Haymish Homemade Challah Recipes

CHALLAH BREAD

Steps:

• Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl with 1½ teaspoons sea salt, stir to combine then make a well in the centre.
• Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat. Next, pour in 1½ tablespoons of oil and 350ml water into the well and add most of the beaten egg (saving a little for egg washing later). Mix with a fork, then bring together with your hands to form a ball.
• On a lightly dusted surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and springy. Be careful not to add too much flour here to prevent the dough drying out.
• Place in a large oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• To braid your challah, divide the dough into two balls. Put one aside covered with a damp tea towel and cut the other ball into 4 even pieces. Roll each piece into a thin sausage-shape, roughly 60cm long.
• Place two of the strands next to each other vertically. Weave the remaining two strands horizontally over and under the vertical strands to form a cross shape.
• Working with the top pair of strands, take the strand that is underneath and place over the strand next to it. Do the same with the next pair of strands and continue this around the cross. Once all four pairs have been crossed over, do the same in the reverse direction - clockwise/anti-clockwise depending on your strands. The rule to go by is to always place the underneath strand over its pair.
• Continue this process until you have used up the dough. As you start to run out of dough tuck the ends under the loaf to form a neat braided ball. Place on a lined baking tray.
• Repeat the braiding technique with your second ball of dough.
• Cover both loaves loosely with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for a further 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
• Use the remaining egg to glaze the challah. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden. Adding extra egg wash halfway, if needed.

CHALLAH I

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
• Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle. Either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle, pinch ends together. Grease two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each. Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

HOMEMADE CHALLAH BREAD WITH A 6 STRANDED BRAID

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm water, yeast, honey, vegetable oil, eggs, and salt. Add in the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing on a low speed in between. Mix until well combined and the dough is smooth and elastic. Add a little more flour if it is still sticking to the side of the bowl. The dough will be slightly sticky (you don't want a stiff dough), but it should be able to form a ball in the mixer.
• Place the dough into a bowl that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
• Divide the dough into two loaves. For each loaf, divide the dough into 6 balls and roll into strands about 12 to 15 inches long (or 3 if you want to do a normal braid). Pinch the strands together at one end and braid (see video) Once you reach the end of the strands pinch them together. Repeat with the other loaf.
• Place the braided loaves on a baking sheet covered with nonstick cooking spray. Let rise 1 hour.
• In a small bowl whisk together the 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water. Brush it over the loaves. This is called an egg wash.
• Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. Cool before slicing.

HAYMISH (HOMEMADE) CHALLAH

Steps:

• Put 3/4 cups of very warm water in a bowl. Add 1/8 cups of sugar and then the 1.5 T of dry yeast. Cover the bowl and set aside for 8-10 minutes to allow the yeast to proof.
• In an electric mixer (5-quart) mix the following ingredients: 1/2 cup of canola oil, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of warm water, 1/2 T of salt, and 4 cups of flour. Mix until a thin mixture forms.
• When the yeast mixture bubbles, add it to the other ingredients and mix. Then, begin to add the remaining 4 cups of flour in 1/2-1 cup increments. Add water in 1/4 cup intervals until the dough is smooth and only slightly sticky.
• Scrape the sides of the bowl with a greased spatula and make sure that all of the ingredients are mixed inches.
• Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the dough to rise for 10 minutes.
• If you are going to shape and bake your challahs immediately, cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 1 hour. If you are going to shape later (or the next day), place the dough into Zip-Loc bags lined with a little canola oil and refrigerate. (Remember that the dough will double in size, so leave enough room!) Remove the dough from the refrigerator 45 minutes prior to shaping.
• When you are ready to shape, grease your hands and the workspace with a little canola oil. Stack two baking trays on top of eachother and line the top with parchment paper (doubling up the baking trays prevents the bottom of the challahs from burning). Then, shape the challahs (be careful not to overwork the challah). If the dough is too sticky, use oil (don't use flour). Place the finished challahs on the baking sheet.
• Cover the challahs loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest. Mix an egg glaze (mix 1 egg and some canola oil together). Preheat the oven to 350. When the oven reaches the temperature, brush the challahs gently with the egg glaze as evenly as possible. Place the challahs in the oven to bake.
• After about 20 minutes, begin to check on the challahs. Take them out as soon as they are golden brown.
• Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. When they are cool, pack them in plastic bags. You can also freeze them, by placing them in Zip-Loc bags.
• Enjoy your challahs and have a beautiful Shabbos!

