Seeded Challah Food

CHALLAH

Steps:

• 1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over low heat just until it's warm to the touch. Remove from the heat.
• 2. Dump the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the yeast to the well along with a few drops of honey and 1/2 cup or so of the warm milk. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• 3. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining milk and honey, the oil, and 3 of the eggs. Stir together. Add the salt and stir again. Gradually stir the liquid mixture into the flour, about 1/2 cup at a time. When the dough becomes sticky and difficult to stir, dump onto a floured surface and knead it by hand, adding a little more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking, until smooth and elastic.
• 4. Knead the dough into a ball. Slick another large bowl with oil, add the dough, and turn to slick the surface with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand in a warm place until double in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• 5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Gently punch the dough down and turn it onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into four equal portions, working with one portion at a time and keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. Divide one portion of dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece into a rope about 1 foot long and slightly tapered at the ends. Line the ropes side by side on one side of the baking sheet and braid them, pinching the ends to seal and tucking them underneath. Repeat this process with the remaining dough until you have four nicely braided loaves. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand until nearly double in size, another 25 minutes or so.
• 6. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• 7. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush it over the tops of the challah loaves. Sprinkle with the nigella or sesame seeds. Bake the loaves until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

CHALLAH

Steps:

• Place the flour, salt, yeast, vegetable oil, and honey in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Using an instant-read thermometer, adjust the temperature of the water so that the combined temperatures of the flour and the liquid give a base temperature of 130 degrees if using a Cuisinart or KitchenAid or 150 degrees if using a Braun. Beat 2 of the eggs and add them to the liquid. With the machine running, pour all but 2 tablespoons of the liquid through the feed tube. Process for 30 seconds. If the dough seems too dry and is not forming a smooth ball, add the reserved liquid and process for 15 seconds more, for a total of 45 seconds. Stop the machine, and take the temperature of the dough with an instant-read thermometer, which should read between 75 degrees and 80 degrees. If the temperature is lower than 75 degrees, process the dough for an additional 5 seconds, up to twice more, until the dough reaches the desired temperature. If the temperature is higher than 80 degrees, remove the thermometer, scrape the dough from the food processor into an un-greased bowl, and refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes. Check the temperature of the dough after 5 minutes; it should be 80 degrees or cooler by that time.;
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it in a large ungreased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 1 1/ 2 to 2 hours at room temperature, 70 to 72 degrees. The dough will have noticeably increased in volume and will be light and soft. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently flatten it with the palms of your hands, but do not punch out all of the air bubbles that have formed as the dough has fermented. Form the dough into a loose ball; lift up one edge and fold it into the center. Do this about 4 or 5 times until the dough is formed into a ball. Return it to the bowl, cover, and let proof at room temperature until it doubles in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/ 2 hours. One hour before baking, put the oven rack on the second shelf from the bottom of the oven and place the baking stone on the rack. Place a pan on the bottom of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a dough scraper or kitchen knife, divide it into 2 pieces. Form each piece into a log shape to be rolled like a baguette. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. To form the dough into round turban shapes, roll one piece into a strip about 14 inches long. Taper the dough so that it is noticeable thicker at one end; use both hands to roll the dough into a point on the other end. Starting with the thicker end, coil the dough so that it forms a tight spiral. Wrap it around, then tuck the thin end under the loaf to keep it from unraveling. With the palms of your hands, press the top of the loaf lightly to flatten it slightly, then transfer it to one corner of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Place it diagonally across from the first loaf spaced about 2 inches so the loaves do not stick together as they bake. Cover with a towel and let proof for about 45 minutes at room temperature. The loaves will be visibly puffed and will increase in volume by at least half. Just before baking, beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush each loaf with the egg wash, then sprinkle the loaves with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Carefully pour about 1 cup of warm water into the pan in the oven. Immediately slide the baking sheet of dough onto the baking stone in the oven and turn the heat down to 400 degrees. Bake for 2 minutes, then quickly open the oven door and add another 1-cup warm water to the pan in the oven. Continue baking the bread for another 30 minutes. Check to see if it is browning too quickly. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees if necessary, then continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes. The bread is done when golden brown. Insert an instant-read thermometer into it, and if the internal temperature is 205 degrees to 210 degrees, the bread is done. Remove the bread from the oven and place the loaves on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting and storing.;

SWEET CHALLAH

Steps:

• Mix the yeast, 1/3 cup of sugar, and warm water together in a large bowl, stir to dissolve the sugar, and let the mixture stand until a creamy layer forms on top, about 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of flour to make a loose sponge.
• In a separate bowl, beat 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 cup of sugar together, and stir the egg mixture into the yeast-flour mixture until well combined. Continue mixing in flour, 1 cup at a time, up to 9 total cups. Dough should be slightly sticky, but not so wet that it leaves dough stuck to your hands.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes to develop gluten. Form the dough into a compact round shape, and place in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough over several times in the bowl to oil the surface of the dough, cover the bowl with a cloth, and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and knead for another 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
• Grease baking sheets, or line with parchment paper. To make egg glaze, whisk together 1 egg, 1 teaspoon oil, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl, and refrigerate until needed.
• Cut the dough into 4 pieces, and cut each piece into 3 smaller pieces for a 3-strand braided loaf. 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. Place the loaves onto the prepared baking sheets, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes. Brush a coating of egg glaze onto the tops of the bread, and reserve the remaining glaze.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and brush another coating of glaze onto the bread. Return to the oven, and bake until the tops are shiny and golden brown, 5 to 10 more minutes. Let cool before cutting.

