Easter Challah! (traditional braided egg bread)
Ingredients:
6 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon (1 package) of yeast
1 Tablespoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs plus two egg yolks
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir until you can't stir anymore. (Or place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead with a dough hook until smooth dough forms.) Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead with the palms of your hands until dough has become firm and elastic and not sticky, adding flour if necessary. Cover and let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375. Divide dough in half and then each half in thirds. Stretch and roll each third into a long 'snake'. Place on baking sheet and braid three strands together, pinching ends tightly and tucking them under. Let rest again, half an hour. In a small bowl, beat another egg together with a splash of water. Brush the risen loaves with the egg and sprinkle with coarse salt, poppy seed or sesame seed. Place in oven for 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Remove and let cool slightly before serving. Best served fresh but freezes very well.
Challah (Braided Jewish Egg Bread)
Challah is a traditional Jewish egg bread. It’s soft and fluffy, a little sweet, and delicious plain, for sandwiches, and especially for French toast.
For a direct link to the recipe in pdf format, please click below:
Please visit my website for more wonderful tried and true recipes!
EllensBreadMachineRecipes.com
Challah Recipe by Ellen (some amounts have been changed since I made the video, as I perfect the recipe.)
Make in two pound capacity bread machine
190g water (or chicken drippings )
2 eggs, beaten
54g grapeseed oil (or chicken fat)
540g King Arthur bread flour (may need more flour-check your dough)
40g honey
24g sugar
6g salt
7g SAF INSTANT yeast (gold bag for sweeter breads)
Regular instant yeast is ok too.
***I added 26g of cocoa powder to get the brown dough for the crown.
After 5 minutes of kneading, check your dough. You may need to add some flour or water.
DO NOT BAKE IN BREAD MACHINE! THIS RECIPE RISES TOO HIGH!
For challah, take dough out, divide into the number of desired strands and Braid. Let rise in slightly warmed oven for 45 minutes, then egg wash and bake. (Turn oven on to lowest setting for minute. ONE MINUTE ONLY! ) Turn oven off. Put dough in the slightly warmed oven for 40 minutes.
Take out, preheat oven to 350.
Egg wash and add toppings of choice.
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Cover with foil loosely if top is getting too brown. Use an instant read thermometer to check internal temp. It should reach 190-200 degrees.
Bake in two 2-pound loaf pans or braid, rise, and bake on cookie sheet with parchment, or in a 10” oval challah pan
How to use dough cycle and finish bread in oven by Ellen Hoffman
I have made hundreds of loaves of bread and dozens of batches of dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, chocolate rolls, braided challah, etc. I follow this same routine every time with success. I hope this helps those of you ready to take the next step in bread baking.
1. Read your manual to find out how to set for dough cycle.
2. Put ingredients in and set for dough. (My Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus takes about 90 minutes at this point.)
3. The dough cycle takes it through rest, mix, knead, first rise, punch down, and a second rise . Mine punches it down a little at the end.
4. When the dough cycle is complete, remove dough and unplug machine. Put dough on a floured surface. (Sometimes I use oil instead. I do this with rye bread always.)
5. Shape dough for loaf pan or rolls.
6. Spray loaf pan with nonstick spray or prepare cookie sheet with parchment if making rolls.
7. If making a loaf of bread, shape dough to fit loaf pan, and pop it in.
8. If making rolls, form rolls as you wish. You can use muffin pans for rolls as an option.
9. Leaving dough on counter, set your oven to 170 (or lowest temperature your oven can be set to) for ONLY ONE MINUTE and turn it off. DO Not let it reach the 170 or lowest temp. We are just providing a slightly warmed oven. This is crucial! Set a timer so you don’t forget. More than a minute is too long.
10. Put dough in the slightly warmed oven. (I never cover it when I do this because there’s no draft in the oven.)
11. Set timer for 45 minutes.
12. Relax!
13. When timer goes off, remove dough from oven.
14. Preheat oven to 350. I bake EVERYTHING at 350 except rye bread that bakes at 375.
15. Prepare egg wash (optional) while oven is preheating: One egg beaten plus a splash of water. I don’t measure the water. It’s somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon and it’s not crucial! If you want to add seeds or other topping, get that out.
16. Brush top of loaf or rolls with egg wash using a pastry brush. Sprinkle seeds or whatever or leave plain.
17. If you don’t use egg wash, your bread will have a more matte or floury crust. Egg wash gives it a pretty color and a bit of sheen.
18. Put loaf or rolls on middle rack in oven. Most loaves bake at approximately 25-30 minutes. Set timer for 20 minutes and check color. I use a bamboo skewer to check inside doneness. Recently I bought an instant read thermometer and make sure the reading is between 180 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
19. Rolls will take less time. Set timer for 10 minutes and keep checking.
20. When bread is done, turn bread out of loaf pan onto a cooling rack immediately. If you made rolls, transfer to cooling rack.
21. Cool your bread 2-3 hours before slicing. Whatever you don’t eat the same day should go into the freezer in a freezer quality plastic bag. I freeze as soon as it’s cooled and sliced, usually within 4-5 hours of baking. Just take out a slice when you need it and toast!
