Georgian Challah Recipes

MOST AMAZING CHALLAH

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.

BEST PULL-APART JEWISH CHALLAH RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Dissolve active dry yeast in warm water. Add 1 tsp sugar and stir, activating yeast - the yeast should foam. (This should take 5 to 10 minutes).
• In a stand mixer, mix one egg, sugar, oil, and salt together. To this, add two cups of flour and mix.
• Add activated yeast to flour and mix well. Then, add the remaining flour until dough forms and is kneadable.
• On a clean surface, very lightly sprinkle flour and knead dough. Let stand on the counter for one hour and then punch down to deflate. Shape into a ball.
• Next, place dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 10 hours.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F. Punch down dough and knead for an additional. 5 minutes. Form into a ball and cut this into 3 equal pieces.
• Roll out the pieces into strands and let rest for 5 minutes. Then, roll out a second time - strands should have become a little more elastic at this point.
• Braid into a loose challah, being careful not to braid too tightly as the dough will rise again once down.
• Now, allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes until doubled in size. To test, gently poke a finger into the dough - if it's ready, this should leave a dent that slowly bounces back.
• Once ready, whisk room temperature egg until homogenized to create an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to apply this onto the entire top of the challah. If desired, add sesame seeds at this step (optional).
• Place challah on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, let rest, and serve.
• Enjoy!

MY FAVORITE CHALLAH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
• Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading.)
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
• To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
• Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
• If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking. Then dip your index finger in the egg wash, then into poppy or sesame seeds and then onto a mound of bread. Continue until bread is decorated with seeds.
• Bake in middle of oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool loaves on a rack.

GEORGIAN CHALLAH

Steps:

• 1. Dissolve the active dry yeast along with the sugar in the water in a large glass container. Mix and let sit about 10 minutes.
• 2. In a large bowl mix 5 cups of the flour with the salt. Add the yeast mixture and the vegetable oil. Work the ingredients together with a spoon; when they come together turn out on a floured board, and knead with your hands until the dough becomes a smooth ball. Place in a greased bowl and let rise, covered, for an hour or so or until doubled.
• 3. Punch down and divide into 4 balls. Cover with a towel and let rise about a half hour.
• 4. Meanwhile, place 4 empty round baking pans or cookie sheets in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes and remove.
• 5. When the dough has risen, punch down and divide into 4 balls. At this point you can treat this like everyday or Sabbath bread. For weekdays, press down and stretch, using the back of your hand. Grease the baking pans and press the dough down into them. Using your fingers, make big indentations in the center of the dough. For Sabbath bread, keep the shape in a round and make a few slashes in the bread. Sprinkle the dough, whatever the shape, with water and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a spatula.

GUATEMALAN CHALLAH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and 3/4 cup of the flour, then whisk in the warm water until smooth. Let sit uncovered for 20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly.
• Whisk 2 eggs, oil, salt, sugar and cardamom into the puffed yeast slurry until the eggs are well incorporated and the salt and sugar are dissolved.
• Stir in the remaining flour all at once. When the mixture is a shaggy ball, scrape it out onto your work surface and knead it until smooth and soft, no more than 10 minutes. Knead in the raisins just until they are equally distributed.
• Place the dough in the bowl and cover, set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, up to 2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into two 1-pound portions for loaves, or 16 rolls.
• Braid or shape as desired, position on the prepared sheets and cover again to rise until tripled in size, up to 1 1/2 hours.
• Thirty minutes before baking, put oven racks in upper and lower third positions and preheat to 350°F.
• Beat remaining egg with a pinch of salt for glazing the bread.
• When the loaves have tripled in size and stay indented when gently pressed with a fingertip, brush with the egg glaze. If desired, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.
• Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes, loaves for 25-35 minutes, until well-browned. You may tent them with foil if they are browning too quickly.
• Remove from oven to cool on racks.
• Freezes well.

CHALLAH

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, a pinch of the sugar and a couple tablespoons of lukewarm water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast, then leave for 10 mins until foamy.
• Meanwhile, combine the flour, the remaining sugar and 3 tsp fine salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add half the beaten egg, the yeast mixture and the oil. Pour in 200ml lukewarm water (it should feel slightly warm to the touch) and stir with a spoon, then mix using one hand, keeping the other clean while you bring the dough together. If there are a lot of very dry bits, gradually add a little water to just bring it together - you don't want it to get too wet and sticky. The dough should be moist, but not soggy.
• Once the dough has come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead using both hands for 10 mins until smooth and a bit springy. If it gets very sticky, add a very small amount of flour - as little as possible. A dough scraper is useful if the dough is sticking to the work surface. Stretch the sides of the dough down and pull together to form a ball. Lightly oil a bowl, then lightly roll the dough ball around the bowl so it's coated in the oil. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hr, or until dough has doubled in size.
• Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into three equal pieces, weighing for accuracy, if you like. Roll each piece into a long sausage shape about 25cm long, tapering them slightly at both ends. Lay the pieces out in front of you, parallel to one another with a couple centimetres between each. Bring the sausages together at the top end, then plait them down the length, tucking in the ends when you reach the bottom. Carefully transfer the loaf to the prepared baking sheet and loosely cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise until puffy and billowy, about 40 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Gently brush the rest of the beaten egg all over the challah, getting it into all the crevices, and sprinkle with the poppy or sesame seeds, if using. Bake on a middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 mins, until the loaf is golden brown underneath and sounds hollow when tapped. Check after about 15 mins - if the top of the loaf has started to get too dark, cover it with foil. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then serve.