Challah (Bread)

I've always wanted to make homemade bread, and the smell of bread baking in the oven is so divine. When I first started baking, my first baking book from which I learned much of what I know today, is called Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking. And one of the first recipes I tried in there was for Challah. Challah is actually a bread eaten by certain kinds of Jews on the Sabbath and various Jewish holidays. And although I'm not Jewish, it looked too good not to try. It's basically similar to any other bread recipe with all of your basic ingredients. This bread produces a soft, delicious texture, with a crispy crust. And believe me when I say that almost the whole entire loaf (which is pretty damn big) disappears in a couple of hours when I make it at home.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (5 tsp) active dry yeast
• 1 cup (8 fl oz/ 250 ml) warm water (105-115 degrees F)
• ½ cup (4 oz/ 125 g) sugar
• 3 large eggs, plus 1 egg, beaten (for glazing)
• 5 cups (25 oz/ 780 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ cup (4 oz/125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds or sesame seeds (optional)

1. In the 5-qt bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the sugar, 3 eggs, 4 ½ cups of the flour, the salt, and the butter. Using a wooden spoon, stir all the ingredients until the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

3. Place the bowl on the mixer and attach the dough hook. Knead on low speed, working in the remaining flour as necessary to keep the dough from being too sticky, until the dough is smooth and elastic (5-7 minutes).

4. Do not be tempted to add too much flour. The dough should stay soft, and it will become less sticky with kneading. Remove the dough from the bowl.
(Note: From lots of experience, having made this bread many times, I will just say that I prefer kneading the dough by hand instead of in the mixer...or maybe start kneading it in the mixer but after a few minutes knead it by hand. The reason being that it is really important to know if the dough is the right texture which can only be achieved by actually feeling it with your hands. I found that it would stay really gooey and sticky in the mixer even though I kneaded it for 10 minutes. And you will need to put some extra flour but make sure you put a little at a time and knead well to test the dough. It should be soft but not gooey. Meaning, when you knead it, the dough should not stick to your hand and not come off. You should be able to roll it around. But don't put too much flour because it will become very dry and hard.)

Tip: If the dough does happen to be gooey and you are kneading it by hand...and then you find yourself with all this really sticky dough on your hands that won't come off...all you have to do is take a little bit of flour and rub it where the dough is stuck and it will come off.

^ I just wanted to let you all know that the bowl in the picture is NOT the one I kneaded the dough in...I just put it on the mixer to show the dough hook attachment that is used when kneading the dough in the mixer.

5. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.

^You can see how much the dough rose from the ball I formed in the previous mixture!

6. Line a half-sheet pan or rimless baking sheet with parchment (baking) paper. Punch down the dough, and move the dough to a clean work surface.

7. To make a braided loaf, cut the dough into 3 equal pieces with a sharp knife. Using your palms, and staring in the center and working outward, elongate each piece by rolling it gently against the work surface with even pressure until you have formed a rope as long as the prepared pan.

8. Line the three strands up straight so that they are in front of you vertically. Cross the right strand over the middle strand, then cross the left strand over the middle strand. Keep going back and forth crossing left over right, then right over left until you have reached the ends of the ropes. Pinch them together at the top and the bottom, and tuck the strands under at the ends.

9. Place the braided loaf on the prepared pan, cover with a dry kitchen towel, and let rise again in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in size and is spongy to the touch, 45-60 minutes.

10. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F (at least 15 minutes before actually putting the bread in the oven).
(Note: It is important that you place the bread in lower third of the oven! The position of anything you bake that is specified in the recipe is very important because it really does make a difference)

11. Brush the braid gently with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the seeds, if using.

12. Bake the braid until it is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30-35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
(Note: If you notice in the pictures...in case you were wondering what a cooling rack looked like...that black rack on which the breads are resting would be it)

So, the last thing you do is cut it into slices, spread the slices with butter, and serve. My favorite thing to do however, is to save some slices and eat them toasted the next day for breakfast.