Filed under: Bread
This is the challah recipe that my mother makes on Shabbats. She uses a bread machine on the dough cycle, but here is how to do it by hand.
1 1/4 cups of warm water
1 packet of yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 egg, plus 1 egg for egg wash
1 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of sugar or 1/3 cup of honey
1/8 tsp of cardamon (optional)
1 stick of butter or margarine, melted
4 cups of flour
1. In a large bowl combine warm water, yeast and a tsp on sugar. Let rest for 5-10 minutes until the yeast is dissolved and foamy. (This proofs the yeast to make sure its working)
2. Mix in wet ingredients (egg and butter).
3. Mix in salt, cardamom, rest of sugar (1/2 cup, minus a teaspoon) and 3 cups of flour. I tend to mix one cup of flour at a time until its totally combined.
4. At the fourth cup of flour take it more slowly. You may need more, you may need less. You want the dough to be soft, but not sticky.
5. When the dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl, take it out and start kneading it on a floured surface. Knead with hands until its smooth and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
6. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rest for 1-2 hours in a warms spot, until doubled. You can punch it down every 20 minutes.
7. When doughs done rising, knead it again briefly on a floured surface.
8. Then cut it in half for two loads. For each loaf, cut dough into a number of equal sized balls depending on how you want to braid it. I use 4 strands, but you can use 3, 6, 10- however you like.
9. Roll out each ball into a long equal length strands. Then flour each strand (they won’t bleed into each other as much when cooked) and press together at the tips. Fold the combined area under the loaf and braid. At the end squeeze the strands together again, and roll the tip under the loaf.
10. Placed braided loaves on a greased sheet, cover with a cloth, and let rest for 45 minutes.
11. Pre-heat oven to 350 about 15-20 minutes before placing Challah in oven.
12. After 45 minutes, beat an egg for egg wash and paint the top of each challah with it. My mom has a baking brush. I used a piece of paper towel. Make sure you get all the nooks and crannies.
13. Bake Challah for 30 minutes. Check after 20. It should be nice and golden.
14. Enjoy!!
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