22. Bread and rolls freeze really well! If you’re planning for guests or a holiday, you can do gorgeous rolls for dinner or cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
Claire Saffitz Makes Perfect Challah and Babka | Try This at Home | NYT Cooking
Claire Saffitz is back for another round of “Try This at Home,” a series where she guides you through different baking projects and techniques. Today’s lesson is on making classic challah bread. No stand mixer? No problem. This recipe is surprisingly simple and perfect for beginners who are just starting their breadmaking journey: The whole thing is done by hand. Claire also demonstrates different ways to shape the bread, as well as another application for the dough: cinnamon babka.
Get the recipes:
Challah Bread |
Cinnamon Babka |
0:00 - 0:56: Intro
0:56 - 1:56: What is challah?
1:56 - 3:44: Preferment
3:44 - 8:39: Mix the dough
8:39 - 9:45: The windowpane test
9:45 - 12:24: Adding raisins
12:24 - 12:54: Six-strand braided challah
16:42 - 20:10: How to braid the challah
20:10 - 21:49: Finishing the six-strand challah
21:49 - 24:14: Raisin-studded round challah
24:14 - 26:37: Bake!
26:37 - 34:30: Cinnamon babka
34:30 - END: Eat!
------------------------------------------
VISIT NYT COOKING:
SUBSCRIBE to NYT COOKING:
A paid subscription gets you full access to our recipes, daily inspiration and a digital Recipe Box.
SUBSCRIBE:
INSTAGRAM:
FACEBOOK:
TWITTER:
PINTEREST:
About NYT Cooking:
All the food that’s fit to eat (yes, it’s an official New York Times production).
Braided Challah
Challah is a soft and fluffy egg bread, often served on the Jewish sabbath. It's delicious all on its own, or topped with butter and/or jam. If I can make and braid Challah, then YOU can make and braid Challah! Ingredients are listed below:
Ingredients for 2 loaves:
1 1/3 cups warm (105-110°F) water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 large eggs, beaten
5 cups bread flour OR 6 cups all-purpose flour (add slightly more flour as necessary to achieve a workable dough)
How To Make Challah Bread Recipe | Homemade Braided Bread
Learn how to make the best Challah bread recipe at home. Check out the video to get all my tips on how to knead, roll, and braid six braided Challah for not only a delicious but also a gorgeous homemade loaf.
Throughout history it has also referred to as:
Shabbat Bread
Jewish Celebration Bread
Jewish Knotted Bread
Hollow Bread
Kitke Bread
Rosh Hashanah Celebration Bread
Jewish Sweet Bread
CHALLAH BREAD INGREDIENTS:
6 all-purpose flour (850 gr) Plus 1 cup to use during kneading
1 tablespoon Kosher salt (17 gr)
2 packets rapid rise yeast (14 gr) 1/2 oz.
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil Plus 1 tablespoon for greasing the bowl
1 3/4 cup water (412 ml) – lukewarm to the touch – somewhere between 80-90 degrees F.
3 large eggs at room temperature
For Egg Wash & Topping
1 large egg at room temperature
1 tbsp water
3 tablespoons black and white sesame seeds optional
TIMESTAMPS & CHALLAH INSTRUCTIONS:
1:13 Place all-purpose flour into a bowl
1:39 Add in rapid rise yeast into the bowl
1:48 Add in kosher salt
1:53 Give it a whisk
1:55 Add in eggs
2:01 Add in vegetable oil
2:09 Add in honey
2:15 Pour in lukewarm water
2:21 Give it a stir until fully mixed
2:38 Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface
2:49 Knead for 10 minutes
2:55 How much more flour should we add?
3:32 Grease a large bowl
3:35 Add in the dough upside down and roll it around to make sure it is coated with oil
3:43 Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour and a half
3:50 Punch to get the air out and let it rise for one more time
4:16 Transfer the dough onto the surface and knead for a few turns
4:34 Measure and divide the dough into 12 equal balls
5:31 Roll each ball into a 12-13 inch strand & continue with the rest
6:21 How to six braid Challah bread? Step by step
8:21 Transfer onto a baking sheet
8:30 Brush with egg wash & let it rise uncovered
8:49 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8:55 How to roll Challah with raisins?
10:05 Transfer onto a baking sheet
10:14 Brush with egg wash & let it rise uncovered
10:26 Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds (optional)
10:35 Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown
10:53 Let it cool
11:14 Is it okay if my braided bread doesn't look perfect?
11:50 Can I incorporate other things like nuts or olives?
12:10 Can I make Challah using a standing mixer?
12:35 The best way to store and freeze this Challah bread recipe
13:09 Love bread? Be sure to try my No-Knead Olive Bread Recipe
Get the full printable recipe:
#Challah #BraidedBread #Challahbreadrecipe #Jewishbread #Shabbatbread
LET'S BECOME FRIENDS:
???? Sign up to my weekly email newsletter & download your free ebook of delicious salads:
???? My Blog:
???? Instagram -
???? Facebook -
My video equipment:
???????? WHO AM I:
My name is Aysegul, but my friends call me Ice. I am the author behind foolproofliving.com, the place to go for tried and true recipes made without the use of refined sugars. You can learn more about me here ????????
How to Make The Best Braided Bread: Challah
Braiding a challah whether it's three strand, four strand, or even six strand is truly the only part in the entire recipe that's slightly challenging. The rest of it is surprisingly easy. All the more reason to bake your own to have on hand for the best french toasts of all time, epic grilled cheeses, or whatever you like to use challah for. It's good for most things but it toasts up especially nice. Hope you love it!
Recipe:
My Fermentation station (my proofer):
FOLLOW ME:
Instagram:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Website:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Music - Moroccan Groove By Saib:
---------------------------------------------------------------