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Challah

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Resting Time3 hours

Equipment

  • Stand mixer

Ingredients

Quick Starter

  • 120 grams all-purpose flour (1 cup)
  • 227 grams luke warm water (1 cup)
  • 6 grams instant yeast (2 teaspoons)

Dough

  • 420 grams all purpose flour (up to 60 grams more) (3½ cups - 4 cups)
  • 11 grams salt (1¾ teaspoons)
  • 67 grams sugar (⅓ cups)
  • 50 grams vegetable oil (¼ cup)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 egg yolk (save the white)

Glaze

  • 1 egg white (saved from dough)
  • 4 grams sugar (1 teaspoon)
  • poppy seeds (optional)

Instructions

Starter

  • Mix the starter ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer. Cover and let sit 45-60 minutes.

Dough

  • Add to the starter all of the dough ingredients -- start with the smaller amount of flour -- and mix. Should make a smooth, supple dough. If too wet, add up to 60 grams more of the flour.
  • Lightly grease a bowl and add dough. Cover with plastic and let rest for 1½-2 hours. Shouldn't be doubled in size but close.
  • A couple of ways to form this -- three strand or four strand is all I've done. Whichever one you decide on, deflate the dough, weigh it, and split it into X equal pieces and roll out to a 20" log and let rest -- will probably relax back to about 18". See notes below about forming. Or check out any of about 4-million videos on YouTube about it.
  • Make the glaze.
  • After you've formed your braid and put it back onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with the glaze, cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and let rest for 45 to 60 minutes until doubled.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F
  • Brush with the glaze again and bake for 35-45 minutes until a deep, shiny brown. If browning too much, tent with foil about half way through. An instant-read thermometer should register 195°F+.
  • Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing into.

Notes

  • I've used 480 grams of flour every time I've made this -- at 420 the dough is way too slack and wet.

Four Strand Braid

  1. Lay your strands out in an upside down, four-legged V.  Pinch the four together at the top.
  2. Consider each positition 1, 2, 3, and 4, left to right.  That is, whatever piece of dough is at the far left, it's #1.  The one next to it is #2, etc.
  3. Take #4 and move it over to between #1 and #2, thereby making it #2.
  4. Take #1 and move it over to between #3 and #4, thereby making it #3.
  5. Take #2 and move it over to between #3 and #4, thereby making it #3.
  6. Repeat this -- 4 over 2, 1 over 3, 2 over 3 -- all the way down until you've got nothing left.  Pinch together and tuck under.

Three Strand Braid

  1. Lay your strands out in a three-legged upside-down V, meeting at the far point from you.  Pinch the strands together.
  2. Take the strand on the right and move it over the strand in the middle (making it the one in the middle.
  3. Take the strand on the left and move it over the strand in the middle (making it now the one in the middle).
  4. Repeat right-strand and then left-strand over the middle strand all the way down until you've got nothing left.
  5. Pinch together and tuck end under.