Challah Two Ways

Challah is my favorite bread to bake so far. I'm not sure if it's because it was the first yeasted bread I ever attempted or that I love the challenge of making a perfect braid. Whatever the reason, challah making is fun!

The following recipe is my take on challah. I used a recipe from smitten kitchen and tweaked it to my liking. I increased the sugar to make it slightly sweeter and changed the egg count to give it some richness and added moisture.

I call this post "challah two ways" because the recipe makes so much dough that you can make two giant loaves or four smaller loaves (perfect for a family of about 4) to finish in a day. Don't fret if you opt for the large loaves and can't finish them...it makes a good French toast or bread pudding the following day.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 Tbs)
1 Tbs plus 2/3 C sugar, divided
1 3/4 C warm water
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 eggs plus 6 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 Tbs table salt
8 1/2 C all purpose flour (plus more as needed)

Add-ins (per small loaf):
1/2 C chocolate chips or
1/2 C diced apples (I used organic pink ladies) tossed in a mixture of 1 Tbs cinnamon and 1 Tbs sugar

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 Tbs sugar and let sit for about 10 minutes or until yeast blooms. Wisk in oil then eggs and then sugar. Gradually add flour until combined. Let sit for a few minutes then add salt and knead on low speed until smooth and elastic. Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, if dough is too sticky. Dough is ready when it holds together and pulls away from the mixing bowl. (Note: you may need to complete the kneading process by hand if it doesn't fit in your mixing bowl.) Then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning dough to coat, and cover with plastic wrap or kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place for about an hour. An oven that has been turned on to the lowest setting for a few seconds and then turned off works well. Next deflate dough by punching down a several times, cover again, and return to warm place to rise again, this time for a minimum of only about 20 minutes. (Note: to check if dough is done rising, gently press dough with one or two fingers. If dough does not bounce back and the indentations remain, the dough is ready for the next step.) Then, separate the dough into 2 or 4 pieces (I did 4 to make the smaller loaves). Further divide the dough into 3 to 6 pieces and roll into strands that are about 10" long. I made 4 stranded braids in this example.

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. For a basic challah, pinch strands at one end and braid to the end and pinch to close. For chocolate chip challah, flatten strands with your hands and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Press to seal in chocolate chips and braid. For an apple cinnamon challah, peel and dice apples and coat them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Flatten strands and fill with apple mixture, seal to close, and resume braiding.

Using the reserved egg whites, generously brush/coat braided challah dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another hour. I like to do the final rise overnight in the fridge so I can bake it in the morning. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 deg. Brush braids once more with egg whites. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Check small loaves at 20 min and larger ones at 30 min. Tap the tops. If the bread sounds hollow, it is done. If the tops are browning too fast, tent with foil for the duration of the cooking time. Cool loaves on a wire rack.

Note: this was my first attempt at the apple cinnamon recipe. The verdict? The taste and texture of the apples were good but instead of putting them in the center of the strands, next time I will knead them into the dough for better distribution.