B H G Challah Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Mix 1 1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt in large bowl.
• Heat water and 1 tablespoon oil until very warm (120 to 130).
• Add water mixture to flour mixture.
• Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently.
• Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently.
• Beat in 1 egg until smooth.
• Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface.
• Knead about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
• Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up.
• Cover and let rise in warm place 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until double.
• Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Lightly grease cookie sheet with shortening.
• Punch down dough and divide into 3 equal parts.
• Roll each part into a rope, 14 inches long.
• Place ropes close together on cookie sheet.
• Braid ropes gently and loosely--do not stretch.
• Fasten ends and tuck ends under braid securely.
• Brush with oil.
• Cover and let rise in warm place 40 to 50 minutes or until double.
• Heat oven to 375.
• Mix egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water and brush over braid. Sprinkle with poppy seed.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Check bread at 15 minutes and tent with aluminum foil if it seems to be browning too quickly.
• Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack and cool.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the oil, sugar, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Divide each portion into thirds. Shape each piece into a 15-in. rope. , Place 3 ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. Beat egg and cold water; brush over braids. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake until golden brown, 30-40 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the water, honey and yeast.
• Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Stir in 1 cup bread flour, and cover with a towel.
• let stand for 30 minutes.
• Stir in the olive oil, whole egg, and egg yolks until very well mixed.
• Add the salt, sugar, and the rest of the flour.
• You should have a sticky dough Pour dough out onto a well floured surface and knead, adding flour as you need it, for 10 minutes.
• Place dough in a large greased mixing bowl and let rise for 1 hour.
• Place dough in the refrigerater and let rise over night or at least 6 hours.
• Turn dough out on a corn mealed surface and cut it into two proportional pieces.
• Cut and braid the two dough balls, place in two loaf pans or form the Jewish circle with them.
• Let dough rise for 1 hour and preheat your oven to 375F.
• Beat 1 egg with the tablespoon of water and brush the doughs with the egg wash TWICE.
• Sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or cinnamon sugar, optional.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, you may have to cover the breads with foil to stop them from browning to much after 15 or 20 minutes.
• Remove the breads from the oven and either place them in plastic bags to get a soft crust or place them on wire racks until cooled completely before storing for a crisp crust (I personally don't wait for either and just eat it right out of the oven).
• Serving Sugestions: Make grilled sandwiches with breads, baked beans, bread pudding, thick beef stew, olive oil with herbs and black pepper, good old fashion butter.
• **Ifyou would like a cheesey challah bread, just sprinkle on your favorite cheese in the last 2 minutes of baking ENJOY!

Steps:

• Soften yeast in warm water.
• Heat milk, butter, sugar, salt and saffron until sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm (110*). Add 2 cups flour and eggs and beat well.
• In your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or by hand) - combine the yeast and milk mixture and knead for 8 - 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. If you are using a Kitchen Aid stand mixture you will need less flour. At any rate, do not exceed 5 cups of flour in your mixer. Shape dough into a ball.
• Butter a large bowl and put dough in it, turning once to coat with butter. Cover with a damp tea towel (not terry cloth) and put into a draft free warm place such as your oven with a proofing feature and 2 cups boiling water set under the bowl. If you have a pilot light in your oven that will be warm enough. If you have no pilot just turn the oven on as low as it will go and turn it off and add the pan of boiling water. 100* is perfect proofing oven.
• Let rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until doubled. Turn out onto a floured board and punch down, letting it rest for 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into 3 even pieces and roll each piece into a rope 18" long. Place on a parchment lined (or well greased) baking sheet. Braid the strands and secure the ends, turning them under the loaf so they don't unravel. Cover with the damp tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375*.
• Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush over the braid. Sprinkle with seeds if you like, and bake for 45 - 50 minutes. If the loaf is getting too dark lay a piece of foil over the top for the last twenty minutes.
• Leftovers make wonderful French Toast and Bread Pudding.

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, a pinch of the sugar and a couple tablespoons of lukewarm water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast, then leave for 10 mins until foamy.
• Meanwhile, combine the flour, the remaining sugar and 3 tsp fine salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add half the beaten egg, the yeast mixture and the oil. Pour in 200ml lukewarm water (it should feel slightly warm to the touch) and stir with a spoon, then mix using one hand, keeping the other clean while you bring the dough together. If there are a lot of very dry bits, gradually add a little water to just bring it together - you don't want it to get too wet and sticky. The dough should be moist, but not soggy.
• Once the dough has come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead using both hands for 10 mins until smooth and a bit springy. If it gets very sticky, add a very small amount of flour - as little as possible. A dough scraper is useful if the dough is sticking to the work surface. Stretch the sides of the dough down and pull together to form a ball. Lightly oil a bowl, then lightly roll the dough ball around the bowl so it's coated in the oil. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hr, or until dough has doubled in size.
• Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into three equal pieces, weighing for accuracy, if you like. Roll each piece into a long sausage shape about 25cm long, tapering them slightly at both ends. Lay the pieces out in front of you, parallel to one another with a couple centimetres between each. Bring the sausages together at the top end, then plait them down the length, tucking in the ends when you reach the bottom. Carefully transfer the loaf to the prepared baking sheet and loosely cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise until puffy and billowy, about 40 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Gently brush the rest of the beaten egg all over the challah, getting it into all the crevices, and sprinkle with the poppy or sesame seeds, if using. Bake on a middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 mins, until the loaf is golden brown underneath and sounds hollow when tapped. Check after about 15 mins - if the top of the loaf has started to get too dark, cover it with foil. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then serve.

Steps:

• Make the light dough: put 1 Tbsp of salt at the bottom of the mixer bowl.
• Pour 1.25 kg of flour on top of it, then sprinkle 15 g of yeast (so the yeast and salt don't touch).
• Make a dip in the flour and fill it with 3/4 c oil, the honey, and 3 eggs.
• Start mixing slowly with the "K" blade of your mixer, while gradually adding water as necessary until everything is mixed in well and dough forms.
• Put mixer on med/med-high speed for at least 5 minutes.
• Oil a giant bowl and move the ready dough into it. Cover with a damp towel.
• Make the dark dough in the same manner, substituting the honey for blackstrap molasses this time.
• Put the dark dough in a separate bowl and knead both doughs after 30-60 minutes (if dough has risen properly it should have doubled), for at least 5 minutes each.
• This is the time to freeze part of the dough if you're not using it all. Otherwise, let it rise for another 30-60 minutes and then start rolling out parts so you can braid it.
• Bake on medium heat (180°C) for 30-40 minutes or until the white part is golden on top.