Back in the day, working at the bread store, I loved Thursdays because it was Challah day! We would literally yell Challllllllaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh all day. My wonderful friend Amy had a New Year’s Eve party celebrating all the winter holidays and challenged me to make Challah and Injera so I gladly accepted! Challah can be made in one day but does require a lot of back and forth for rising and proofing. Overall not a lot of actual work time but about 4 hours from start to chowder time! This recipe came from Delicious Shots, I have moved this from metric to standard measurements.
With a stand mixer and a dough hook, add flour, water, whole egg, egg yolk, honey, yeast and salt and mix it up on low for 5 minutes. At that point it will come together and you will want to slowly start adding the sugar. I just poured it in a steady, slow stream and you can see it getting folded into the dough. After the sugar, do the same with the oil, a slow, steady stream. Once it is all in there, dump it out on a board and knead it by hand for about 3 minutes and place it in a oiled bowl. Cover in plastic and let it rest for 45 minutes. Punch it down and let it rest another 45 minutes.
After resting, cut it into 9 even pieces and then cover those pieces with plastic and let it rest another 15 minutes. Then on a floured surface, roll out each piece into about 12 inches, placing each piece on a piece of a parchment paper lined cookie sheet (3 pieces on each). Delicious Shots has a great picture of how to braid but it is just like braiding hair. Pinch the ends, and start by moving an outside piece to the middle, then move the other outside piece to the middle and continue this pattern until you get to the end and pinch and tuck in the ends. Brush with eggwash, put a few toothpicks in each and cover in plastic wrap for an hour and a half.
Remove plastic wrap and toothpicks, add more eggwash and add toppings if desired, I did sesame seeds on one, you could do poppy or everything seasoning… Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and enjoy!
Challah
Ingredients
- 7 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/4 Cups Water
- 3 Whole Eggs
- 6 Egg Yolks
- 2 Tbls Honey
- 1 1/3 Tbls Instant Dry Yeast
- 1 1/4 Tbls Salt
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Vegatable Oil
- Eggwash
- Sesame Seeds Optional
Instructions
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In a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine flour, water, whole egg, egg yolk, honey, yeast and salt. Mix on low speed for about 5 minutes. If your mixer starts straining, knead by hand.
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Add the sugar, once incorporated, slowly start streaming the oil in.
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Remove from bowl, knead a bit by hand. Place in a greased bowl and cover, allow to rest for 45 minutes.
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Uncover the bowl, punch down the dough, and cover. Allow to rest for another 45 minutes.
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On a floured surface, shape the dough into a square as best as you can. Cut into 9 equal pieces, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
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Roll each piece to about 18 inches and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Pinch top of 3 pieces, and braid down to the end. Tuck in end. Brush with egg wash, put toothpicks in bread and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to proof for 1 1/2 hours.
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Pre-heat oven to 350. Brush more egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like. You could also add poppy seeds or even everything seasoning.