Challah Bread

April 22, 2016

Challah Bread

I love fresh bread right out of the oven. This was my first time making this bread and I fell in love with it! I found this bread during Easter and have been wanting to make it since. This bread similar to European Easter bread . It is rich with a slight sweetness and perfect with dinner. It also makes a great french toast for breakfast. It is soft on the inside and has a nice bite on the outer crust. The braid makes the bread look complicated, but its pretty simple to make. Read on to find out how to make it.

What you need:

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dry yeast

4 eggs (1 egg is for the top of the bread)

1 1/3 cup lukewarm milk

1 stick of melted butter

4-4 1/2 cup of flour

How to make the challah bread:

Combine the warm milk, yeast and 1 cup of flour. Whisk it together and let rise for about 30 minutes.

In a standard mixer beat eggs and sugar until pale in color and has doubled in volume.

When the yeast mixture has doubled in volume combine it with the egg mixture and fold it together. Add in the melted butter, salt, and the flour. Don't add all of the flour at once. Do about 1/2 of a cup at a time until the flour has incorporated and not to sticky. Continue mixing the dough for about 5-8 minutes.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour or two.

When the dough is fully risen, flour a counter top and take the dough out of a bowl.

Separate the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a long ropes. You can either braid the bread into a regular braid or a 6 strand braid. Squeeze the rope together at the top

How to make a 6 strand braid...

Start with the very right rope. You will be working with the very right side every time. Take the rope skip 2 ropes over and go under on the third rope. ( So over 2 ropes under 1 rope over 2 ropes). Continue doing the same process working with the right side until you come to the end of the braid. Try to make the braid tight. Once you reached the end of the braid squeeze the ends and tuck them under the dough.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place The braid onto an oiled pan and let set for about 20 minutes until rises some more. Meanwhile whisk 1 egg and spread it oven the dough.