Hella Braided Challah
It’s quarantine, I haven’t had a haircut in months, my forelocks are coming in and I don’t know how to manage my hair. These Jewish curls get way too unruly so I've been practicing my braids so I don’t look so hasidic. However, my braiding skills are wack so to get the muscle memory down I’m making challah loaves. Some would call challah just a braided brioche, but due to its traditional roots as a Jewish ceremonial bread, it must adhere to kosher standards, thus it typically omits butter and milk. Technically speaking, they both fall into the larger category of enriched bread because in addition to the basic flour, water, salt, and yeast, challah also contains egg for richness and honey for a touch of sweetness.
Honey is my favorite natural sweetener, and I love to play with the dynamic flavors of raw honey from different nectar sources. Due to the source of the nectar and subspecies of bees (though most honey is made by the European or western honey bee) orange blossom, clover, and rosemary honeys all have differing depths of flavor and biotic properties that make honey one of the more versatile sweeteners. One of my favorite snacks lately has been raw israeli honeycomb because of the harmony of mild sweetness with the robust terroir of the raw comb.
But because I’m only Jew-ish and it’s not for a holiday ceremony, I take some liberties to explore beyond kosher boundaries. For my first attempt, I decided to lean into a sweet challah that would try to emulate cinnamon pinch bread. After an initial proofing and lathering each strand in butter, I then heavily coated them in cinnamon sugar. Ignoring the recommended egg wash as to not flush the cinnamon sugar away, I instead lightly drizzled honey over the six-braid loaf before baking. My thought process was that if I used more strands than the typical three-strand braid, it would allow more surface area for the cinnamon sugar. But, as you’d expect from pinch bread, the excessive butter created separation between strands and the sliced loaf didn’t hold together as it typically would. The flavor was amazing, especially with a side of fresh diced apples, but when it came to serving the slices, it became a little awkward.
The second attempt went for a savory profile; rosemary and garlic four-braid loaf with a sprinkle of pretzel salt. With the flavors being infused in the dough itself this time, I didn’t have to worry about washing away the topping. But in an effort to keep in theme, I hit the loaf with a whisked olive oil and egg yolk wash before baking. As soon as it came out, I topped it off with a drizzle of a little more olive oil and a sprinkle of course kosher salt. Again the flavor was on point, but the dough itself could have used a little more time to proof, additionally I could have used a sourdough starter to add tanginess and a few extra savory herbs like thyme, marjoram, or oregano to drive home the rustic Italian flavor profile.
However, it wasn’t until New York when I really experienced the potential for great challah. Even on its own, the Jewish delis of the east coast capture a cozy familiarity of a great challah roll. And when utilized as the bread of choice for french toast in the majority of diners, challah reaches a whole level of deliciousness. Back in the Pacific northwest, most of the restaurant french toasts I had were made with store bought french breads, basic sandwich loaf bread, or sourdough if you’re zesty. But the revelation of challah french toast was a game changer; it's fluffy while firm and the crust almost has a bagel or pretzel-like elasticity to it that gives the dish a whole new dimension.
Though my base dough recipe came courtesy of King Arthur Flour, here’s my decadent variation of the traditional challah bread that features honey and apples, which just so happen to be a staple of Rosh Hashanah celebrations as well.
Ingredients:
½ Cup lukewarm water (113g)
6 Tbsp vegetable oil (74g)
¼ Cup honey (85g) (I tend to go a little heavy on the honey)
2 Large eggs
1 ½ tsp salt
4 Cups All Purpose Flour (482g) (or Bread Flour)
1 Packet of active dry yeast (7g) & liberal pinch of sugar/ or 1 Tbsp instant yeast
Egg wash:
1 large egg
Topping:
3 Apples diced (I like jazz, gala, or golden delicious)
½ cup honey
½ Tbsp lemon juice
Dash of cinnamon
Weigh out all ingredients, get your mise en place situated.
If you’re using active dry yeast, activate by dissolving in ½ cup water with sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for 10-15 minutes or until yeast begins blooming.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. If you’re using instant yeast, toss that in as well. Make a little volcano/crater with the sifted ingredients.
Add eggs, honey, oil, and activated yeast/water mixture to the flour crater. Whisk wet ingredients while slowly incorporating the dry ingredients.
Technically you can just toss all the stuff in a bowl, mix by hand, with a mixer, or bread machine til the dough is pliable, then knead for a bit til the dough is soft and smooth. Try not to overwork it, but that’s an experience thing, you’ll know when it’s overworked when it feels like the shoulders of a cog in the corporate machine.
For the most authentic experience, I do the flour crater thing and mix by hand. It doesn’t taste the same without a little elbow grease and traditionalism. And also I don’t usually have the best equipment to make things easier, so I tell myself this way tastes better.
Once the dough is soft and smooth, cover the bowl in plastic wrap and let proof for about 2 hours, or until it’s airy and fluffy.
Gently deflate dough by punching down like it's a toddler’s tummy, but one that still owes you money. Then move to a lightly greased work surface.
Divide and weigh out dough into equal pieces. A traditional loaf is a three-strand braid, so divide into three pieces. If you want more nooks and crannies for your topping to seep into, use five to seven strands.
Roll each piece to about a foot and half in length, 20 inches give or take a few inches but try to make them equal. If your dough experiences shrinkage as you’re rolling, let it sit for 10 minutes to let the gluten relax a bit, then get after it.
Braid the loaf. It helps to make a base by pinching the ends together and tucking about an inch of the roll into itself. Three-strand braid is pretty easy; left to middle, right to middle and repeat. Just make sure to keep the overs and unders consistent. Check here for more complicated braids. I could try to explain it verbally, but that’s a hassle.finish the braid by pinching and tucking the loose ends. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let proof at a few degrees warmer than room temp for about an hour and a half, or until it’s visibly puffier.
Make the Glaze: beat 1 egg (add a splash of water to make it last if you got a long loaf) and brush egg wash over braided loaf.
Make the Topping: core and dice apples to ½ inch chunks, toss with a spritz of lemon juice and cinnamon in a bowl. Incorporate honey.
Either sprinkle honeyed apples other the egg washed loaf or refrigerate topping to enjoy with the bread. (I’ve tried both ways, if you bake the topping the honey lightly candies the apples, but at the cost of the apples’ crispness)
Preheat oven to 375℉. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Remove from the oven, loosely tent with foil. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until it's a deep amber and the crust feels like it has set. (You can be super vigilant and check the interior temp, you want it to reach 190℉.)
Remove bread from the oven, place on a cooling rack.
Enjoy! Get creative and experiment with different toppings, washes, flavor profiles, or just make something extra amazing with your bread like french toast or bread pudding.
Some might call it blasphemy to take such liberties with a traditional dish, but in my experience being Jewish is all about negotiating remembrance of the past with contemporary circumstances, so have fun with it!
