I knew something was off as I put the Challah into the oven, I was rushing a little and felt the rack was low and went with it.
Slow Down.
If you’ve read Thinking Fast Thinking Slow, by Daniel Kahnman, you might forgive the “slide th Challah on the oven and set the timer moment,” as one that requires no thought, it’s a just do it and save your brains moment. Not this time.
I was panicking, the challah was too long to fit on my half pan, I quickly switched to a full pan and switched from my Air Fryer to my oven, leaving behind my careful preparation in the air fryer and using slow sweeping movements to place the Challah in the oven with a flourish.
I noted the top rack was a little close, the bread was swelling with air and I moved deftly, sliding and tucking the end, lengthening the braided dough.
My first mistake was letting one end casually rest against the metal end of the pan as it pushed past the parchment paper. I glanced at the edge and kept moving, the end pushed against the metal, getting a little too brown and hard.
My second mistake was literally bigger. I burnt the bottom. Note: raise the rack one level up. Yo, when you trim off the burnt part, the bread is delicious!!!
The goal is not to make perfect Challah,
Meditate and Bake.
Blackened Challah.