Challah is an AMAZING soft sweet bread that is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It tastes like Hawaiian sweet bread and requires a few cheap ingredients to make. Challah is a free form braided bread traditionally baked for Jewish sabbath. Typically pareve margarine is used in baking it, which is a dairyless substitute for butter. Here I show a 6-stranded braid, but 3 or 4 strand braids or even dinner rolls can be made with this bread. This recipe makes 2 loaves or 1 giant loaf.
To see how to make 1 loaf (half this recipe) by hand click here: https://brock280.wixsite.com/rachelsfoodblog/blog/challah-handmade
The recipe is here and pictures of the process are below:
Ingredients:
Bread:
1 1/2 Tbsp. instant or active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110°F)
1 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. white sugar
1/2 cup margarine, melted and cooled for 5 minutes OR a neutral oil
1 large egg at room temperature
2 large egg yolks at room temperature
6-7 cups bread flour, or as much as you need (I used 2 cups AP flour and 4.5 cups bread flour)
Egg Wash:
1 egg at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Grease baking sheets (dark baking sheets may burn the bread), or line them with parchment paper and set aside.
To make egg wash, whisk together egg and vanilla. Set aside or refrigerate.
In a stand mixer mix together water, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and the yeast. If using active dry yeast let this rest for 5 minutes to rise, but don't rest if using instant yeast.
Then add in rest of the sugar (1/3 cup), margarine, salt, egg, and yolks. Mix the ingredients together with the paddle attachment.
Using the paddle attachment on low speed (1 speed) gradually add 3 cups of flour and mix for about 1 minute between cups. Scrape down sides as necessary.
Switch to the dough hook and mix in the remaining 3 cups of flour, one at a time, on low-medium speed (2) and mix until combined. Scrape down sides as necessary. The dough should be slightly sticky but not wet. If it is wet, gradually add more flour (1/2 cup at a time) until it's only a little sticky.
Take your dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2-10 minutes, or until it's smooth, passes the windowpane test, and when you press your finger into it the dough bounces back.
Recommended: grease dough and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise 45 minutes-1 hour in a warm place. The recipe didn't call for this but I think it will improve the texture.
Cut into the amount of braid strands you want (3, 4, or 6 work well) for 2 loaves. See how to make a 6 strand braid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22p3wIHLupc.
Place the loaves onto the prepared baking sheets, brush with egg wash, cover with greased plastic wrap so no air gets in, and let rise in a warm place like an oven or microwave (at 75-95°F) until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the loaves with the egg wash again before placing on the middle rack in the oven.
Bake about 30-45 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers at 200°F. In the last 10 minutes of baking you can brush on the remaining egg wash. Remove loaf from pan and let cool on a wire rack 2 hours before slicing.
Store at room temperature up to 4 days, in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer up to 3 months.
Yields 2 regular sized loaves or 1 gigantic loaf.
Stir together the water and yeast.
After adding in the eggs, margarine, sugar, and salt and before mixing it together.
After mixing together. Now it's time to start adding the flour!
After mixing in the first cup of flour.
After mixing in the second cup of flour.
After mixing in the third cup of flour. Now it's time to switch to the dough hook!
After mixing in the fourth cup of flour.
After mixing in the fifth cup of flour.
After mixing in the 6th cup of flour. Mine was still wet so I added another half cup.
After adding in the sixth+1/2 cup of flour, it was slightly sticky and ready to go!
I dumped my large mass of dough onto a floured surface and kneaded for about 2 minutes.
After kneading it looked like this! A perfect orb of happiness!
The 6 dough balls i cut out.
Preliminary shaping of the dough into logs.
After getting the dough to the desired length. Now it was time to braid, which was only slightly frustrating 😉.
The bread after smooshing the braid together (to make it shorter and fatter) and placing it on the baking tray.
After brushing on some egg wash and before the first (and only) rise.
The bread after rising. It's getting gigantic!
The gorgeous bread after baking!
Gigantic and absolutely lovely!
The original recipe is from: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/152915/most-amazing-challah/print/?recipeType=Recipe&servings=32&isMetric=false
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