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Q. What is the best way to freeze and defrost challah? – Naomi, Los Angeles, CA
By: Kosher.com
A. This is a great question. Baking challah in bulk and freezing for later use is a time-saving strategy, especially when cooking for a family event or a slew of holidays. But, it’s only worthwhile if the challah’s fresh, homemade taste won’t be compromised.
With so many different techniques out there, we asked the challah expert, Tamar Ansh, author of A Taste of Challah (Feldheim) and producer of the book’s companion DVD.
Before freezing, Ansh recommends completely cooling the challah so that the hot, steamy bottom won’t freeze with accumulated moisture, which will make the underside of the bread soggy.
Once completely cooled, the loaves must be packaged as airtightly as possible. While many people wrap their challah in multiple layers of aluminum foil, Ansh skips this bulky and expensive step. Instead, she places the loaves directly in heavy duty, large-size, thick freezer bags. She squeezes out all of the air and seals the bag with tape before storing it in her deep freezer. When well wrapped in airtight freezer bags and placed in a good freezer, challahs can last for two months or more, if necessary.
To defrost, Ansh takes challahs out of the freezer about five hours before they will be served and let's them come to room temperature.
For those who like warm bread, simply lay the defrosted loaves on top of a hot pot of soup or chulent. Or, wrap them in aluminum foil and heat in the oven for 20 minutes. Using aluminum foil in this step is important to prevent the bread’s crust from hardening or browning slightly.
Although she's tried it in the past, Ansh does not recommend braiding and freezing uncooked challahs. She feels that challahs taste best when they rise and bake in the same day.
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