***Updated recipe!
Happy Friday, everyone! Friday is a special day in Judaism where we celebrate Shabbat (Sabbath). For as long as I can remember, every Friday night my family would gather for a home-cooked dinner, and my dad always made a delicious challah.
Though challah is as well-known to me as Coca-Cola, I know some people may not be as familiar with this delicious, slightly-sweet egg bread. When done right, it is among my most favorite things in the world. And it makes the absolute best French toast the next day.
I have experimented with a lot of different challah recipes through the years. The one I'm using now is my favorite by far. It's my dad's recipe! It yields the perfect, sweet, fluffy bread. I have really been into making little rolls lately and they are irresistible. The best part is, you can make it all in your mixer!
Challah
Ingredients:
Add 1 cup of warm water, sugar, and yeast to the bowl of a mixer, or any large bowl. Let it proof for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, add in remaining ingredients, alternating between wet and dry ingredients. Make sure all flour is mixed in before adding more. Use a bread hook on a mixer, or mix by hand.
Dough will be very sticky. Mix for five minutes in the mixer, or until it doesn’t stick to your hands (or at least is far less sticky than you started with).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and when it gets to temp, turn the oven off. Or, if your oven has a proof setting use that. Oil the mixing bowl and place dough inside, covered with a wet towel. Leave bowl in warmed oven for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes, the dough should have doubled in size. On a clean, floured surface, split dough into eight equal pieces (I do half, then quarters). Take each ball and split again into three pieces. Braid each piece and tuck ends into each other to form a circle. Place rolls on two well-greased baking sheets (four on each), leaving enough space between rolls to rise. Brush each roll with egg wash and top with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or any topping you’d like. Let rise again for one hour.
Place a container of water in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 325. After the second rise, place rolls in pre-heated (steamy) oven and cook for approximately 25 minutes. Check after 15 to see if they are browning. If so, cover loosely with foil. Bread should be soft, but firm when cooked, and come off sheets fairly easily.
Freeze extra rolls.
Happy Friday, everyone! Friday is a special day in Judaism where we celebrate Shabbat (Sabbath). For as long as I can remember, every Friday night my family would gather for a home-cooked dinner, and my dad always made a delicious challah.
Though challah is as well-known to me as Coca-Cola, I know some people may not be as familiar with this delicious, slightly-sweet egg bread. When done right, it is among my most favorite things in the world. And it makes the absolute best French toast the next day.
I have experimented with a lot of different challah recipes through the years. The one I'm using now is my favorite by far. It's my dad's recipe! It yields the perfect, sweet, fluffy bread. I have really been into making little rolls lately and they are irresistible. The best part is, you can make it all in your mixer!
Challah
Ingredients:
- 1 cup hot (not boiling) water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon yeast (or one packet rapid rise yeast)
- 4 cups of bread flour (I like King Arthur)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg for egg wash (5 total)
Add 1 cup of warm water, sugar, and yeast to the bowl of a mixer, or any large bowl. Let it proof for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, add in remaining ingredients, alternating between wet and dry ingredients. Make sure all flour is mixed in before adding more. Use a bread hook on a mixer, or mix by hand.
Dough will be very sticky. Mix for five minutes in the mixer, or until it doesn’t stick to your hands (or at least is far less sticky than you started with).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and when it gets to temp, turn the oven off. Or, if your oven has a proof setting use that. Oil the mixing bowl and place dough inside, covered with a wet towel. Leave bowl in warmed oven for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes, the dough should have doubled in size. On a clean, floured surface, split dough into eight equal pieces (I do half, then quarters). Take each ball and split again into three pieces. Braid each piece and tuck ends into each other to form a circle. Place rolls on two well-greased baking sheets (four on each), leaving enough space between rolls to rise. Brush each roll with egg wash and top with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or any topping you’d like. Let rise again for one hour.
Place a container of water in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 325. After the second rise, place rolls in pre-heated (steamy) oven and cook for approximately 25 minutes. Check after 15 to see if they are browning. If so, cover loosely with foil. Bread should be soft, but firm when cooked, and come off sheets fairly easily.
Freeze extra rolls.
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