How to Make a Round Braided Challah
Challah bread braiding is an old and distinct tradition in the Jewish culture that has special significance for the weekly Sabbaths and annual Holy Days. The three Sabbath meals (two meals on Holy Days) start with two complete loaves of challah bread, symbolizing the double portions of manna that rained down from heaven for the Israelites the day before each Sabbath during the 40 years they wandered in the desert after escaping slavery in Egypt; no manna fell on the Sabbath or on Holy Days. Prepare challah before a Sabbath for a traditional addition to a meal by shaping the bread dough and braiding it. Making a round braided challah is not as difficult as you might assume. It is a simple matter of rolling and shaping the dough into a beautiful braided loaf. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
- Basic bread dough (for two loaves of bread)
- 1 egg
- Shallow bowl
- Pastry brush
Instructions
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Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
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Follow your recipe to make the dough. Use a family recipe or find a recipe in a cookbook or online.
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Allow the dough to rise in a large bowl until it doubles. Rising time should take approximately one hour. Check the dough for doubling by inserting a finger into the dough. If your finger leaves an indentation, the dough has doubled.
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Turn the dough out from the bowl onto a floured surface and divide the dough into three equal portions. Roll the portions out into long tubes (each approximately 12 inches long) with your hands.
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Place the three dough tubes beside each other and begin braiding them in the same fashion as you braid hair. Take the right-hand tube and lay it across the center tube so that the right-hand tube is now in the center. Take the left-hand tube and lay it across the new center tube so that the left-hand tube is now in the center. Continue alternating right to center, then left to center, until you braid the entire length of the three tubes.
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Bring the two ends of the braid together to make a round shape. Tuck the ends of the braid underneath to hide them.
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Place the round braided challah onto the prepared baking sheet.
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Allow the challah to rise a second time for approximately 30 minutes.
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Crack the egg into the shallow bowl. Add 2 tbsp. of water to the egg and mix the egg and water well.
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Brush the egg mixture over the risen challah with the pastry brush to coat the challah completely with egg. Bake the challah at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes until the challah is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap it lightly.
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Tips & Warnings
Make homemade bread dough by mixing together 2 and 2/3 cups warm water with 2 tsp. yeast. Add ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup oil to the water and yeast. Mix all the ingredients well. Add 4 tsp. salt and 4 cups of bread flour. Stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon to incorporate them. Add up to 4 more cups of bread flour, first stirring with a spoon and them mixing with your hands. Turn the dough out onto a counter and knead in as much of the remaining flour as possible until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should no longer stick to your hands when you finish.
References
- Photo Credit Rising Bread 1 image by velvetjam from Fotolia.com
