From my basic recipe I experiment with different flours (bread flour, white whole wheat, rye), and sweet or savory toppings and fillings. My go-to challah recipe is an amalgam of several I've used. Most of the credit should go to the Smitten Kitchen for their fig, olive oil and sea salt challah recipe. It's worth looking at. The fig filling didn't thrill me, but I've used their technique to fill challot with a wide variety of sweet and savory fillings.
Yield: 1 large loaf Allow 4-5 hours for complete process
Ingredients*
2¼ teaspoons (1 packet—1/4 ounce or 7 grams) active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water (158 grams--100° to 115° F)
1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil, + more for the bowl
¼ cup (85 grams) + 1 separate tsp honey
2 large eggs (+ 1 for egg wash)
1½ teaspoons table salt
4 cups (500 grams) bread flour (people swear by King Arthur, so that's what I use)
*For consistency, it's best to use weight measures versus volume measures
Variations
Light rye challah (great with chicken soup): substitute 1 cup of bread flour with dark rye flour, mix 2T caraway seeds into dough
Truly Edible Whole Wheat Challah: substitute 25-100% bread flour with King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour—this is the spring harvest and is much lighter than regular fall harvest whole wheat
Egg wash 1 large egg, may be diluted slightly with a teaspoon of milk or water
Prepare Dough
Whisk the yeast and the 1 teaspoon honey into warm water, and let it stand for a few minutes, until foamy.
Mix the wet ingredients with a whisk, then add the flour and salt.
Mix everything together with the handle of a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together.
Cover bowl and let rough dough ball sit for at least 15 minutes to fully hydrate
Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured counter, and knead for 6 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic dough is formed. (Or use a no-knead approach described below.)
Take a golf ball sized chunk of the dough and stretch it between your fingers into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough is properly kneaded when it is thin enough to pass light through it without tearing. (This is the "window-pane test.")
Form the dough in a tight ball. Transfer to bowl, lightly coating dough ball and bowl with oil. Set aside in warm place to rise for 45-60 minutes. Gently “punch down” to release some of the gas, and allow another 45-60 minutes of rising.
No knead? An alternative approach eliminates kneading, and saves a lot of time fussing with the dough on Friday. On Thursday night do the first 3 steps, above, cover the bowl, and let it sit on the counter overnight. In the morning the bowl is full of light, fluffy dough, ready to be braided.
Some folks mix their dough and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight, allowing it at least an hour on the counter to come back to room temperature before braiding the next day.
There may only be a slight difference, but after trying no-knead challah, I prefer conventional kneading and rising on Friday when I have the time. It seems to produce better texture and flavor.
Braid For years I favored a 6-braid challah (See reference videos, next page).However, I've had a change of heart and I've gone to the High Four-Strand Braid. Four braids are easier to cut and to braid than are six, and they sit up high and proud. Both of these are illustrated in the reference pages that follow. 1. Make "snakes." Divide dough into 4 equal portions. (Keep each covered when not working on it directly.)
The less you handle the dough before rolling into braids, the easier it will take shape.
Take one piece of dough and roll it back and forth, simultaneously spreading your hands apart side-to-side to elongate the dough, forming a rope of about 18 inches. If dough resists elongating or shrinks back in size, cover it and let it rest a few minutes before rolling further.
It is more important that the braids are of relatively equal thickness than equal length. (The reason for this will become apparent later.)
2. Braid ropes. (see High Four-Strand Braidand Etsy Wolbe video at 11:47 where she cleverly trims the ends of he braids.) 3. Transfer the braided loaf to a parchment-covered insulated baking sheet. 4. Beat egg until smooth, adding a few drops of water if you choose, and brush over challah, adding topping of your choice.
Bake
Put the braided dough into a cold oven (another Etsy Wolbe innovation)!
Then turn oven on at 350°F.Bake in middle of oven for 40-60 minutes. The very best way to check for doneness is with an instant-read thermometer—the center of the loaf should be 195°F.
If challah starts getting too dark (although we like it dark and crunchy in our house), cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking time.
Cool loaf on a rack before serving.
Yesh’s Private Blend — “Everything” Topping (I developed this before Everything Topping started showing up everywhere, including Costco. I have to admit Costco has a good product.)
1T Poppy seeds
1T Sesame seeds
1T Dehydrated chopped onion
2t Caraway seeds
2t Coarse sea salt
1t Dehydrated minced garlic
In the middle of the baking I’ll brush some egg wash on any bald spots that may appear when the loaf expands, then sprinkle some more topping there.