Tag Archives: Challah

Quotation Station

November 24, 2023 By in Quotation Station, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

I usually post a Quotation Station with Shabbat blessings for everyone on Friday, and today will be no different. However, this time, you’re going to receive a little more because Thanksgiving was yesterday, and I’m still experiencing an abundance of gratitude that I’d love to share with you. If you noticed that my post is late today, well, that’s also because of Thanksgiving and the days of preparation leading up to it!

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have noticed a post wherein I mourned the loss of my challah rising bowl. The unexpected destruction took place with my own hands as I lifted the bowl from the bottom rack of the dishwasher, knocked the edge against a plate, and then cringed when I heard the sickening sound of glass breaking.

I thought for sure the plate was a goner because my challah bowl was thick and sturdy. Unfortunately, a chunk of the edge of my beloved bowl was missing, and a crack had snaked up the side. I literally expressed my disbelief and grief aloud.

So, yes, I posted on Facebook because we all know how much misery loves company. What I didn’t expect was the outpouring of sympathy over the loss of my bowl. I was so touched. Better yet, my dear friend, Theresa Weber, offered me the option of one of two bowls she had on hand.

Flash forward to Shabbat services that week where Theresa allowed me to choose a bowl. They were both lovely, the type of bowls one hands down as a family heirloom. I chose the larger of the two because my challah recipe makes two loaves.

In addition to this heartwarming story, I’m going to share my new challah recipe with you. The dough in this recipe is more forgiving, more pliable, and I find that it meets my challah expectations. It’s a great beginner dough if you’ve never tried challah or bread baking. I tweaked the recipe just a titch, incorporating a little from the first challah recipe I shared on my blog, and I’m quite pleased with what I’ve achieved.

Heather Gibson’s Foolproof Challah

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a most wonderful day full of opportunities to express gratitude for all the blessings experienced throughout the year. Shabbat Shalom to everyone. Don’t forget that Shabbat is a weekly opportunity to express gratitude and enjoy fellowship.

Back in business!

Challah Lessons

November 6, 2023 By in Lightning Juice Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Writing for my blog took a backseat in my thoughts during the month of October. In fact, I also haven’t written anything toward my current WIP since I arrived at Shabbat services on October seventh to discover that evil had ramped up its game. What followed has left me dumbfounded, angry, but also with an overwhelming desire to speak truth. And not HL Gibson’s truth, but rather Adonai’s truth.

If you spend any time perusing my blog or social media, you’ll come away with a very good idea of who I am based on what I believe and how I write. Transparency on my blog is always my intention because I want to forge a connection with my readers. This is why my blog has a relaxed presentation that invites comments. I want to have a conversation with you rather than have you feel that I’m constantly trying to sell my novel, Realm, to you or preach at you about writing.

So, the purpose of this post is to help me build back to a place of peace. More than ever, people need to make strong connections to help each other through the dark days. I hope that you’re encouraged to do the same, especially if you’re one of the creatives. A return to art and the creative process is healing from the inside out.

I started by trying a new challah recipe that I’m sharing with you. The simplicity of making bread starts as a return to routine and the need to keep my hands busy so that my brain doesn’t overload. It’s always so beautiful as the dough comes together and, even though still raw, smells delicious.

The first rising time is best used for studying scripture and reading. Dividing the dough and braiding each half into loaves is a time for prayer for those who will eat the challah and anyone who comes to mind. The second rising time is when I organize other parts of my day into productive tasks. The beauty of the whole process is that I’m practicing the concept of laboring so that I can enter Adonai’s rest and experience true shalom.

Peace is the goal here, but bread is the reminder of what is important to me, and what’s important is peace. It’s cyclical! It’s also a reminder that family and friends are the true treasures braided into my life. Making the challah is a blessing because it occurs in my little home, where we’ve lived safely for thirty years with a parade of pets from the four-footed to the winged to the finned. (Although I still don’t have a horse.)

Most importantly, making the challah is a warning—yes, warning—to not mistake complacency for peace. It’s work to not become so content that I drift into decadence and laziness. The next step is indifference and forgetfulness, and every stage of that downward spiral is a bad place to be. It is a grave danger to ignore the truth, no matter how painful, because then we become useless to ourselves and others when we fall into the wrong belief that the evil taking place out there will never touch us.

Bread is life, and life must be fought for. I cannot always predict when and where the battlefronts will open in my life, but I can be prepared to fight that evil even if it’s through the simple task of baking challah. I will stare evil in the face and say, “You will not disrupt my process. Not today.” And then, in the name of Adonai, I will share the fruits of my labor, the work of my hands, with those I love, thus defeating evil.

Not the Bread of Idleness

August 28, 2023 By in Lightning Juice Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Summer is drawing to a close, but my desire to learn more about bread baking has not abated in the least. I continued to delve into challah specifically and met up with my friend, Paula Stevenhagen, who I have dubbed The Challah Queen. Our friend, Sherry Goodrich, also joined us, and we had the best day.

