Challah (Egg Bread)

This is the bread I grew up with and since I can’t get it where I live now, I wanted to make it myself. It can be a bit time-consuming, but mainly because it needs time to rise. You don’t have to spend all that time with it. Basically, you just mix the ingredients, let the dough rise, then shape the dough into breads. While it’s rising, you go off and do other things, like reading a great book.

Challah has a great eggy, slightly sweet taste. Use it in French toast or for sandwiches or just with some butter on it. Eating it makes me think of the Jewish bakeries I used to go to. I remember one in particular where the ladies behind the counter used to always give me a cookie or two to eat as my mother and I were waiting for our challah to be sliced. Those were the days…

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
½ cup milk
7 g (1 tbsp) yeast
8 cups flour, plus more for kneading
4 tbsp vegetable oil or butter, plus more for the trays
¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp agave or honey
3 eggs, plus 1 egg for the egg wash
poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds

Instructions:
1. Put the water and milk into the bowl of a stand mixer, then sprinkle with the yeast. The yeast will probably foam a bit.
2. Mix in the flour a couple of cups at a time. Add the oil or butter and the sugar and agave or honey.
3. Mix in the eggs. Cover the dough in the bowl with a dishtowel and leave it to rise for about an hour.
4. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead it. It will be quite sticky, so add more flour as needed, although if you add too much, it will get dry.
5. Divide it into two pieces of dough, then divide each piece into three. Braid the three pieces together so you have two braided loaves.
6. Place the loaves on oiled trays and leave to rise for another hour.
7. Give the loaves an egg wash, then sprinkle them with seeds as desired.
8. Bake at 190 C for 40 or so minutes.