Yesterday, I helped an Orthodox friend do her baking and some other preparations for the holidays. We made Challah which was just out of this world. I’ll share her recipe with you; please share your recipe.
This one isn’t yellow like a lot of them I’ve seen, but it’s delicious. It makes about a billion (maybe 8?) loaves.
5 cups water
3T yeast (four packages)
some honey (not much needed, and sugar could be substituted)
1 ½ cups sugar
3 T salt
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 5lb bag flour (20 cups)
Preparation:
Proof the yeast in the water (with some honey)
add sugar, salt, eggs, and oil and blend together.
Gradually add the flour until it is the right consistency (sort of sticky still but firm)
1st rising up to 2 hours. 2nd rising no more than an hour.
Bake 325 for 20 minutes turn around so it bakes evenly, 20 minutes more.
She braids it in a 6-strand braid. I will admit that the pattern has eluded me, but it tastes the same nonetheless.
When I make challah I use James Beard’s recipe. I use a four strand braid normally, but there’s a six-strander I use for fancy occasions.
When I was attending the American Institute of Baking there were several students from Japan and I copied off a bread-braiding manual one of them had. I can’t read the captions, but the photographs give strand by strand instructions for braids of up to nine or ten strands. I got my six strander from them.
I’m sorry, but I’m a baking newbie. What do you mean by the two risings? Let it rise for two hours, and then just keep it going for one more hour, or what? I’d love to follow your recipe and surprise everyone with challah for a Rosh Hashanah dinner tomorrow night.
Does anyone know a good online source for braiding instructions? As a teenager I figured out a way to do a four-strand braid, but I have no idea if it’s the most aesthetically pleasing method, and would love to see some alternatives.
Karen uses a 6-strand method. Even with a diagram, it’s not an easy thing to just pick up on.
We made some braided, but we also made some round (like a big cinnamon bun) and some with 12 small balls with a band of dough around it. Four in the centre then the remaining 8 around, with the snake of dough to hold it all together. It’s supposed to be reminiscent of the 12 tribes of Israel, and easy to pull apart at the table.