CHALLAH

Steps:

• Place the flour, salt, yeast, vegetable oil, and honey in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Using an instant-read thermometer, adjust the temperature of the water so that the combined temperatures of the flour and the liquid give a base temperature of 130 degrees if using a Cuisinart or KitchenAid or 150 degrees if using a Braun. Beat 2 of the eggs and add them to the liquid. With the machine running, pour all but 2 tablespoons of the liquid through the feed tube. Process for 30 seconds. If the dough seems too dry and is not forming a smooth ball, add the reserved liquid and process for 15 seconds more, for a total of 45 seconds. Stop the machine, and take the temperature of the dough with an instant-read thermometer, which should read between 75 degrees and 80 degrees. If the temperature is lower than 75 degrees, process the dough for an additional 5 seconds, up to twice more, until the dough reaches the desired temperature. If the temperature is higher than 80 degrees, remove the thermometer, scrape the dough from the food processor into an un-greased bowl, and refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes. Check the temperature of the dough after 5 minutes; it should be 80 degrees or cooler by that time.;
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it in a large ungreased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 1 1/ 2 to 2 hours at room temperature, 70 to 72 degrees. The dough will have noticeably increased in volume and will be light and soft. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently flatten it with the palms of your hands, but do not punch out all of the air bubbles that have formed as the dough has fermented. Form the dough into a loose ball; lift up one edge and fold it into the center. Do this about 4 or 5 times until the dough is formed into a ball. Return it to the bowl, cover, and let proof at room temperature until it doubles in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/ 2 hours. One hour before baking, put the oven rack on the second shelf from the bottom of the oven and place the baking stone on the rack. Place a pan on the bottom of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a dough scraper or kitchen knife, divide it into 2 pieces. Form each piece into a log shape to be rolled like a baguette. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. To form the dough into round turban shapes, roll one piece into a strip about 14 inches long. Taper the dough so that it is noticeable thicker at one end; use both hands to roll the dough into a point on the other end. Starting with the thicker end, coil the dough so that it forms a tight spiral. Wrap it around, then tuck the thin end under the loaf to keep it from unraveling. With the palms of your hands, press the top of the loaf lightly to flatten it slightly, then transfer it to one corner of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Place it diagonally across from the first loaf spaced about 2 inches so the loaves do not stick together as they bake. Cover with a towel and let proof for about 45 minutes at room temperature. The loaves will be visibly puffed and will increase in volume by at least half. Just before baking, beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush each loaf with the egg wash, then sprinkle the loaves with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Carefully pour about 1 cup of warm water into the pan in the oven. Immediately slide the baking sheet of dough onto the baking stone in the oven and turn the heat down to 400 degrees. Bake for 2 minutes, then quickly open the oven door and add another 1-cup warm water to the pan in the oven. Continue baking the bread for another 30 minutes. Check to see if it is browning too quickly. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees if necessary, then continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes. The bread is done when golden brown. Insert an instant-read thermometer into it, and if the internal temperature is 205 degrees to 210 degrees, the bread is done. Remove the bread from the oven and place the loaves on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting and storing.;

MOST AMAZING CHALLAH

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a large bowl, and stir gently to moisten the yeast. Stir in salt, sugar, margarine, and 4 eggs, and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour, 1 cup at a time, up to 12 cups, until the dough becomes slightly tacky but not wet. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Grease baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper and set aside.
• Cut the bread dough into 4 equal-sized pieces (or 2 pieces to make 2 large loaves). Cut each piece into thirds for 3-strand braided loaves. Working on a floured surface, roll the small dough pieces into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look. Repeat for the remaining loaves.
• Place the loaves onto the prepared baking sheets, and let rise until double in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk 1 egg with vanilla extract in a small bowl, and brush the loaves with the egg wash. Sprinkle each loaf with about 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are shiny and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.