In an attempt to impress Brian (and myself) for Yom Kippur this past weekend, I decided I’d make homemade challah. I’ve never made any type of bread in my entire life, so needless to say, I was very nervous. What if I over baked it? Could I successfully braid the dough? To this day, I don’t know even how to french braid hair!
Much to my surprise, making challah wasn’t as difficult as I first thought. It uses the simplest of ingredients and a forgiving recipe – meaning you don’t have to be super precise as in other types of baking. A little dry? Add some liquid. Too wet? Add some flour. It is a labor of love though. I bow down to any Jew who takes the time to make homemade challah every Shabbat. Or anyone who has made bread more than once in 28 years. With the prep, the 3 risings, the braiding, and the constant staring at the oven whilst biting my nails, my first challah making process took from 8 AM to about noon. Did I mention I was fasting too!? Instead of spending the morning baking, Brian had a much better fasting strategy of sleeping until 12:30 PM.
Though it takes patience, making challah (and probably other types of bread) is very rewarding. When I saw that beautifully browned, shiny bread emerge hot from the oven, I was so happy. I felt like knocking on my neighbors’ doors and saying, “Um hi…I freaking MADE THIS.” I was pretty proud. Though it was almost too pretty to eat, we were hungry when we finally sat down to break fast after a hard day of sitting around and watching the clock. The challah was delicious – crisp on the outside and soft, doughy, and slightly sweet in the middle. It was the perfect accompaniment to our meal.
Recipe after the jump!
I used a great challah recipe from one of my favorite blogs (other than EMDM), Smitten Kitchen:
Challah Bread
Time: about 1 hour, plus 2 1/2 hours’ rising
Yield: 2 loaves
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 to 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins per challah, if using, plumped in hot water and drained
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling.
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
2. Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading, but be careful if using a standard size KitchenAid–it’s a bit much for it, though it can be done.)
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
4. At this point, you can knead the raisins into the challah, if you’re using them, before forming the loaves. To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
5. Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
6. If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.
7. Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. (If you have an instant read thermometer, you can take it out when it hits an internal temperature of 190 degrees.) Cool loaves on a rack.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s a gorgeous challah! I’m totally jealous, since my attempt this year was disastrous. I need to get back into the kitchen!
I am so proud of you! Can’t wait until you can make one for us to taste!