Sleepy-eyed Bread Bakers

Paula recently became interested in grinding organic grains, and she experimented with different flours either alone or in combination. Our home fellowship reaped the benefits of her labors and loved eating the challah she made every Shabbat. In no time at all, Paula had her recipe(s) perfected and produced challah that was substantial without being too heavy, flavorful, and delicious. Her challah is so satisfying that I could eat it as a meal.

In addition to her WonderMill grain grinder, Paula treated herself to another cool kitchen toy—The Ankarsrum, known as Sweden’s Iconic Kitchen Mixer. You must check this thing out online to appreciate it.

Paula does have a recipe, but I must tell you that she’s one of those bakers who just knows by sight and touch when to tweak her bread dough. In short, her recipe is not for the novice or anyone who hasn’t worked with freshly milled flour. In fact, while she was away for the past two weeks, I asked her for the recipe (I’d forgotten to get it the day we baked), and she texted three different recipes with inclusions and exclusions, and in the end, I told her we’d talk when she returned to which she texted back Amen.

Giving myself the summer off from writing while exploring other creative outlets recharged my muse, and as I sensed the approach of fall (I can feel and smell autumn in the air!) story ideas have started to surface in my mind.

I suspect I put up a writing roadblock for myself under the pretense of needing to research a particular issue. I wanted to portray sailing as accurately as possible in one portion of my current WIP, but as new ideas came to mind, I found a way around this detail and came to realize that it wasn’t truly about sailing. At least not as specifically as I had originally thought.

For now, I can let the sailing go and jump back into writing. No doubt, I’ll need to re-establish some writing goals and structures for myself and set some writing boundaries where others are concerned. It’s a balancing game, but it’s a challenge I’m up to with Adonai’s help.

But it is definitely time to start writing because the characters in my current WIP are starting to talk to each other again, which means I must get them out of my head and onto the page!

In closing, come join me and my fellow authors at Kern’s Home & Garden & Christian Bookstore at 2438 Canton Road, Akron, Ohio for a book signing! There will be food trucks for the Fall Open House and gorgeous mums as far as the eye can see as well as lovely autumn décor. See you soon!

August – The Sunday of Summer

August 7, 2023 By in Lightning Juice Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Hello, Realmers! I flew solo this past Shabbat preparation while making Robin Luton’s challah recipe. If you haven’t tried your hand at challah, Robin’s recipe is a great place to start and can be found as a link in my blog post My Summer Vacation by HL Gibson.

So, the first lesson I learned when making challah is to never be too busy with other stuff. Neither a well-organized list of things to do nor past bread baking experience kept me from making a crucial mistake with my challah. For next week, I’m going to eliminate any activity and errand that isn’t Shabbat specific and guard my time with Adonai. The experience reminded me that when I make mistakes, I serve a gracious God who is patient and compassionate, who wants me to learn and succeed.

The verse in Torah about man not living on bread alone instantly came to mind, and I understood the lesson that just as I need to become familiar with the challah recipe so that I don’t make mistakes, I need to become familiar with Adonai’s Word so that I don’t make mistakes. Repetition leads to familiarity and familiarity produces understanding and understanding leads to wisdom.

Other exciting things taking place during my vacation from writing include two concerts performed by the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center, tickets courtesy of my Aunt Mary Alice. The first was Debussy followed by Sibelius. Both evenings were absolutely magical, and the hubby and I are seriously considering season tickets next year. We had forgotten how peaceful and civilized such performances are and cannot wait to attend again.

I received my new book, The Way of Life by Toby Janicki, but before I allow myself to even remove the shrink wrap, I’ve made the promise to myself to finish with my study of The Rivkah Remnant. Several friends also ordered The Way of Life, and from what they are already saying about it, I’m getting excited to read it myself, and I can see another book study on the horizon!

If you follow me on Facebook, you’re probably aware of my drama with stray guineafowl that are wandering in our neighborhood. There were eight originally, but one has gone missing. I’ve taken to feeding the high-strung buffoons, and while they sound like a cross between a turkey, crow, and velociraptor, they’ve captured my heart. I worry they’ll be hit on our busy road or that our neighbor’s mean dog will attack them. My goal is to secure them in some sort of pen before winter sets in. Wish me luck.

I didn’t choose the guinea life; the guinea life chose me.

More exciting news—I’m getting ready for another book signing in September! A friend who owns a florist shop/greenhouse/giftshop and bookstore agreed to host me and other local authors. The event is going to be great with food trucks, and of course, gorgeous, colorful mums for purchase in the greenhouse. This is one event you won’t want to miss.

That wraps up this week’s report. Enjoy your summer, stay cool, and remember to grab your copy of Realm. It’s not your average beach read.

My Summer Vacation by HL Gibson

July 28, 2023 By in Lightning Juice Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Summer is slipping by at the speed of light—which is quite fine with me because I prefer fall, spring, and winter—and I owe you some content. So here it is, Realmers!

When I mentioned my bread baking goal to a friend, Robin Luton, she asked if I’d ever made challah. I replied that I had observed the process once, so Robin graciously invited me to her home to learn how to make it for myself. I had a lovely time and learned a simple yet elegant technique to braid the three strands of dough resulting in a beautiful loaf of challah. As expected, Robin’s loaf was prettier than mine because she’s an expert at it, and I’m a beginner who made one strand fatter than the other two. Still, my loaf was tasty. Enjoy the pictures of our efforts and click the link for Robin’s Challah.

