challah

We’ve been over this before — the part about how I’m not Jewish but love Jewish breads and treats.  And after letting it occupy more of my thoughts than should be allowed, finally — finally – I have tried my hand at challah.  I always get a little nervous whenever I try out a new recipe that involves yeast.  I couldn’t understand for the longest time why yeast makes me so nervous, but after some analysis I realized it’s not the yeast that gives me anxiety, but time.  Given the amount invested in a carefully made yeast bread, I’m always afraid of it being wasted if the dough won’t rise, or I burn the bread in the oven, etcetera.

Luckily, there was no need to worry with challah.  The dough came together, rose, and baked  like a charm.  Turns out, it is a sturdy and forgiving dough, able to withstand a bit of knocking around or start-overs.  What do I mean, ‘start-overs’, you ask?  Well, despite its relative ease, dough-wise, there was one part of the whole challah-making process that nearly got me to throw in the towel: the six-strand braid.

Last time I checked, braids consisted of three strands, usually made of hair, and their construction took place in the bathroom with Jade squirming before me and running off afterward, braided pigtails bouncing behind her.  Not in this case.  With challah you will find yourself in the kitchen — if you’re me, at least — six ropes of dough spread out before you, and absolutely no idea what to do with them.  In my case, written instructions did no good, as  no matter how many times they were re-read (I’m a visual person), the result was a tangled ball of dough.  Once I realized I just wasn’t getting it without some kind of visual step-by-step aid, it pretty much went downhill from there.  Not willing to settle for a standard braid, my patience began to run thin and the  heat of the oven, waiting to receive the bread, began to cause a tiny row of beaded sweat to collect on my brow.

What to do?  Well, I could have sucked it up, and split it into two regular three-strand braided loaves.  I could have rolled the whole thing into one long rope and made a swirl design.  I could have even split the dough into thirds and  simply put each piece into regular loaf pans.  But, no.  I couldn’t do that, because I wanted the real thing.  So I found myself doing what I did when I couldn’t figure out how to truss a chicken (the full, around-the-backbone kind of trussing), and a five pound bird and I got into a fight in my kitchen (I won): I stopped what I was doing and watched a video.

Thank goodness for youtube.  How else could Maya Sophia show me how to save my dough?  If you watch the video you will see how easy the dough is to work with, and how sturdy it is when it is handled.  And, once I got the braiding pattern down, it came together in a flash.  The final product was wonderful: sort of dense in an easy-to-slice way, slightly sweet, perfect for toast, and pure perfection when it comes to French toast.  Well worth the time and effort, indeed.

Challah Recipe
adapted from Leite’s Culinaria

One of my favorite things about this bread, if you can forgive the six-strand braid, is the few ingredients needed to make it, and its relative simplicity.  Also, this recipe gives the option to use either all-purpose or bread flour; I went with the bread flour and really liked it.  You can use other toppings if you don’t want to sprinkle with sugar; poppy seeds are frequently used.    

Ingredients:

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (if you microwave, make sure to stir and test with a finger.  If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast.)
1/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour, or 5 1/2 to 6 cups bleached all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons salt

1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of sugar, for egg wash + 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast and the water.  Mix for a minute or so with a spatula to dissolve the yeast.

Add the sugar.  Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix for a few seconds on low speed, then add about ½ cup of the flour.  Mix again.

Add the eggs.  Increase the speed slightly and mix.  Once the eggs are well incorporated, stop the machine and add 1 more cup of flour. On medium-low speed, work in the flour, then add the oil and salt, mixing until combined.

Turn off the machine and add 3 cups of the remaining flour (a total of 4½ cups).   Switch to the dough hook.  On medium speed, continue to work the flour into the dough, shutting the machine off once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Let the machine knead the dough for 15 minutes, continuing to turn the mixer off every few minutes to scrape down the bowl, if necessary, and to let the motor rest (with such a dense dough, the motor can overheat if it runs continuously). After a few minutes, the dough should start to come away from the sides of the bowl, although, with all-purpose flour, it may stick slightly to the bottom. (Though I used the bread flour, I still had this problem.  I ended up adding an extra ½ cup flour.)  If necessary, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, stopping the motor each time you do so. In the end, the dough should be firm, smooth, and elastic, and only slightly sticky.

Put the dough into a large oiled bowl, turning to completely coat it with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until tripled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

* * *

Punch down the dough. To make a 6-strand braid*, cut dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and keep them on a lightly floured board, covered with a clean dish towel.  Let rise 30 minutes longer.

Roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long, thick in the center and tapered to a point on each end. Line up the strands and pinch the ends together.  (At this point, you can read the directions below, or you can watch a video and follow along with it.)  Written instructions:

Bring strand #6 from the right end over strand #1 and up to the left. Bring strand #1 from the left up to the top right.

You now have a four-legged, two-armed creature with the arms crossed over each other. Keeping the legs spread apart in pairs, bring the left arm (as you face it) down into the center between the legs. Bring the outer right leg over and up to form a new top left arm. Bring the top right arm down between the legs.

Repeat the pattern: the left outer leg comes up to form the new right arm, and the left arm comes down to the center; the right leg comes up to form the new left arm, and the right arm comes down to the center. Finish by pinching the ends tightly closed.

Always keep hold of the last strand you moved so that you remember your location in the pattern. When moving strands, grasp the arms by the ends where hands would be. Grasp the legs where feet would be. Keep the legs spread in pairs so that the arms can easily be brought down to the center. If you make an error and become confused, stop, open the braid, and begin again. When you’re done, turn the bread upside down. The design should be perfectly symmetrical — if it’s not, undo the braid and begin again.

* * *

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Place braided loaf on sheet.  Brush the egg wash onto the surface of the dough, making sure to glaze the crevices between strands.  Sprinkle loaf with additional 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.   If the bread gets too dark, place a piece of foil on top.  To test for doneness, tap the bottom of the loaf with your fingers; it should sound hollow.  Transfer to a rack to cool thoroughly before slicing and serving.

*Alternative shapes:

• To make 1 round loaf, form the dough into 1 long rope and coil the rope into a round loaf. Cover with a clean dish towel and let the dough rise another 30 minutes.

• To make standard loaves, divide the dough into thirds and pack each third into an oiled 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. Cover the pans with clean dish towels and let the dough rise 30 minutes longer, until it is over the top of the pan.