A challah with milk bread texture.
This recipe makes 3 small loaves as written, one of which can be finished by us in an evening. You can also create 2 medium loaves for a larger group and/or French toast leftovers.
Only plump the raisins if they really need it. Extremely moist raisins noticeably affect the dough hydration.
Once I figure out how much flour I'm adding by weight, I'm intending to try tangzhong with this recipe as well.
The King Arthur cinnamon filling recipe, which can be mixed together then sprinkled on the inside of proto-braids with egg white wash as glue: 3 tablespoons (40g) brown sugar + 2 teaspoons flour + ¾ t. cinnamon + pinch of table salt
| Ingredients |
Step |
½ c. water, warm
2¼ t. yeast
1 large egg, room temperature
3 large egg yolks, room temperature (reserve 1 egg white for egg wash)
120 g (⅓ c.) honey
2 T. oil
2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla (optional) |
Whisk together thoroughly in the bowl of a stand mixer. The water should be warm to loosen the honey without being so hot as to kill the yeast. |
540 g flour
1 c. water, very hot |
Put the flour on top to cover the other ingredients, then pour very hot water on top of the flour. Stir the top layer first (we're approximating the yudane method), then mix the top layer into the rest of the ingredients. Once combined, let sit in bowl, covered, for 10-15 minutes to hydrate the flour. |
0-1½ c. (totaling 540-720 g; 870 g flour is too much)
raisins or other add-ins, if desired in all loaves |
If needed because of ambient humidity or unexpected egg volume, add additional flour by half-cupfuls, mixing by hand and then kneading together by hand or by machine (perhaps 10-15 minutes on speed 2 -- being careful of the motor overheating!). Stop adding flour when the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl while still being stuck to the bottom of the bowl and the dough hook. It can take extra time to develop gluten in enriched breads, but it's also better to err on the side of a softer dough rather than harder, so we don't end up with a tough bread. The gluten will have time to develop and we'll have a chance to add more flour while working the braids. |
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Boil a saucepan or kettle of water, of no particular volume. We will use it to create a consistently warm and humid environment for the rise, no matter what the weather is outside. |
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Grease a bowl with oil. Drop the dough in, then flip it so that all surfaces are greased. |
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Cover the bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place dough in turned-off oven. Place boiled water beneath the dough bowl. |
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Let dough rise in warm, moist oven until doubled (roughly 1 hour). |
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Punch down the dough. Let it rise again in the oven until doubled (roughly 1 hour). Retain the warm, moist environment for the braid to rise! |
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Remove the dough from its bowl. Divide the dough into 3 even parts. Grease two freezer bags and store one dough part in each, then freeze the two bags for another day. Only use flour if you need to. |
| ½ c. raisins or chocolate chips (optional) |
Knead the third of the dough you're baking today by hand for a few minutes. Possibly knead in ½ c. of mix-ins, or possibly plan to stuff the strands later instead. |
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Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment. (We use parchment to catch egg wash spillover and reduce sticking.) |
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Create strands by making rectangles, possibly filling them, then rolling from on edge to the other into stubby strands before letting them rest under plastic wrap. After they've rested, roll them longer against the countertop into final strands. Flour the outside of the strands. Braid challah on cookie sheet, loosely so it can spring more in the oven:
For a tall six-stranded braid:
- Far right, move over two
- Second from the left, move over all
- Far left, move over two
- Second from the right, move over all
For an easy four-strand round loaf:
- Weave a hash tag
- Under goes over, counterclockwise, then clockwise, repeating until no more dough is left |
1 egg white
1 T. water
½ t. salt |
Beat until smooth. Use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer to the braid. Reserve the leftover egg wash! Don't use the egg yolk (it tastes too eggy). |
| poppy seeds (optional) |
Sprinkle on top, if using. Then cover braid with greased plastic wrap. |
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Let braid rise (in the warm, moist oven if available, otherwise on the countertop), until the bread springs back very slowly when you poke it, rather than popping back or staying indented forever (30-45 minutes; cold dough will behave differently). |
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At around 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. |
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Once the bread keeps an indent when you poke it, bake challah for 12 minutes, apply another layer of egg wash, return the challah to the oven with the opposite side to the back to encourage even browning, and then bake until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees (perhaps another 10 minutes, though it will vary based on thickness). For bigger braids, increase the time. |
To work from frozen dough, move the dough from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before you want to bake. The next morning, it should be thawed. Continue the recipe from the point of turning out the dough onto the floured surface and braiding it.
Fry the egg wash for breakfast or a mid-morning snack.