Fig, Olive Oil & Sea Salt Challah

By Alqualonde

This challah has been kicked up a notch with a sweet fig and orange filling. Perfect for special occasions or just an everyday breakfast. Plus, the leftovers make amazing French toast!

Ingredients

• BREAD:
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for the bowl
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• FIG FILLING:
• 1 cup dried figs, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon orange zest, freshly grated, or more as desired
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• black pepper, to taste
• EGG WASH:
• 1 egg

Details

Servings 1

Preparation

Step 1

Whisk the yeast and 1 teaspoon honey into 2/3 cup warm water (110 to 116 degrees F), and let it stand for a few minutes, until foamy.

In a large bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer, if you have one), combine the yeast mixture with remaining honey, 1/3 cup olive oil, and eggs. Add the salt and flour, and mix until dough begins to hold together. If using a stand mixer, switch to a dough hook, and run at low speed for 5 to 8 minutes. If mixing by hand, turn the mixture out onto a floured counter and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until a smooth and elastic dough is formed. Transfer the dough to an olive-oil coated bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, make the fig filling. In a small saucepan, combine the figs, zest, 1/2 cup water, juice, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the figs are soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Process fig mixture in a food processor until it resembles a fine paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Set aside to cool.

After your dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured counter and divide it in half. Roll the first half of the dough into a wide rectangle (it doesn't need to be perfect). Spread half the fig filling evenly over the dough, stopping short of the edge. Roll the dough into a long, tight log, trapping the filling within. Then gently stretch the log as wide as feels comfortable and divide it in half. Repeat with remaining dough and fig filling.

Weave your challah: Arrange two ropes in each direction, perpendicular to each other, like a tight tic-tac-toe board. Weave them so that one side is over, and the other is under, where they meet. So, now you’ve got an eight-legged woven-headed octopus. Take the four legs that come from underneath the center and move the leg to their right — i.e., jumping it. Take the legs that were on the right and, again, jump each over the leg before, this time to the left. If you have extra length in your ropes, you can repeat these left-right jumps until you run out of rope. Tuck the corners or odd bumps under the dough with the sides of your hands to form a round.

Transfer the dough to a parchment-covered heavy baking sheet, or, if you’ll be using a bread stone, a baker’s peel. Beat 1 egg until smooth, and brush over challah. Let challah rise for another hour, but 45 minutes into this rise, preheat your oven to 375°F.

Bake your loaf: Before baking, brush loaf one more time with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in middle of oven for 35 to 40 minutes. It should be beautifully bronzed; if yours starts getting too dark too quickly, cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking time. The very best way to check for doneness is with an instant-read thermometer — the center of the loaf should be 195 degrees.

Cool loaf on a rack before serving.