I don’t recall if I’ve mentioned this or not, but my passion for farmers markets has been reignited this summer. It probably stems from my campaign to encourage people to shop locally, shop small businesses, and build community. Springfield Township Farmers Market on the Lake and the Hartville Marketplace & Flea Market are great places to get fresh food at great prices. So, the Gibson Household will be enjoying corn on the cob, fried zucchini, and challah for Erev Shabbat.

Another great thing that happened this summer was a visit from my grandbaby, Jacob. We started our day at Chick-fil-A and the indoor playground; hit Kohl’s for a new food processor to make treats; indulged in ice cream at Therapy Ice Cream & Coffee Bar; baked our version of goldfish crackers but opted for a hippo, possibly a stegosaurus, cutter; stopped by an outdoor playground; whipped up a batch of homemade Play-Doh; had dinner at Grinder’s; and rounded out the day with a game of SORRY! Keeping up with a five-year-old is great exercise. Dealing with post-Jacob blues the next day is rough.

As for my study sessions on The Rivkah Remnant with my friend, Sharon, we spent a total of twelve hours across three sessions, and it was amazing. Eight of those hours were devoted to Chapter 1, which took a deep dive into the definition, essence, and explanation of prophecy. Although I realized how little I actually knew, I didn’t come away feeling condescended to. In fact, Rabbi Shapira’s book is very accessible, and Sharon’s instruction is thorough.

I did promise you some teatail recipes this summer, and while I’ve definitely been crafting and drinking them, I’ve been a lazy girl about posting them. Bear with me as I find myself spending more time away from the laptop. I’m sure, based on everything I mentioned above, that you’ll not only understand but approve of my reconnecting with people. Writing is such a lonely job!

But fear not, Realmers! Throughout everything I’ve detailed here, little story ideas have been coming to me, and I’ve been tucking them away like so many pearls to string together at a later date. The itch to write has been sneaking up on me. It’ll probably return with the cold weather, which can’t happen soon enough for me.

Remember, Realm is always in stock at BookBaby, and your review of my novel is most welcome at BookBaby, Goodreads, or even here on my blog.

Shabbat Shalom from

our home to yours!

By Bread Alone

June 9, 2015 By in Edible Fiction, Food From The Secrets of Dr. John Welles Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

1433270193628Forgiveness is a tricky concept. It is easily applied to a situation when the transgression is minor. A forgotten birthday, a word misspoken in haste, a misunderstanding of perceptions; forgiveness is willingly doled out in each of these instances.

But what about the attempted genocide of an entire people? Or searching one’s own soul in an effort to release a lifetime of guilt? Who is responsible to bestow forgiveness to the offenders when these are the circumstances? Man and/or God?

These are the questions that trouble the minds of Reuben and Hannah Wise and Dr. John Welles after they dine together one January evening in 1955. All three are divided in their opinions concerning the particular events that generated their questions. While they remain polite toward each other, a wedge has been driven into their friendship, especially between Hannah and John.

I chose to have Reuben serve challah bread during the Shabbat meal to which he and Hannah invited John for two reasons. For one, challah is traditionally served during the observation of Shabbat. More importantly, though, the presence of bread during this significant meal drew attention to the many references of bread in the Bible as well as underscored the differences between the Wises and Dr. Welles.

The following recipe is the one I had in mind for the challah Reuben made in my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles. I hope you will enjoy this lightly sweet, rich, and delicious bread with your meals.

Reuben Wise’s Challah Bread

1 ½ cups warm water

2 tablespoon yeast

½ cup olive oil

½ cup sugar (or honey) (I used raw sugar)

3 eggs (2 for the recipe and 1 for the wash)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 cups flour (slightly packed)

In a Kitchen Aid mixer add 1 ½ cups lukewarm water and 2 tablespoons yeast. Mix gently and allow the yeast to foam.

Add ½ cup sugar (or honey), ½ cup olive oil, 2 eggs, and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well, approximately one minute or so. Add the six cups of flour one at a time and mix thoroughly with a bread hook. You may need to add ½ cup of flour if the dough is very sticky.

Remove from the mixing bowl and divide the dough into two halves. Divide each half into four pieces and roll each piece to about 12 – 14 inches in length. Braid the pieces of dough. (You can find instructions for braiding challah on the internet. I chose a four-strand braid for my bread.)

Brush each braided loaf with an egg wash (beaten egg with a little water to thin it). Place the braided loaves on a non-stick cookie sheet with parchment paper or a cooking mat on it and sprinkle liberally with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or slivered almonds. Let the loaves rise until about 1/3 larger in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the loaves for 23 – 25 minutes. Loaves should be golden and firm when finished.

This recipe can also be mixed and kneaded by hand.

1433270494920

The traditional blessing over the bread as spoken by Reuben Wise:

HAMOTZI – Blessing Over the Bread

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, Ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.

hamotzi_0

Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe,

who brings forth bread from the earth.