Challah KA

By mariannefeldman

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/four-strand-braided-challah-recipe

King Arthur Flour
Four-Strand Braided Challah

Challah is usually braided; a three-strand braid is common, but beautiful four- or six-strand braids are almost as popular. It's prepared for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah; for that occasion, challah is formed into a round coil, symbolizing the continuity of life.

Rich with eggs and butter (or oil, to keep it kosher with a meat-based meal), challah is shaped in various braids and coils, and often gilded with a sprinkle of poppy seeds. Though not quite as rich, it's similar to French brioche; and, like brioche, it makes wonderful toast and French toast.

Ingredients

• Ingred in Grams:
• Quick Starter
• 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup (8 ounces) water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast or SAF gold yeast
• Dough
• All of the starter
• 3 1/2 cups (15 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour - replace 1/4 cup AP flour w 1/4 cup potato flour for more tender texture & better shelf life
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces) sugar
• 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save 1 egg white for the wash, below)
• added: 1/4 cup powdered milk
• try: add 1 tsp vanilla ext
• Wash
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• sesame & or poppy seeds (optional)
• QUICK STARTER
• 120 g King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 227 g lukewarm water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• DOUGH
• all of the starter
• 421 g King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 67 g sugar
• 50 g vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save 1 egg white for the glaze, below)
• GLAZE
• 1 egg white, saved from above
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 14 g water
• poppy seeds, optional

Details

Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

Starter: Mix the 1 cup flour, 1 cup water and yeast together in a large bowl or the bucket of a bread machine. Let the mixture sit for about 45 minutes. (This type of quick starter is called for in recipes that are high in sugar, in order to let the yeast get a head start. If you have Fermipan Brown or SAF Gold yeast -- both formulated especially for sweet breads -- this recipe may be prepared as a "straight dough, with all of the ingredients mixed together at once.

Dough: Add the dough ingredients to the starter and mix and knead together -- by hand, mixer or bread machine -- until a smooth, supple dough is formed. This dough is a pleasure to work with -- smooth and silky, it almost feels like you're rubbing your hands with lotion. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it over once to coat it lightly with oil. Cover it and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until it's doubled in size.

Shaping: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over once or twice, to expel the carbon dioxide. Divide the dough into four pieces, and roll each into a snake about 18 inches long. On the lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan, braid a four-strand braid (see instructions below) or fashion a simpler three-strand braid.
* make (2) 3 strand braids-1 large & 1 smaller
Apply glaze on larger braid before setting smaller braid on top (to help smaller braid adhere to larger)
Tuck ends under loaf to keep from unbraiding
Glaze entire loaf

NOTE: How To Make A Four-Strand Braid:Lay the strands side by side, and pinch them together at one end. For instruction purposes, think of the far left strand as #1, next is #2, then #3, and the far right is #4. Take the left-hand strand (#1) and move it to the right over strands #2 and #3, then tuck it back under strand #3. Take the right-hand strand (#4) and move it to the left over strands #3 and #1, then tuck it back under strand #1. Repeat this process until finished.

Make the wash by mixing together, in a small bowl, the reserved egg white, sugar, and water. Brush the loaf with this mixture, reserving some for a second wash. Cover the loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it's almost doubled in size.

Baking:Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash (this will give the finished loaf a beautiful, shiny crust, as well as provide "glue" for the seeds), sprinkle with sesame & or poppy seeds, if desired, and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the challah is lightly browned, slightly firm to the touch
Internal temp 195 degrees
Remove it from the oven, and cool completely before slicing. Yield: 1 loaf, about 16 1-inch slices.
Nutrition information per serving (1 slice, 63g): 177 cal, 4g fat, 5g protein, 25g complex carbohydrates, 4g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 40mg cholesterol, 246mg sodium, 64mg potassium, 18RE vitamin A, 2mg iron, 5mg calcium, 53mg phosphorus.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. XI, No. 6, Autumn 2000 issue.