On the Chocolate Trail

Several food writers claimed it took them a long time to master this bread. I followed their tips and found it extremely easy. You don’t even have to flip it over in the pan, making it extremely appealing for a hot summer day.

based on recipes from Liz Steinberg and Gil Marks Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

Prep time: 10 minutes
Rising time: 2 hours (Maggie Glezer suggests (in A Blessing of Bread) prepping the dough, letting it rise for two hours at room temperature, and then refrigerating it for up to 24 hours before cooking. She also flips the breads for a few seconds to make sure they are cooked.)
Cook time: 30 minutes

Yield: About six 12-inch breads or 12 6-inch breads

INGREDIENTS
3 cups unbleached white flour; I used 1 ½ cup all purpose and 1 ½ cup bread flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon instant dry yeast
½-1 teaspoon ground fenugreek, depending on taste; if desired, ½ tablespoon zaatar, dash of coriander
3 ¾ cups warm (about 110º water)
margarine, butter, or vegetable oil if using a non-stick pan

INSTRUCTIONS
Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup warm water (110º) in a small bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon sugar and let it foam for about 5-10 minutes. Some recipes skip this step and just combine all of the ingredients. Then combine this mixture with the remaining water and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the flour and fenugreek, removing any lumps so that the consistency is thin.
Cover with plastic wrap or place inside a plastic bag to rise in a warm, draft free location for about an hour. The dough will be frothy, stir it, rewrap and let it rise another hour. The batter will be bubbly; it can be stirred lightly at the end of the second rise.

Heat a non-stick pan on a high flame. If the pan is non-stick, no need to grease it. Remove the pan from the flame and cool the bottom under water from tap. This keeps the pan from getting too hot. Pour batter to cover the bottom of the pan (about ½ cup for small pan, 1 cup or more for large pan). Shake the pan a bit to distribute the batter and replace the pan on the stove. Adjust the flame to medium as the batter bubbles for about 2 minutes and then lower the flame to low and cook until the bottom is golden and the top is dry and cooked, about a total of 4-5 minutes. Do not flip it since it only cooks on one side. Cool the bottom of the pan in tap water again, dry it (though not necessary), and repeat the process for each bread.

Cool each lachuch on a paper towel or cotton towel to absorb the moisture.

Stack with bubbly sides facing each other. They will keep in plastic bag in the fridge. Or use waxed paper or parchment paper between each one. Can also be frozen.

Watch the process here.about the #chocolatebabkaproject