Heavenly Challah Bread

My family has a loaf of challah on our table every Friday night. We tend to buy it at the store Friday morning, but it’s a lot more satisfying and fun to make it with your own two hands. Making your own challah is definitely on the time-consuming side of things, but the time is more in the rising than the actual kneading and shaping. The smell of your kitchen as it bakes will make it all worthwhile.

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The timing of all the rising is important in this recipe, so make sure to read it through and plan around it – you don’t want to rush your loaves in the oven because you have to leave the house, or to let them over-rise because you got stuck in traffic. A lazy Sunday is perfect for making this bread, while you get all the things around the house done that you’ve been putting off all week. If you have a mixer with a dough hook attachment, you can knead it in there, but I tend to do it with my hands anyway – more fun, and better control. FYI – you can substitute half the flour in this recipe with whole wheat flour for a healthier loaf.

The fancy braided shape can be intimidating, but if you’ve ever made pigtails in your hair, you’ll catch on to this quick. I pinched off a piece of dough to make this little knot for scientific tasting purposes. You can pull of a piece of your own dough, and let little hands shape it into whatever they want. Homemade bread tends to go stale fast, so I usually leave one loaf out and freeze the other one. Plus, everybody know that challah makes the best french toast!

Challah – makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 packets) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
8 to 8 1/2 cups flour

1 egg and sesame seeds for topping

Instructions:

Place the yeast, tablespoon of sugar and water in a large bowl together. Let stand for 10 minutes until small bubbles form. (If they don’t, your yeast is expired.)

Whisk in the oil, the the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Mix in the rest of the sugar, and the salt. Gradually mix in 8 cups of flour. 

Turn the dough out onto a surface and knead will floured hands until smooth, and no streaks of flour remain. It should be slightly sticky, but manageable. If it is overly sticky, add in the remaining 1/2 cup flour. 

Place the dough in a large, greased bowl (I wash out the one I mixed it in) and cover with a towel or loose saran wrap. Let sit in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size. Punch down the dough, and let it sit another 1/2 hour.

Divid the dough into six equal pieces. Set 3 aside. Roll the remaining 3 into long ropes, and braid together, securing the top and bottom of the loaf well, then tucking the ends underneath. Repeat with the remaining pieces.

Place the loaves on greased cookie sheets. Brush with the beaten egg (reserve what’s left), and let rise another hour. Brush with the remaining egg again, and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.

Bake at 375 F for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

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