Recipe for 4 small challah breads

Challah

Ingredients
 
1 Kg bread or white flour
2 Tbsp dry yeast
¾ cup sugar
 
½ cup oil
1 ⅞ cup Lukewarm water
1 each egg
2 tsp salt
 
1 each egg
½ tsp water
8 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp coarse-grained salt
 


Preparation steps:
    Prepare the dough and let it rise
  1. Sift the flour (it aerates the flour) and mix it with the dry yeast and sugar.
  2. Add the oil, Lukewarm water, and egg. Knead for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the salt and knead additional 5 minutes.
  4. Oil a bowl. Make a large ball from the dough. Slightly oil the dough and place it in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic and with kitchen towel to keep the dough warm.
  5. Let the dough rise in a warm room temperature for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.

    Create 16 dough balls
  6. Using a kitchen scale divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Divide each part into 4 equal pieces. Each of the 16 pieces weighs 108-110 gram (use a kitchen scale to measure). Make a ball from each piece, and place on a tray.
  7. Keep the balls covered with kitchen towel.

    Braid the challah breads
  8. Use 4 balls of dough to braid each challah:
    • With a rolling pin, roll each ball into 10" ellipse.
    • Fold the ellipse by hand on the long side, the 10", into a strand.
    • Using the palm of the hands, roll each strand into a strand about 18" long.
    • Place the 4 strands in a row, parallel to each another, and pinch the tops of the strands together.
    • Move the 2nd to the right strand over the 2 strands on the left. Move the outside right strand and place it between the 2 strands.
    • Repeat this braiding from side to side, and pinch the ends together.

    Add toppings, rise, bake
  9. Place the breads on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (Each bread is about 13")
  10. Mix the egg with water. Brush the breads with the egg mix. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and a touch of coarse-grained salt.
  11. Let the breads rise in a room temperature for additional 20-30 minutes.
  12. Bake on the top shelf at 350F for 30 minutes.
  13. Remove from the oven. Place a covered kitchen towel to cool to room temperature for 5 minutes. This keeps the challah bread softer.
Personal notes
I've learned this recipe from my friend Odelia, who is a pro in everything baking!
Picture of recipe


Take note!
  • Bread flour = unbleached wheat flour,
    enriched with niacin (Vitamin B3),
    iron, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B1),
    riboflavin (vitamin B2),
    folic acid (vitamin B9), enzyme.

  • 1 Tbsp dry yeast = one packet of
    Fleischmann's ActiveDry Yeast (¼ oz)

  • Lukewarm water temperature is 105-110F

    Tips for working with yeast doughs:

  • Preparing the dough -
    due to the interaction with the yeast,
    the salt is added later.

  • Creating a ball from the dough -
    folds the edges under the ball center
    to create the ball shape.

  • Dough rise in a cold room temperture -
    Alternative 1: cover the bowl with a
    large plate and place it on top
    of another bowl with hot water.
    Alternative 2: place the bowl in an oven that
    has been warmed to 150F then turned off.

  • When rolling the dough and it immediatly
    shrinks significantly, it means that
    the dough needs to continue to rise.