Ingredients
Instructions
- 2 ¼ cups water
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 8 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon yeast
- ½ cup sugar
- Combine yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and ¾ cup of lukewarm water in a 2 cup measuring cup. Stir until dry ingredients are absorbed and let sit for approximately 10 minutes until doubled in size.
- Combine 4 cups of flour and the rest of the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.
- Add two of the eggs to bowl. For the third one set aside the yolk to be used later for the glaze. Add the egg white to the bowl.
- Add 1½ cups of lukewarm water, oil and the yeast mixture to bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients until dry ingredients are totally absorbed.
- Add ¼ cup of flour at a time until totally absorbed. Repeat until flour cannot be absorbed.
- Turn dough on to a floured surfuce and knead for approximately 10 minutes.
- Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel.
- After 1½ hours, the dough should have doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and replace the cover.
- Repeat the last two steps.
- Punch down the dough and turn it on to a floured surface.
- Cut the dough into two equal halves.
- Cut each half into 4 pieces and braid.
- Place the braided dough on a parchment lined pan.
- Combine the egg yolk with an equal amount of water and mix.
- Brush the braided dough with the egg mixture. If desired, add poppy or sesame seeds.
- Place the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for ½ hour.
- Take out of the oven and place the challah on a wired rack to cool.
- Pizza Stone: The pizza stone is a perfect way to bake challah. It creates a delicious bottom crust, expecially if corn meal is used to buffer the we dough from the stone.
- Oil and other Ingredients: In our bakery we use a combination of olive and canola oil. We found this combination yields the best tasting challah.
- Don't Rush It: Making good challah takes time. Kneading the dough is an important step and letting the dough rise is equally important.