Come for the recipe; stay for the story!
Video tutorial here
12 oz water, lukewarm (think baby's bathwater) (3/4 cu)
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
10.5-15 oz flour (2.5-3.5 cu) (either all purpose or bread flour)
1 tsp salt
1 egg
2 yolks (save the whites for buttercream!)
2 oz honey (1/6 cup)
1 Tbls butter, soft
2 Tbls cinnamon
3/4 cu raisin
1. Prepare yeast by combining the water with the sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until mixture is foamy
2. Add yeast mixture to flour, salt, eggs, honey, and butter
3. Mix until dough is smooth. Add more flour if needed. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch, and window pane test should be passed. (see here and here for more info on window pane test)
4. Once dough has passed above test, add the cinnamon and raisins and mix until just combined. (I don't mix my cinnamon in all the way in order to have a cinnamon swirl but you can add it earlier with the rest of the ingredients if you want it mixed in fully.)
5. Loosely cover dough and let rest until it doubles in size. (You can also let it rest over night in order to let flavors really marinate.)
Braiding Preparation:
1. Time for braiding! Don't feel overwhelmed! You CAN DO IT! First, you need 8 even pieces of bread. I encourage scaling them out so that you can be sure they are the same. If scaled out, each piece should be about 4 oz each. If you don't have a scale, make your dough a flat rectangle shape. Cut it in half, then cut each half in half, and then cut each quarter in half so you should have 8 mostly equivalent pieces.
2. Take one of your pieces and gently flatten it a bit. Grab the top of the dough (the edge farthest from you) and bring it to the middle and gently press it down. Grab the top again and then bring to the bottom (the edge closest to you) and pinch down so you should have a piece that is both longer and more cylindrical in shape than it was originally. Using the palm/ball of your hands press downward on the dough pushing it back and forth to make a snake. (Yay! Feel that inner child making play dough snakes! Those were life skills you learned in preschool!) Make sure you are pressing down on the dough as you move it back and forth rather than stretching it to prevent the dough from tearing. Finish making snakes with all eight that are equal in thickness and length. Aim for about 12-16" in length.
3. The moment of truth! Place your snakes next to each other and gently push the top portion of them together so they stay in place. If any of the strands are too sticky you can add a little bit of flour to it.
Braiding
First thing to do is number your strands from 1-8, left-right. Second is to remember that no matter how your strands move #1 will always be the far left and #8 will always be the far right.
1. Take strand 8 and put it UNDER strand 7 and OVER strand 1. Straighten everything out and then remember that everything is now re-numbered based on its current placement not its previous placement.
2. Place 8 OVER 5
3. Place 2 UNDER 3 and OVER 8
Don't forget to straighten everything out and re-number things in your head between each step
4. Place 1 OVER 4. Honestly, this step confused me for a second. It seems like you are undoing something, but trust the process!
5. Place 7 UNDER 6 and OVER 1
Repeat steps 1-5 over until you have no room left. I was able to complete the process three times with my strands
Just to summarize the steps
1. 8 under 7 and over 1
2. 8 over 5
3. 2 under 3 and over 8
4. 1 over 4
5. 7 under 6 and over 1
Repeat
Finishing:
1. Once you have finished braiding your challah, clean your edges up by making a sawing motion with the side of your hand to pinch everything together, then tuck that end part under your bread.
2. Place your bread on your baking sheet, cover it, and let it rest until it doubles in size again (you will know it is fully proofed when the dough holds your fingerprint if gently poked.)
3. Once it's doubled in size, egg wash it (I just stir an egg and brush it over top. You can use a plain egg or yolks mixed with a little milk. If you don't have a pastry brush you can use a napkin dipped in the egg mixture to apply it gently to your bread, but just as an encouragement, I bought my brush at home depot for maybe $2.
4. Bake your bread at 400F for about 20-25 minutes. It will be dark brown and will sound hollow if you tap the underside.
There are so many ways to enjoy your challah. It is great plain, but I also enjoy it as a base for French toast, toasted with cinnamon sugar, or even with a smear of honey cream cheese which is super easy to make at home! (Just put softened cream cheese in a bowl with enough honey to flavor it, and mix it until it is all mixed completely.)
I was so uncultured before pastry school. I don't know if I had ever heard of challah before school, and to hear that you could do a braid with FIVE strands of bread was mind blowing. In school, I stuck to the three strand braid, and thought that if I ever made challah again it would probably just be for my own family. Then I started my first pastry job and realized they made challah every week. I felt so knowledgeable because I had made this before! Then the reality check, a SIX strand braid! I couldn't do this, especially without making it every day so I could cement the braiding process in my memory. Then I found out our pastry chef, who usually took the lead on the challah, was leaving, and I had TWO WEEKS to learn this braid, and I DID!
When I saw that this episode of the show included challah I was super excited because it is so delicious, but I honestly didn't know too much about it beyond its delightful flavor. I quickly learned that its history is as rich as its flavor. Challah as an idea has been around for thousands of years, and is steeped in an abundance of beautiful Jewish history. For me to try to fit all that information in this short blog post would do neither the faith nor the traditions justice, so I highly encourage you to check out this post about all of that.
Figuring out where challah as we find it in this recipe comes from isn't so cut and dry either. The term "challah" describes more the tradition behind the bread, than the actual bread. Challah in New York would look different from challah in other countries.
Anytime you have a recipe that has been around for so long it will of course evolve and change as time goes on. Regardless how life went on, I'm thankful for this bread! I hope you make it and enjoy it as much as I do.
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