Background
Despite my Jewish heritage, I don't actually particularly like the archetypal Semitic bread -Challah. I prefer my bread more rustic, savoury and with more bite. However, I do enjoy the artful process of crafting these beautiful braided breads and, the smell when freshly baked is well worth the effort. And of course, this a post of which my Jewish mother will approve - making it an all round winner :-)
Ingredients
Main
- 385ml warm soya milk
- 2 generous pinches ground saffron (about 1⁄8 teaspoon)
- 2 tablespoons dried yeast
- 1 tablespoon fairtrade soft brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1kg organic gluten white bread flour
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 5 organic free-range eggs, plus 2 egg yolks for the mixture and 1 egg yolk for glazing
- 115g light olive oil, plus extra for greasing
- poppy seeds, sesame seeds or even linseeds to decorate
Instructions
1. (20 min)
- Combine the warm water with the warm soya milk, saffron strands, yeast, honey and about 100g of the flour and Whisk until smooth and no yeast lumps remain. Set aside in a warm place to ferment for about 20 minutes until the mixture is bubbling.
2. (05 min)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining flour with the salt. You can use a dough hook if you like. Beat all of the eggs into the bowl with the yeast mixture, pour in the oil and beat with a whisk until smooth.
3. (45 - 60 min)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the flour and mix to a soft, pliable dough. You may need to add a little more oil or flour, depending on the dryness of the mixture. Place the dough in a large, clean, oiled bowl, cover with a cloth or oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 40–60 minutes or until doubled in size. Alternatively, leave to rise overnight in the fridge if you have the patience. This definitely improves the flavour.
4. (45 min)
- Preheat the oven to 200C / gas mark 6 and line two baking sheets with silicone baking paper. Tip out the risen dough onto a floured work surface and pummel. This will knock out the air. Now to shape your challah. You can either do the classic large round twists, or shape into plaits. The below photos are of six plaited round loaves which, I confess, I Googled and found an excellent step by step photo guide - Six-Strand braided Challah pretty much fool proof. Place on your prepared baking trays, cover with a clean cloth or oiled clingfilm and set aside to prove in a warm place for 30–40 minutes until doubled in size. Make an egg wash by beating together the remaining egg with a little oil and glaze the challah all over.
5. (30 - 35 min)
- Sprinkle with seeds and bake in the hot oven for about 30–35 minutes until golden. You will know when they are cooked because they will sound hollow when you tap them on the base