CHALLAH BREAD

Steps:

• Make the dough:
• Pour the cool water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the bread hook. Crumble the yeast into the water and use your fingers to rub and dissolve it; if using active dry yeast, whisk the yeast into the water. Add the flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and oil.
• Mix the dough on low speed to combine the ingredients, stopping the mixer if the dough climbs up the hook or if you need to work in dry ingredients that have settled on the bottom of the bowl. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. It should take about 2 minutes for the dough to come together. If there are lots of dry bits in the bottom of the bowl that just aren't getting worked in, add a tablespoon or two of water. On the other hand, if the dough looks softer than in the photo opposite, add a few pinches of flour.
• [Note: Eventually you'll be able to feel the dough and know if you need to add water or flour; it's always better to adjust the ratios when the dough is first coming together at the beginning of mixing rather than wait until the end of the kneading process, since it takes longer for ingredient additions to get worked into the dough mass at this later point and you risk overworking the dough.]
• Increase the speed to medium and knead until a smooth dough forms, about 4 minutes. You want the dough to be a bit firm.
• Stretch and fold the dough:
• Lightly dust your work surface with a little flour, and use a dough scraper to transfer the dough from the mixing bowl to the floured surface. Use your palms to push and tear the top of the dough away from you in one stroke, and then fold that section onto the middle of the dough. Give the dough a quarter turn and repeat the push/tear/fold process for about 1 minute. Then push and pull the dough against the work surface to round it into a ball.
• Let the dough rise:
• Lightly dust a bowl with flour, add the dough, sprinkle just a little flour on top of the dough, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set the bowl aside at room temperature until the dough has risen by about 70%, about 40 minutes (this will depend on how warm your room is-when the dough proofs in a warmer room it will take less time than in a cooler room).
• Divide the dough:
• Use a plastic dough scraper to gently lift the dough out of the bowl and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface (take care not to press out the trapped gas in the dough). Gently pull the dough into a rectangular shape. Use a bench scraper or a chef's knife to divide the dough into 3 equal horizontal strips (you can use a kitchen scale to weigh each piece if you want to be exact). Then divide each piece into 3 smaller equal parts crosswise so you end up with a total of 9 pieces. [Note: It is best not to have an overly floured work surface when rolling dough into cylinders, since the flour makes it hard for the dough to gain enough traction to be shaped into a rope.]
• Shape the dough:
• Set a piece of dough lengthwise on your work surface. Use the palm of your hand to flatten the dough into a flat rectangle; then fold the top portion over and use your palm to press the edge into the flat part of the dough. Fold and press 3 more times-the dough will end up as a cylinder about 7 inches long. Set this piece aside and repeat with the other 8 pieces.
• Return to the first piece of dough and use both hands to roll the cylinder back and forth to form a long rope, pressing down lightly when you get to the ends of the rope so they are flattened. The rope should be about 14 inches long with tapered ends. Repeat with the remaining 8 cylinders. Lightly flour the long ropes (this allows for the strands of the braid to stay somewhat separate during baking; otherwise, they'd fuse together).
• Pinch the ends of 3 ropes together at the top (you can place a weight on top of the ends to hold them in place) and lightly flour the dough. Braid the dough, lifting each piece up and over so the braid is more stacked than it is long; you also want it to be fatter and taller in the middle, and more tapered at the ends. When you get to the end of the ropes and there is nothing left to braid, use your palm to press and seal the ends together, or, for a round festive challah, join both ends of the challah together to form a circle, then flip over so the more attractive side is showing. Repeat with the remaining 6 ropes, creating 3 braided challahs. Place the challahs on parchment paper-lined rimmed sheet pans, cover them with a kitchen towel (or place them inside an unscented plastic bag), and set them aside in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until the loaves have doubled in volume, about 40 minutes (depending on how warm the room is).
• Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Test the dough:
• Once the challah loaves have roughly doubled in size, do the press test: Press your finger lightly into the dough, remove it, and see if the depression fills in by half. If the depression fills back in quickly and completely, the dough needs more time to rise; if you press the dough and it slightly deflates, the dough has overproofed and will be heavier and less airy after baking.
• Bake the loaves:
• Make the egg wash by mixing the egg, water, and salt together in a small bowl. Gently brush the entire surface of the loaves with egg wash, taking care not to let it pool in the creases of the braids. You want a nice thin coating. Generously sprinkle the loaves with the seeds. [Note: At the bakery, we dip the egg-washed dough facedown into a large tray of seeds and then roll it from side to side to heavily coat the bread. If you just sprinkle a few pinches over the top, it won't look very generous or appealing after the bread has expanded and baked, so be generous with the seeds whether sprinkling or rolling.]
• Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the bottom sheet pan to the top and the top sheet pan to the bottom (turning each sheet around as you go), and bake until the loaves are golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Remove the loaves from the oven and set them aside to cool completely on the sheet pans.

SESAME SEED CHALLAH (EGYPTIAN HOLIDAY BREAD)

Steps:

• Combine yeast with water and pinch of sugar and set aside.
• Combine flour, remaining sugar, salt and 2 eggs in large mixing bowl.
• Add yeast mixture and mix well.
• Dough will be moist and sticky.
• Knead until dough is smooth, about 10 minutes, adding flour or water as needed.
• Dough should still be moist.
• Return to bowl, sprinkle dough with flour, cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Divide dough in half, place each half on lightly floured board and lightly knead into round loaves.
• Place on greased baking sheet, leaving space between loaves, as they will rise and expand when baking.
• Beat remaining egg.
• Brush loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and completely baked inside, 20 to 30 minutes.