I was getting increasingly irritated with the amount of time I was spending trying to roll my dough balls into braid-able strands. For some reason, my challah recipe produces a sturdier dough, which is great for braiding, but a pain in the #$% to roll. I was so fed up, I was actually going to look online for a machine that might roll out dough easier (not that I could ever convince the Mrs. to allow another gadget in the kitchen). A few nights ago, as I was laying it bed, it dawned on me — start with strands, not balls. Don’t cut the dough horizontally — cut it vertically (or vice-versa)! It changed my life. Seriously. I’m not getting as much upper body exercise as I was, but I can make a challah in a minute or two, rather than 10. In case you didn’t catch it, here’s what to do: Let’s say you have a recipe that makes 5 challahs, so you cut the giant dough ball into 5 smaller dough balls. Then you take 1 of the dough balls (which will make 1 challah), and stretch it a little into an oblong rather than a sphere. Now, rather than cutting it the short way, into six small ball-shaped sections, cut it the long way, into six long rope-shaped sections. This way, most of the work is done, and all you need to do is roll each strand for a few seconds to make it a little longer, and you’re there! Ta Da!
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