Challah
Challah Jewish Bread Recipe
Challah
Recipe Type: bread
Cuisine: Jewish
Author: Caroline
Prep time: 1 hour 30 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 1 hour 55 mins
Serves: 1 loaf
Challah is a traditional Jewish bread which is braided so it looks beautiful and tastes even better. There are many different variations which I love but I thought I'd show you how to make a simple classic one.
Ingredients
Dough mixture:
1 sachet instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
¾ cup luke warm water
4 tbsp melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
3 ½ cups flour
Glaze
1 egg
vanilla – optional
1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
Start by activating the yeast by adding it to the warm water with the sugar
Give it a stir and leave in a warm place for 10 minutes
Add the yeast mixture to a larger bowl and add the eggs, salt, sugar, butter and 1 cup of the flour
Give it a stir with a wooden spoon and keep adding the rest of the flour 1 cup at a time until it forms a ball of dough
Now you can start kneading the dough for about 8- 10 minutes until it’s smooth and stretchy. Use the ball of your hand and have a good arm work out.
Cut dough into 3 or 4 even pieces and roll into thin long strands
Now you can start braiding - as if you were doing a hair plait
Tuck the ends under neatly or trim off
Lay on a baking tray
Brush with some beaten egg, and then leave somewhere warm for an hour so it doubles in size
Preheat the oven 350f / gas 4 / 180c
Give the bread another brush with the egg mixture and a sprinkle of sesame seeds
When oven is at correct temperature pop in and bake for approx 25 minutes.
Serve warm or leave to cool, slice and enjoy