Challah Bread

Challah bread is a great bread for ending the week. Slightly sweet and easy to digest, I also love it for a Friday night carbo load before a big weekend (and then spread with almond butter for ride or run fuel). I like adding a ½ cup rye flour sometimes–I feel it gives it some depth–but it’s super good with straight white flour!

Total time (including rising): 4 hours (can extend to 9 hours if desired). Makes one very large or two medium loaves.

Materials: Mixing bowl; sheet pan; wooden spoon; measuring vessels; dishcloth. Missing materials or ingredients? Look here.

Instructions:

1. Combine 1 packet of yeast with ½ cup warm water. Let sit about 5 minutes to activate.
2. Add 1 cup warm milk (can use water instead for kosher–I would add a tbsp of oil and a scant cup water but haven’t tried this). Then add 4 tbsp olive oil.
3. Whisk 4 eggs in a separate bowl. Add all the egg except about 1 tbsp (for washing the top later) and stir or whisk to combine.
4. Add the 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp maple syrup (or 2 tbsp sugar) and the flour slowly, mixing with a spoon and then kneading with your hands.
5. Knead about 5 minutes, adding flour as needed, until dough is soft and barely sticks to your hands. This is where some people may over-knead and end up adding more flour than necessary, so pay attention to the texture of the dough (keep it soft and it’s okay if it’s sticky — see my video below!).
6. Oil the bottom of the bowl, toss the ball of dough around until it is covered in oil, then let the dough sit, covered, in a warm place for 2-3 hours to rise. (I have not tried this but one could try, alternatively, allowing the dough to rise for 8 hours or overnight in the fridge, then bringing it to room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)
7. Braid the dough onto a flat baking sheet. (There is an excellent tutorial here from blogger Tori Avey on all the different types of braiding.) Let rise 30 minutes while the oven pre-heats to 350˚F. Paint with leftover egg and decorate with sesame seeds, if desired.
8. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is browned. Optional to paint again with egg halfway through the baking.