Luscious Challah Recipes

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a large bowl, and stir gently to moisten the yeast. Stir in salt, sugar, margarine, and 4 eggs, and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour, 1 cup at a time, up to 12 cups, until the dough becomes slightly tacky but not wet. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Grease baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper and set aside.
• Cut the bread dough into 4 equal-sized pieces (or 2 pieces to make 2 large loaves). Cut each piece into thirds for 3-strand braided loaves. Working on a floured surface, roll the small dough pieces into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look. Repeat for the remaining loaves.
• Place the loaves onto the prepared baking sheets, and let rise until double in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk 1 egg with vanilla extract in a small bowl, and brush the loaves with the egg wash. Sprinkle each loaf with about 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are shiny and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

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:

• Follow instructions on yeast package to activate yeast in warm water for 10 minutes.
• Mix the ingredients - putting the oil into the bowl first and then measure and add the honey - using the same measuring cup that you measured the oil inches This little trick allows the honey to run smoothly out of the measuring cup.
• Add the remaining ingredients in the order given.
• If using an electric mixer, let it knead for 3 minutes and then do a little hand-kneading as you transfer the dough into an oiled bowl. If it is kneaded by hand, it is necessary to knead the dough for 10 minutes.
• Let the dough rise in a large bowl that has been coated with oil. When transferring the dough into the oiled bowl, be sure to turn it on all sides so that it gets a thin coating of oil. Place the bowl in a warm place until the dough is double in size -- then punch down and knead a bit more.
• Place the dough back in the bowl and let it rise a second time. This should take about one hour. Punch down and cut into sizes desired.
• After shaping the challahs, brush them generously with egg yolk and sprinkle with either poppy seeds or sesame seeds if you prefer.
• Bake in 350-degree oven for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until the challah sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Steps:

• Put ingredients in bread machine according to your manufacturer's directions and put on 'dough cycle.' Don't throw the egg white away -- you will use it to brush the loaf with later.
• Once the ingredients are mixed, check the consistency if you can. I usually let the machine pause for about 20 minutes for the 'autolyse'.
• You can make two smaller braids or one large one. I love a six-braided loaf! (Check some bread cookbooks for directions -- too difficult to explain how to braid into six pieces without pictures!) For a nice structure, divide into pieces, and then flatten each piece into a free--form rectangle about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Roll up each piece, and gently pull to elongate into ropes, and braid.
• Let rise about 45 minutes. Mix one egg white with 1 teaspoons water and brush over bread. Top with seeds, if desired. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, depending on the thickness of the loaf (loaves).
• To keep the crust crisp, store cut end down on a breadboard, not in a plastic bag.
• Enjoy!