This is the good stuff. Is there anything better than freshly baked bread? No, there is not. It's frightening how much bread I can consume when it's fresh out of the oven. Would I gross you out if I said half a loaf? Ok, then I won't say it. It never happened.
Except it did. It soooooo did! Now I can't say I'm a challah expert by any means so is it supposed to taste a little like Hawaiian Bread? Cuz this did. And it was ah-mah-zing. Probz why I ate half a loaf? Oh right, it never happened.
Do not be intimidated by this bread either. It really only requires two things: patience and some solid braiding skills. There's nothing terrible complex going on. All the delicious ingredients do all the work. I promise. Bread is not always my forte (I don't even wanna discuss my bagel attempt) but I managed to pull this off. Doesn't make up for my jacked up bagels though... Still in therapy for that.
And, because I like to take everything a step too far, pretty sure this stuff would be fantastic if you sprinkled some cinnamon sugar over the dough before baking. And then slathered a slice in butter. And then sprinkled more cinnamon sugar. JUST AN IDEA.
Here's the recipe!
Honey Challah Bread
makes 2 loaves
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (2 packets)
1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup honey
8 tablespoon butter, softened
3 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 cups flour (or more if necessary)
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
Directions:
1. Lightly oil a medium bowl and line a large baking sheet with silicon mat or parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, put warm water in the bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast. Stir briefly to combine and allow to sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, honey, butter, eggs, salt and flour. Start on the lowest speed to gently combine ingredients. Once combined, adjust to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes. Dough will become smooth and elastic-y and begin pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If you think your dough is too wet, you can slowly incorporate more flour, a little at a time, until just right. This dough should be fairly wet and sticky so don't add too much flour. Turn dough onto a lightly four surface and knead about 5-7 times. Place into a oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover with a damp cloth. Allow dough to rise in a warm place (I put mine in an OFF oven) until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
3. Once risen, gently punch down the dough and turn onto floured surface. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces (3 for each loaf). Roll pieces into a log, roughly 12 inches in length. Pinch the ends of 3 pieces together to start your braid and begin braiding the length of the logs. Pinch the ends to seal. I found this easiest to do right on my lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining three logs. Cover baking sheet with a damp cloth and allow loaves to rise again, doubling in size, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Once risen again, brush liberally with egg wash. Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 10 mins before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and eat!
**This recipe makes 2 MASSIVE loaves. I'd assume you can actually use it to make 3 smaller loaves by dividing dough into 9 sections before braiding (though I haven't done this myself).
Recipe barely adapted from Baking and Creating with Avril
Honey Challah Bread
makes 2 loaves
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (2 packets)
1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup honey
8 tablespoon butter, softened
3 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 cups flour (or more if necessary)
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
Directions:
1. Lightly oil a medium bowl and line a large baking sheet with silicon mat or parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, put warm water in the bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast. Stir briefly to combine and allow to sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, honey, butter, eggs, salt and flour. Start on the lowest speed to gently combine ingredients. Once combined, adjust to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes. Dough will become smooth and elastic-y and begin pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If you think your dough is too wet, you can slowly incorporate more flour, a little at a time, until just right. This dough should be fairly wet and sticky so don't add too much flour. Turn dough onto a lightly four surface and knead about 5-7 times. Place into a oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and cover with a damp cloth. Allow dough to rise in a warm place (I put mine in an OFF oven) until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
3. Once risen, gently punch down the dough and turn onto floured surface. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces (3 for each loaf). Roll pieces into a log, roughly 12 inches in length. Pinch the ends of 3 pieces together to start your braid and begin braiding the length of the logs. Pinch the ends to seal. I found this easiest to do right on my lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining three logs. Cover baking sheet with a damp cloth and allow loaves to rise again, doubling in size, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Once risen again, brush liberally with egg wash. Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 10 mins before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and eat!
**This recipe makes 2 MASSIVE loaves. I'd assume you can actually use it to make 3 smaller loaves by dividing dough into 9 sections before braiding (though I haven't done this myself).
Recipe barely adapted from Baking and Creating with Avril
No comments:
Post a Comment