When I moved to Denver, I became obsessed with my bread maker. During the long cold winters I have experienced here, the only place I can get my dough to rise some days was my Breadman. However, this bread I’m posting today can easily be made by bread maker, hand, or mixer.
Challah is a braided Jewish bread that is eaten on the Sabbath and holidays and has special religious significance.
Not only does it look beautiful, but it tastes great, too. And to take it over the top, throw in some apples before baking. This version makes an awesome grilled cheese sandwich!
Just a general tip for bread making: When making yeast-based breads and treats, add the flour little by little, allowing yourself room to add more as needed to get the right consistency for your dough. It is much easier to add flour than water to a yeast-based dough.
Challah Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4-5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg for wash
Instructions
By Hand or Mixer:
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Place water, honey, eggs and oil in bowl and mix. Add the yeast, and then gradually add three to four cups of flour until the dough is sticky, but starting to hold together.
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Add the salt and another one to two cups of flour as you knead by hand for ten minutes, or with dough hook for 6 minutes. The end result should be a slightly sticky dough that you can handle.
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Set dough in greased bowl, covered with a towel and let rise for about an hour, or until dough is doubled.
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Divide dough into six equal pieces. Cover with a towel to prevent from drying out and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
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Stretch or roll balls into rods that are about one inch in diameter. Braid the pieces into 2 separate braids, pinch together the ends, and tuck the ends under. Place on a greased baking tray. Brush with a quick coat of egg wash. Allow to rise until doubled in size. (A taller loaf can be made by stacking a smaller braid on the larger. The tutorial for how I shaped this loaf can be found here)
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After dough has risen, brush with another coat of egg wash right before baking.
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Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes. Bread is done when the crust is golden brown. Check loaf halfway through baking. If it is getting dark on top, make a tent out of tinfoil over the bread for the remainder of the cook time.
Recipe Notes
Change it Up:
This bread can also be made in a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan.
To make using a bread maker: Place water, salt, honey, eggs, oil, flour, and yeast in order given into the bread machine. Set the machine to dough cycle, and press start. Remove dough from the machine after first rising. Complete rest of steps as listed.
Dress it Up:
Peel and dice one granny smith apple into quarter inch slices and add into dough after first rise for Apple Challah.
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This looks absolutely delicious. I’d like to try this recipe myself, but I won’t have time to do it all in one night–if I were to split it up over two days, would you recommend putting the dough in the fridge before or after shaping it? Would returning to it the next day require more time to rise/bake then normal?