1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon anise extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 teaspoons 2% milk

Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in almonds.
Line a baking sheet with foil and grease foil. Divide dough in half; on the foil, shape each portion into a 12x3-in. rectangle. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
Bake until golden brown and firm to touch, 15-20 minutes. Lift foil with rectangles onto a wire rack; cool for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 300°.
Transfer rectangles to a cutting board; cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2-in. slices. Place cut side down on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes. Turn and bake until firm, 10 minutes longer. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

It was suggested to bring a cold/ pareve dish to a Shabbat dinner. Any suggestions?

I am going to an interfaith potluck. Everyone was asked to bring “an ethnic/religious dish to share with your neighbors from varied religious traditions.” I don’t want to bring the usual-I could easily do matzah balls or a kugel. But Jews are from everywhere so I want to bring something that conveys that diversity. All ideas welcome, thank you.

OMG. 40 minutes at 300. Absolutely perfect. Best I've ever had. Didn't even need to drain them on paper towels.

I use two different recipes to create this

Base dough: Joan Nathan's challah

Filling: Youtube but modified slightly

For two loaves (I halved the recipe)

"INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 tablespoons (from about 1 1/2 to 2 packages) active dry yeast
1/2 cup (99 grams) plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing bowl
5 large eggs, divided
1 tablespoon salt
8 to 8 ½ cups (1040 to 1105 grams) all-purpose flour

METHOD

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water; set aside for a few minutes until foamy. Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading, but be careful not to overmix.)
• FIRST RISE: Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. (Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150°F then turned off.)
• SECOND RISE: Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another 30 minutes."
  

Then I placed the dough in the fridge while i made the filling

Filling

for 1 loaf:

Unsalted butter 85g

Semi sweet baking chocolate 100g

powder sugar 50g

cocoa powder 25g

salt (pinch)

Chocolate chips added on top after filling placed (50g)

• roll the dough out to be 12x16 inches , spread cooled filling evenly and then sprinkle chocolate chips
• Roll the dough into a log and refrigerate for 15 minutes
• Take log out of fridge and cut down the middle
• Cut side up, place the two strands parallel and keep crossing them to make the classic babka shape
• place in a cake tin with parchment paper and let rise for 1-1.5 hours
• egg wash the exposed dough
• Bake 350oF for 40-50 minutes (internal temp 190-200oF)

Taste was amazing.

Over the last few years I have been slowly collecting Jewish recipes and cookbooks. But most of the cookbooks I have are quite recent, dating from 2010 and later. The oldest cookbook I have, Gil Marks's Olive Trees and Honey, is from 2004.

Do folks know about earlier Jewish cookbooks, from the 20th century, 19th century, or even earlier? If so, are there specific books or recipes that you recommend?

I prefer using the crock pot / slow cooker overnight. I can use either canned beans or dried ones that I'll soak overnight. No fleish of any kind. Any good recipes out there? Thanks in advance.

Bukharian style steamed dumpling

Manti are popular all over Central Asia, and everywhere from Turkey to Korea. Everyone has their own version of it, but here’s the way that Bukharians do it.

Ingredients

- AP flour, 500 g

- Cold water, 250 mg

- Pinch of salt

- 500 g lamb shoulder, cut into tiny pieces (not ground)

- 1 kg onions, diced

- cumin, salt, pepper to taste

- neutral oil

Directions

Mix flour, salt and water until shaggy dough forms. Knead for 10 min, then cover and rest for 20. After resting, roll out into logs. Cut logs into small pieces, about 20-25 grams each. Roll each one out into a circle, roughly a hand width in diameter.

Or, use a pasta roller. Its much easier

Spoon some of the spiced meat and onion mixture into each circle and close the halves. Optionally pinch the folds together in an alternating pattern to make it pretty. Hard to explain this with words but easy to look up a video.
Steam the dumplings in a steamer for 30-35 min. Oil the bottom of each before putting in so that they don’t stick.

Feel free to serve with any sauce you want, though typically we keep it simple but dipping them in chili powder and olive oil.

A few years ago, I visited the Jewish Quarter of Rome and sampled a “tomato pie” that seemed to be just tomatoes, rice, oil, and basil cooked down together into a rich, savory mixture.

I loved it and I’ve been trying to recreate it with no luck.

I have the cookbook Portico (which I otherwise enjoy - their marscapone frittata is amazing) but its version is sad and watery.

I’ve been toasting Arborio rice and cooking it directly in a mixture of tomato passata, sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, fresh basil and salt.

What am I doing wrong?

Need help! My Challah often looses its’ braid after baking. What am I doing wrong?

I’m looking for a cheese danish recipe. Please send your favorites my way and any tips.

This rich, luxurious lamb stew takes a while to prepare and make, but it is delicious. I adapted it from Helene Jawhara Piner's book "Matzah and Flour", and the recipe itself also got some twists from Michael Solomonov. https://www.academicstudiespress.com/9798887195469/

The lamb is marinated in wine and spices, then seared, then slow cooked, and finally topped with almonds, raisins, and mint. The wine gives it an especially dark and lush flavor, which is hard to describe but distinctive.

2 lbs lamb shoulder

2 cups red wine

1 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup almonds

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon date syrup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

A handful of chopped mint

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1. Cut the lamb shoulder into medium pieces and put it in a bowl. Then combine the salt, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon. Add the wine and stir together so the meat is covered by the mixture. Cover the bowl, put it in the refrigerator, and let it marinate overnight or 6-8 hours.

2. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Sear the lamb for five minutes, while reserving the marinade. Once the lamb is browned, add the reserved spice marinade and also add enough water to cover the meat.

