Challah

I’ve finally found a bread recipe I like. I thought I’d share.

I’ve always been intrigued by the thought of baking my own bread. I’ve tried multiple recipes and techniques multiple times, without finding something that I would be willing to eat on a regular basis.

I took a bread-baking class at the University of Tennessee Culinary Institute that featured the basis of this recipe. I’ve tweaked it and resized it and make it in my [easyazon-link keywords=”Bosch Universal mixer” locale=”us”]Bosch Universal mixer[/easyazon-link] rather than by hand.

In class we had access to a high-gluten flour which I cannot find in any grocery store, so I have changed my recipe to use vital wheat gluten with regular bread flour. This produces a product that is close enough to the original for me.

You can make a slightly leaner dough by eliminating the butter. Or you can add a bit more butter, honey and water and come up with a softer dough more suitable for cinnamon rolls.

Substituting 1/3 whole wheat flour for an equal amount of bread flour works wonderfully also.

1 loaf 2 loaves
24 oz 48 oz
Honey 38 grams 76 grams
Salt, Kosher 6 grams 12 grams
Bread Flour 338 grams 676 grams
[easyazon-link keywords=”Vital Wheat Gluten” locale=”us”]Vital Wheat Gluten[/easyazon-link] 21 grams 42 grams
[easyazon-link keywords=”Instant Yeast” locale=”us”]Instant Yeast[/easyazon-link] 10 grams 20 grams
Water 112 grams 224 grams
Eggs 2 4
Unsalted butter, melted 49 grams 98 grams

I throw all the ingredients into my Bosch Universal (or Bosch Compact, or DLX Assistent) and, after everything has come together, allow the dough to knead for about 8 minutes or so.

I then lightly oil the dough and cover it and allow it to proof (raise or ferment) until it has about doubled in size. I will then punch it down and roll it into a tight log the length of my [easyazon-link keywords=”loaf pan” locale=”us”]loaf pan[/easyazon-link]. It then gets loosely covered and allowed to proof again until it is about an inch to inch and a half above the rim of the pan.

Then I bake it for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from the pan immediately and allow to cool an an elevated cooling rack.

After 20 minutes, you should have a nicely browned loaf that will sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. For rich doughs like this you would be looking for a temperature somewhere around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping it below the traditionally-quoted temperature of 195-200 degrees will prevent the bread from being too dry.

My challah loaves as they come out of the pan:Loaf of Challah

Loaf of Challah

challah-loaves

 

The following two pictures show braided challah that I did in class at the UT Culinary Institute:

Large Braided Challah

Small Braided Challah

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