Challah bread
Ingredients
- 500 gr white flour
- 50 gr white sugar
- 40 gr oil
- 8 gr salt
- 10 gr instant yeast
- 150 gr lukewarm water
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg for the egg wash
Egg wash
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Put the yeast and sugar in a bowl. Add the lukewarm water, whole eggs, and oil to it and let the yeast wake up for 5 min.
- Add to the bowl the white flour and salt. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 min.
- Place the dough in a clean, floured bowl, cover it with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it rise until doubled in size, about 45 min.
- Dust the work bench with flour and divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each into a string, about 30 cm long.
- Place the string parallel to each other and join them at the top. Take the string at the far right and guide it over its left two neighbours, underneath the next one and then again over the last two strings at the left. Repeat this with the string that has become the one at the right until the challah has been braided.
- Push the challah gently to uniform its size if need be and place on baking paper on a baking tray.
- Leave the bread to proof until doubled in size, about 60 min.
- Brush the bread with the beaten egg and bake at 160°C for 30 min or until the bread is golden brown and done.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack and serve.
Stuff to know
When you tap the bottom of the bread and it sounds hollow, you know the bread is done.
The water you use to dissolve the yeast should not be warmer than 50 °C for fear it kills the yeast.
Challah is a Jewish braided bread that was eaten on the sabbath or during holidays. According to tradition, two loaves were put on the table to symbolise the double portion of manna the Israelites were given on the Friday. The word challah means portion in Hebrew. The bread is covered with a white cloth that symbolises the dew that covered the manna in the morning.
The water you use to dissolve the yeast should not be warmer than 50 °C for fear it kills the yeast.
Challah is a Jewish braided bread that was eaten on the sabbath or during holidays. According to tradition, two loaves were put on the table to symbolise the double portion of manna the Israelites were given on the Friday. The word challah means portion in Hebrew. The bread is covered with a white cloth that symbolises the dew that covered the manna in the morning.
