2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large loaves day-old or stale water challah, crusts removed and cubed as for croutons
2 Tbsp Osem Consommé Mix
1/8 tsp coarse black pepper
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp seasoned bread crumbs
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Chill Time: none
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place oil in a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and place in oven.
- Place cubed challah in a colander and wet it quickly and lightly; put your fingers under the running water to lighten the flow, moving the colander so none of the bread gets too wet. Sprinkle with just enough water to dampen challah; do not drench it. Squeeze out excess water. Challah should look and feel like wet rags.
- In a large bowl, gently fold together challah, consommé mix, pepper, eggs, baking powder and bread crumbs. Don’t over mix, but evenly disperse ingredients. The mixture should still be lumpy.
- Remove loaf pan from oven and pour challah mixture into loaf pan.
- Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes until top is golden to dark brown and crunchy.
- Cut into squares and serve warm.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Tips:
* Water challah is essential to this dish’s success: Do not use egg challah.
* If you don’t have enough leftover scraps, you can fake stale old bread. Just bake slices of fresh bread on a cookie sheet for approximately 30 minutes at about 200 degrees F. If the heat is too high your bread will toast, which is exactly what you don’t want. The goal is to just suck the moisture out of it.