Homemade Challah

For a very long time, I had been dying to make my very own challah but all the recipe's I tried never really came out right until I found this one on the blog: http://theshiksa.com/2010/08/25/challah-bread-part-1-the-blessing-and-the-dough/

This recipe is fail proof and it comes out great every time. Lots of people have since then asked me for the recipe so I have updated it. I often make it with a twist and add a cool topping.

Dough Ingredients 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, divided 1 packet active dry yeast 1 tsp sugar (3-4) (for a sweet dough I add 1/2 cup of sugar) 1 egg 3 egg yolks 1/3 cup honey 2 tbsp canola oil 2 tsp salt 4 1/2 to 6 cups flour (I have used brown flour and it worked out great as well as rye mixed with wholewheat flour) Egg Wash Ingredients 1 egg 1 tbsp cold water 1/2 tsp salt

Optional Ingredients Raisins, dates, figs, chocolate chips (1 ½ cups of either) Optional Toppings Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt You will also need Large mixing bowl, whisk, kitchen towel, cookie sheet, parchment paper, plastic wrap, pastry brush, timer Servings: 1 very large challah, 2 regular challahs, or 24 mini challah rolls

Method: 

Pour ¼ cup of the lukewarm water into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 packet of Active Dry Yeast and 1 tsp of sugar to the bowl, stir to dissolve. Wait 10 minutes. The yeast should have activated, meaning it will look expanded and foamy. If it doesn’t, your yeast may have expired, which means your bread won’t rise—go buy some fresh yeast!

Once your yeast has activated, add remaining 1 ¼ cup lukewarm water to the bowl along with the egg, egg yolks, honey, canola oil and salt. Use a whisk to thoroughly blend the ingredients together. 

Begin adding the flour to the bowl by half-cupfuls, stirring with a large spoon each time flour is added. When mixture becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to knead. 

Continue to add flour and knead the dough until it’s smooth, elastic, and not sticky. The amount of flour you will need to achieve this texture varies—only add flour until the dough feels pliable and “right.” If you plan to add raisins or chocolate chips to the challah, incorporate into the dough as you knead. 

Place a saucepan full of water on the stove to boil. 

Meanwhile, remove the dough from your mixing bowl and wash out the bowl. Grease the bowl with canola oil. Push the dough back into the bottom of the bowl, then flip it over so that both sides are slightly moistened by the oil. 

Cover the bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place the bowl of dough on the middle rack of your oven. Take the saucepan full of boiling water and place it below the rack where your dough sits. Close the oven, but do not turn it on. The pan of hot water will create a warm, moist environment for your dough to rise. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Take the dough bowl out and punch it down several times to remove air pockets. Place it back inside the oven and let it rise for 1 hour longer. 

Take the dough out of the oven. Flour a smooth surface like a cutting board. Punch the dough down into the bowl a few times, then turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Knead for a few minutes, adding flour as needed to keep the dough from feeling sticky. 

Now your dough is ready to be braided.
How to braid 4 and 6 plaited challah:
  
Divide your dough into the number of strands you’ll need, making sure each portion is equal in volume. For example, if you’re making a three strand challah, divide your dough into three equal portions 

Take one of the portions and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is flat and about 1/4 inch thick. Don’t worry about the shape of the dough, it doesn’t matter. Put the smaller part of the dough towards the top of your rolling surface, with the widest part towards the bottom.

Using both hands, put pressure on the rolling surface and pull the dough back towards you, rolling it back into a strand shape. Keep even pressure on the dough as you roll so that no air pockets collect in the strand. 

Once your strand shape is created, roll it back and forth with both hands to erase the seams and smooth out the strand. As you roll, angle your hands outward and apply gentle pressure to taper the dough on the outer edges. By doing this, your strand should end up slightly thicker in the middle and thinner on the ends. This will help make your braided challah tapered at the ends, which creates a beautiful shape. 

Further taper the strand by grasping one end between your two palms and gently rolling the dough back and forth. Repeat for the other end of the strand.

