar. Salt may be reduced to 1 tsp or less. 4 egg yolks may be used instead of 2 eggs for a richer bread. 1 tsp vanilla or rum may be added. Crust may be brushed with melted butter after baking for a soft crust. But with these additions and variation, the recipe becomes egg bread instead of Challah.