This wonderful Braided Challah Bread from Baking with Julia introduced again childhood recollections of my first bites of this pleasant, dense, and chewy loaf! It’s a Wealthy Egg Bread that’s served on the Sabbath and sure Jewish holidays.
Do this Challah and dazzle your family and friends with this beautiful Jewish bread. Your kitchen will fill with a tantalizing aroma as this egg bread bakes within the oven.
Why You Should Make
- Braided challah was my absolute favourite bread as a toddler, it’s scrumptious!
- Gentle, chewy, eggy. I beloved it from my first chew.
- It’s excellent for French toast and different breakfast casseroles, however simply as tasty smeared with some creamy butter.
This wasn’t a loaf generally present in Ames, Iowa, the place I grew up. It was on our annual household summer season trip to Aspen, Colorado, the place I used to be uncovered to my first challah bread recipe.
Wired up with anticipation, my sisters and I might by no means sleep the night time earlier than departure. 4 ladies, dosed with banana Dramamine, piled into the again of our inexperienced Plymouth Satellite tv for pc station wagon with my dad on the helm and my mother at his facet.
No seat belts, no radio, no air con, simply one another singing, bickering, and bugging my mother and father all through the 12-hour trip. The stretch throughout Nebraska was endless, however once we lastly caught a glimpse of the foothills of the Rockies, our pleasure was palpable.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Sugar, Lukewarm Water (about 110°), Salt, Heat Milk
- Lively Dry Yeast – 2 packets; I take advantage of Crimson Star Yeast
- Unsalted Butter -This bread shouldn’t be pareve as a result of addition of butter.
- Honey – Native honey might assist with allergic reactions. Provides sweetness to the loaves.
- Further Giant Eggs plus one Yolk – Provides richness to this bread.
- Bread Flour – I take advantage of King Arthur Model.
- Cornmeal – For dusting the baking sheets earlier than the third rising.
- Sesame Seeds and/or Poppy Seeds – Elective, to garnish after brushing unbaked loaves with an egg wash.
Be aware: With the addition of butter, this challah recipe shouldn’t be thought of parve, so extra of a brioche than challah. However no matter it’s labeled, it’s a winner. Parve or pareve is a Yiddish time period which means the dish doesn’t include meat or dairy.
I made challah pretzels with half my dough, and people disappeared even sooner than the loaf. Entire Wheat Challah is great, too! I’ve additionally made a scrumptious, autumnal Pumpkin Challah.
Professional Suggestions
I’ve by no means been formally skilled however these are some ideas which have helped me braid challah bread. It definitely helps for those who grew up braiding hair, though it’s easy sufficient to be taught even for those who’re a novice braider.
- PRO-Tip: Begin with the simpler 3-stranded braid. There are some enjoyable 6+ stranded loaves, however they’re for the extra superior bread baker.
- PRO-Tip: Apply with some defrosted frozen bread dough. The outcomes gained’t be fairly as tasty, however you gained’t must be taught each the making of the dough and the right way to plait at one time. I did this when educating some mates the right way to braid bread and it labored nicely.
- Start with forming 3 evenly sized ropes of dough. Roll them on a really evenly floured work floor, however don’t stretch. The lengths and diameters ought to be the identical.
- Begin by putting all 3 ropes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pinching the three ropes collectively on one finish.
- Begin the braiding course of by crossing the rope on the appropriate over the middle rope, then the rope on the left over the middle rope. Repeat till the braid is full.
- Pinch the ends of the ropes collectively and tuck them beneath for a clear look.
- Enable the bread to proof per your recipe’s directions, then glaze and bake.
- Sprinkling the highest with sesame or poppy seeds is a pleasant final touch. Do that instantly after you sweep on the egg glaze so that they stick.
Regularly Requested Questions
Challah is made with each eggs and oil (or butter). It’s a wealthy bread with a lightweight, ethereal texture plus a barely yellow colour. It’s a conventional Jewish yeast bread.
Brioche is a French creation and is a wealthy, although mild, yeast bread. It may be made into loaves however is usually shaped into small buns. There are particular fluted molds used to create brioche à tête that are small buns with an additional dough topper making a “tete” or head.
Challah, hallah, or challa is a Jewish bread, served on the Sabbath in addition to holy days. Usually braided however it may be made into many different shapes.
It’s historically made with out butter so it is going to be kosher/dairy-free. This model does include butter so shouldn’t be kosher.
Challah is braided simply as you’d braid hair. The dough for one loaf is made into three equal-length ropes. To braid, they’re lined up facet by facet, then one rope is crossed over one other simply as with plaiting hair.
The braids signify reality, peace, and justice.
A slice of challah is scrumptious with a drizzle of honey, dipped in flavored oil, however I adore it with butter. Jam will also be added. Use it for toast, for sandwiches, or serve it sliced with nearly any meal!
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Elements
- 2 packages of energetic dry yeast
- ½ cup lukewarm water (about 110°)
- ⅓ cup sugar, plus a pinch
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, thinly sliced, plus 2 tablespoons, melted
- 1 cup heat milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, plus 1 extra-large egg overwhelmed with 1 extra-large egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water, for glazing
- About 6 cups of bread flour
- Cornmeal, for dusting
- Sesame seeds, Poppy seeds, non-compulsory
Directions
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast within the lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar and let it stand till it begins to bubble.
- In a medium saucepan, mix the sliced butter and the milk. Heat over low simply till the butter melts.
- Stir within the remaining ⅓ cup of sugar, honey, and salt. Pour the milk combination into a big bowl and stir within the yeast and the 4 eggs.
- Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, stirring vigorously with every addition. Cease including flour when the dough has cleaned the perimeters of the bowl and it’s troublesome to stir.
- Grease a big bowl with 1 ½ tablespoons of the melted butter. Place the dough within the buttered bowl and brush the highest with the remaining ½ tablespoon of melted butter.
- Cowl the bowl with plastic wrap and a skinny towel and let rise in a heat spot till doubled, about 2 hours.
- Punch down the dough, then cowl and let rise till doubled once more, about 1 ¼ hours.
- Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle the paper with cornmeal. On a evenly floured work floor, divide the dough in half.
- Cowl one half with plastic wrap and divide the opposite half into 3 equal items.
- Utilizing evenly floured fingers, roll each bit right into a 10-inch-long rope with tapered ends.
- Organize the ropes facet by facet and simply touching. Beginning within the center and dealing towards one finish, braid the ropes collectively, bringing the skin ropes over the middle one. Pinch the ends to seal and tuck them beneath.
- Flip the hang around and repeat with the opposite half, this time braiding the outer ropes beneath the middle one. Seal the ends, tuck them beneath, and switch the loaf to a ready baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cowl the loaves with skinny towels and let rise for 35 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Brush the loaves with the egg glaze. Let stand uncovered for 10 minutes, then brush once more with the glaze.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds if desired.
- Bake the loaves within the higher and decrease thirds of the oven, switching the pans midway by means of baking, for 35 to 45 minutes, or till they’re golden and sound hole when tapped on the underside.
- Tent the loaves with foil in the event that they turn into too brown throughout baking.
- Switch to a rack and let cool totally earlier than slicing.
Notes
Whole time doesn’t embody proofing occasions.
This recipe incorporates butter so shouldn’t be dairy free so not kosher.
Beneficial Merchandise
As an Amazon Affiliate and member of different affiliate applications, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Diet Info:
Yield:
24
Serving Dimension:
2 slices
Quantity Per Serving:
Energy: 186Whole Fats: 3gSaturated Fats: 1gTrans Fats: 0gUnsaturated Fats: 1gLdl cholesterol: 56mgSodium: 250mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 7g