4 Strand Challah:
  
Create four equal-size strands. Lay the four strands side-by-side, then pinch them together so they are connected at the top.

Take the strand furthest to the right and weave it towards the left through the other strands using this pattern: over, under, over.

Take the strand furthest to the right and repeat the weaving pattern again: over, under, over. Repeat this pattern, always starting with the strand furthest to the right, until the whole loaf is braided.

Pinch the ends of the loose strands together and tuck them under on both ends of the challah loaf to create a nice shape.

Brush with egg wash, top if desired, then allow challah to rise. Bake according to your challah recipe’s instructions.

6 Strand Challah: 

Create six equal-size strands. Lay the six strands side-by-side, then pinch them together so they are connected at the top.

 Take the strand furthest to the right and weave it towards the left through the other strands using this pattern: over 2 strands, under 1 strand, over 2 strands.

 Take the strand furthest to the right and repeat the weaving pattern again: over 2 strands, under 1 strand, over 2 strands. Repeat this pattern, always starting with the strand furthest to the right, until the whole loaf is braided.

 Pinch the ends of the loose strands together and tuck them under on both ends of the challah loaf to create a nice shape.

 Brush with egg wash, top if desired, then allow challah to rise. Bake according to your challah recipe’s instructions.

  Method Continued:

Prepare your egg wash by beating the egg, salt and water till smooth. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of the mixture onto the visible surface of your challah. Reserve the leftover egg wash.

Let the braid rise 30 to 45 minutes longer. You’ll know the dough is ready to bake when you press your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, rather than bouncing back.

 Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. The challah needs to bake for about 40 minutes total, but to get the best result the baking should be done in stages. First, set your timer to 20 minutes and put your challah in the oven.

 After 20 minutes, take the challah out of the oven and coat the center of the braid with another thin layer of egg wash. This area tends to expand during baking, exposing areas that will turn white unless they are coated with egg wash. This is an important step as it allows the whole challah to brown on top.

Turn the tray around, so the opposite side is facing front, and put the tray back into the oven. Turning the tray helps your challah brown evenly—the back of the oven is usually hotter than the front.

The challah will need to bake for about 20 minutes longer. For this last part of the baking process, keep an eye on your challah—it may be browning faster than it’s baking. Once the challah is browned to your liking, take the tray out and tent it with foil, then place it back in the oven. Remove the foil for the last 2 minutes of baking time.

Take the challah out of the oven. At this point your house should smell delicious. You can test the bread for doneness by turning it over and tapping on the bottom of the loaf—if it makes a hollow sound, it’s done. Let challah cool on the baking sheet or a wire cooling rack before serving.

This recipe will make 1 very large challah, 2 regular challahs, or 24 mini challah rolls. I usually divide the dough in half to make 2 medium challahs, which are more manageable and easier to braid than a large one. 

Choose what works best for you!


Toppings

Focaccia

Robertsons mixed herb spice

Course Salt

After doing the egg wash, I sprinkle course salt and the Robertsons mixed spice and sometimes I add sesame seeds. This makes the bread have a salty and tasty crust. If you like garlic, there is a garlic and mixed herb spice which tastes delicious but I always find it safer to leave the garlic out. When taking the challah out of the oven 20 minutes in, I egg wash the challah again and a little more salt and some herbs in the parts that are bare from the rise. It comes out beautifully and it has been a favourite for my family. Additionally, the dough can be quite sweet, so if you want the dough and the crust to mesh more beautifully, you can cut out some of the sugar. I would only use about 3-4 tsp.

Sugar Crust

1 1/4 cup flour

1 1/8 cup sugar

3 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

Mix together all the ingredients with hands until it forms a find crumb. Sprinkle over the challah after the first and second egg wash. It can be quite crummy for the second egg wash so make sure you have lots of egg wash on your brush. I also added some vanilla essence to my egg wash to give it more of  a cake taste. After 40 minutes in the oven, put the oven setting on grill, and grill for 5-10 minutes to get the top crispy.

You can do many other toppings. I have added dates into my challah or you can add sliced onion. It can really enhance and make your challah anything but extraordinary.