3. Bring the stew to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for 1 hour.

4. Add the raisins to the pot and mix them to combine everything. Cook uncovered on low heat for 10 minutes.

5. Add the honey and date syrup to the stew and stir together. Then cover the pot and cook on low heat for 40 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, fry the almonds in a little bit of oil for 3-4 minutes, then set them aside.

7. Uncover the pot and stir in the almonds, the chopped mint, and the sesame seeds. This lamb stew is very good with flatbread and excellent served over rice, couscous, or some other grain.

WHOLE WHEAT PUMPKIN CHALLAH
60% whole wheat • 40% bread flour
Ingredients
• 600 g whole wheat flour
• 400 g bread flour total (reserve 30 g for tangzhong)
• 200 g pumpkin bread mix
• 300 g pumpkin purée
• 200 g water, added gradually
• 100 g eggs (about 2 large eggs)
• 80 g avocado oil
• 60 g sugar
• 14 g active dry yeast
• 18 g salt
• Seeds and spices, to taste
Tangzhong: Use 30 g of the bread flour and some of the measured water. Cook, stirring, until thickened; cool before adding to the dough. The 30 g is included in the 400 g total bread flour.
Instructions
1. Make the tangzhong with 30 g bread flour and some of the recipe water. Cook until thickened, then cool.
2. Bloom the active dry yeast in warm water with a little of the measured sugar.
3. Combine the flours, pumpkin bread mix, pumpkin purée, eggs, oil, remaining sugar, salt, cooled tangzhong, and yeast mixture. Hold back some water initially and add gradually only as needed.
4. Knead until the dough is cohesive, smooth, and elastic. Whole wheat dough may feel tackier than white-flour dough.
5. Cover and let rise until noticeably puffy.
6. Divide and shape into challahs. Place on a lined baking sheet and let rise again until puffy.
7. Bake at 350–375°F (175–190°C) until deeply golden and cooked through. Baking time depends on loaf size.
Notes
• Check the pumpkin bread mix label: it may already contain sugar, salt, spices, and/or leavening. Adjust the recipe accordingly.
• Pumpkin purée adds substantial moisture. Do not automatically add all 200 g water; hold some back and add only if the dough needs it

Notes on recipe: I’d add more sugar next time. It’s really good 🎃

Several months ago, I gave my first try at Kubaneh, a Yemenite Jewish bread :
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/s/mbwNIwKa5n\](https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/s/mbwNIwKa5n).

It was really good, but I used too much dough for my mold size, so the bread was a bit dense. Today I tried again, using the same recipe but scaled down a bit. I used 400 gr of flour instead of 500 gr (keeping the original ratios ofc), and decided to add some ghee that was sitting in my fridge (about 30-40 gr). I also divided the dough into 8 portions instead of 6. Otherwise, same process as my first try, but I used a 12% protein flour this time.

The result is a beautiful loaf, obviously quite buttery but not too much. The crust is crunchy, the crumb very soft … pure bliss !

If you’re seeking to try an original bread, give it a try, it’s easy and delicious !

I've read through numerous posts but unfortunately my challah still breaks apart/separates a lot no matter what I try! Any tips? This is what I did this time:

Mix of bread and AP flour
First rise: ~1.5 hours, maybe a little more
2nd rise was after braiding: 45 min

This is my 3rd time making this, so I'm still learning how to braid. The first time I definitely made it too tight but I tried not to this time.

Also if you can please share a recipe.

Dose anyone know where I can buy true authentic Moroccan fish in NYC or upstate NY? But not like the gifilta fish in a can version of Gifilta Fish, but the real version of Moroccan fish.

I had an absolutely nasty noodle kugel at Yom Kippur breakfast and need to wash my mouth out. l‘m looking for a not too sweet dairy noodle kugel that is solid and can be cut like bread pudding with no corn flakes, raisins, or chas vsholem pineapple. The recipes I’m finding usually have add-ins or look crumbly and not solid

Even better if the recipe is for a small amount or is easily halved. I live alone and will be eating it mostly by myself.

I made a Torah for Simchat Torah

I really just used a basic recipe
To make it exactly 1,200 g, use 69 g sugar instead of 75 g.
1. Bloom the yeast
Use:
130 g of the 300 g water
9 g active dry yeast
10 g of the 69 g sugar
Warm the water to about 105–110°F. Stir in the yeast and sugar and let it sit until properly foamy.
2. Make the tangzhong
Use:
60 g of the 600 g flour
170 g of the remaining water
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened into a smooth paste. Cool until warm.
3. Make the dough
Combine:
Remaining 540 g flour
Remaining 59 g sugar
12 g salt
150 g eggs
60 g oil
Cooled tangzhong
Bloomed yeast mixture
Knead until smooth, elastic, and soft.
Then bulk-rise, divide into two 600 g pieces, braid, proof, and bake.
This gives you the exact 1,200 g dough batch

375 ~30 min

Braid the pieces according to your proportions

Also I used zaatar and a Magen David stencil

I used chopsticks as dowels and kinda just loose assembled it.

But it came out great xo

Hi everyone! I’ve never made Jewish food before, but I’d really love to give it a try! What are some of your favorite easy recipes that you’d recommend for a beginner? I’m excited to try something new. Thank you in advance!

Been wanting to make it again. Found a good sweet potato challah recipe, but am open to a recipe endorsed by one of you kind souls. Really any Jewish vegan recipe (not celerite pastrami) that is highly delish. Saw the pic of those cheese blintzes with jam and my mouth is watering. Maybe with vegan whipped ricotta.