Liora has adapted her Challah recipe from the Breaking Breads cookbook. It was absolutely delicious and was quickly devoured by all. It was less egg-y than the Joan Nathan version we tried last Rosh Hashanah. She likes to experiment with different flours. Of the 7 total cups of flour required, up to 1/3 is whole wheat or sometimes spelt or Teff flour. She also likes to make the dough the night before she wants it, allowing it to proof some in the fridge to save time in the morning. There are so many fun ways to braid it and plenty of how-to videos or photos a quick Google away. That day, she cut the recipe in half and we split the dough into 2 loaves. You can divide the dough as you please, depending on the shape and/or the number of loaves you want. For reference, the loaf pictured with nigella seeds is about 1/3 worth of the dough from this recipe. I have to say it was so good that I would always make the whole thing and save some for later or gift it to friends or neighbors. It can be frozen whole or sliced. Or just make French toast if you are lucky to have any leftovers the next day.
CuisineIsraeli
Keywordbread, israeli food, israeli recipes
Ingredients
Dough:
1 2/3cuproom temperature water
3tbsp+2 tsp fresh yeast OR 1 tbsp + 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
5cupsall-purpose flour, plus extra for shaping
2cupswhole wheat flour
2extra large eggs
1/2cupsugar
1tbspfine salt
5tbspsunflower oil
Egg Wash / Topping:
1large egg
1tbspwater
1pinchfine salt
optional: nigella seedspoppy or sesame seeds, or even a combo thereof
Instructions
How to make the dough the night before:
Fit your mixer with the bread hook and add water to the bowl of the mixer. Add the yeast and dissolve it, whisking if it’s active dry yeast, and mixing with fingers if fresh.
Add flour, eggs, sugar, salt and oil, and mix on low until combined (about 2 minutes). Scrape down the bowl or hook as needed.
Adjust water or flour as needed. Flour types and even your local climate will induce slight variations here. If there are bits of flour, add a tiny bit of water. If it feels too sticky, add a small amount of flour. The Breads cookbook would tell you that now is the better time to adjust the consistency rather than after kneading.
Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until a smooth, firm dough forms. This takes about 4 minutes.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with some flour. Put the dough in the center and then stretch it out in one smooth motion. Fold it back on itself halfway. Give it a quarter turn and repeat for about a minute, then make it into a smooth ball.
Put the dough in a bowl lightly dusted with flour, sprinkle a bit more flour on top, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise. If you leave it at room temperature, let it rise to double the size for about an hour. Or, you can put it in the fridge now and take it out in the morning.
In the morning:
Heat oven to 350°F, and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Processing it as little as possible, divide the dough. It’s usually easier to judge if you pull the dough into a rectangular shape first and then use a sharp knife to divide it. If making 2 loaves, first cut it in half, then divide based on how many strands you would like in that loaf. Once divided, let it rest or come to room temperature if you’ve had it in the fridge.
The Breads recipe has a specific way to get the pieces into cylinders, and we followed it. One piece at a time, use your palm to flatten it into a rectangle, fold the top part over and use your palm to press the edge into the flat part of the dough. Fold and press 3 more times and you will have a cylinder several inches long.
Returning to the first piece, use both hands to roll each into a long rope and aim for 14 inches with tapered ends (if going for 2 5-braids).
Loosely braid according to your preference, leaving a bit of space between the strands to allow them to expand before and during cooking otherwise they will tear up when dough rises.
Once braided, place onto the parchment paper with space for it to expand and allow to rest/rise for 20-30 minutes. It will also rise while baking so it should not rise too much for this pre-baking step.
Whisk the ingredients for the egg wash together, and brush onto your loaves, ensuring it is covered fully, but only lightly covered and not pooling. If adding seeds, do it now so that they stick.
Bake for 30 minutes. Bread should rise and be well-browned, per the photo.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!