There’s nothing quite like it. Challah bread is just one of those things that simply cannot be substituted for. And thanks to an awesome tutorial from The Kitchn, I was able to make my very own loaf. And man was it spectacular! We had dreams of the perfect challah french toast… We broke off piece after piece discussing what we’d do with “the rest” until… there was no “rest.” Ha! Oh well… There’s always next time! I WILL be making this again!
I’m actually quite proud that my very first challah came out as beautifully as it did. And I believe in my heart that Great Grandma Isaacs is proud of me too. 😀 Speaking of Great Grandma, here’s a #flashbackfriday for you! 😀
So as I’m sure you can tell by now, my family is a melting pot within itself… and I wouldn’t have it any other way. From challah bread to jerk chicken to gumbo, there’s a great recipe to go with every cultural influence in our gene pool. 🙂
Now about this challah….
It looks intimidating, but it’s actually more fun than anything. Who’d think I’d learn how to do a 6 strand brain with bread dough before I could do it with hair?! Ha!
And just when you think you’ve had all the fun… it comes out of the oven. Looking. Like. THISSSSSSSSSSSS!!!
…See why there wasn’t any left for french toast?!?
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1 cup room temperature water
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup organic cane sugar plus more for yeast and sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons iodized sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk (hold on to the egg white!)
- ¼ cup canola oil
- In a liquid measuring cup, add the water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Stir a few times to dissolve the yeast and let stand 5-10 minutes until frothy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the eggs, the extra yolk, and oil into the well. Use a for to lightly beat the eggs and oil together, pulling in only a little of the dry ingredients from the sides of the well at a time.
- Pour the yeast over the egg mixture in the center of the well, and use a wooden spoon to stir all the ingredients together until you get a clumpy, craggy dough.
- Attach your dough hook to your mixer and knead the dough on low speed for 6-8 minutes. Continue kneading until the dough is soft and holds together in a smooth ball. If the dough is super sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it's only a little tacky.
- Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 1½ - 2 hours.
- When the dough has risen, divide it into equal pieces for braiding--either 3 or 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 1 inch thick and 16 inches long.
- Arrange your ropes with one end at the top of the counter and the other end directly in front of you. Press the top ends of the ropes together and fold them under. Braid* the ropes together as tightly and as delicately as you can, re-centering the loaf as needed. When you get to the end, press the ends together as you did at the top and tuck them under.
- Now, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the braided loaf to the baking sheet. Dust it with a pinch of flour and cover it with a lint-free kitchen towel. Let the loaf rise in a warm spot until fluffy, about an hour.
- When the loaf has risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grab the egg white you saved and whisk in 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash over the risen challah loaf, being sure to get all the crevices. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and put it in the oven.
- Bake the challah for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through the baking time.
- Remove the challah to a cooling rack and let cool until it's just warm before slicing.
So: if the ropes were numbered 1-6 from left to right, you'd start with number 6. Bring it over #5 and #4, pull it underneath #3, and then over #2 and #1. Thus #6 is now the new #1, and you'll start again with the new #6. Repeat until you run out of dough. 🙂
You'll have to adjust as you go-- your loaf will tend to swerve to the left-- but that's ok. Just shimmy it back to center and keep braiding!