Simple at home Round Challah Recipe
New Jewish chef - Easy Round Challah
Shabbat is considered the most important of all Jewish holidays. It is the day of rest and weekly observance of God’s completion of creation. Starting on Friday night an hour before sunset, it lasts for 25 hours until sunset on Saturday night.
Step by Step Instructions:
STEP 1
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil, sugar, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour
STEP 2
Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; Portion the dough out into 6 equal pieces and roll them into 6 ropes of equal length, about 15 inches long. Begin to create a basic lattice by laying 3 of the ropes horizontally, ½” inch apart in the center of your workspace.
STEP 3
Fold the top and bottom ropes back and place one rope, vertically in the center of the work space, then fold the ropes back over. Then, lift the two sides of the center horizontal rope and place the two other ropes a ½” to the right and left of the center vertical rope, then place two ends of the center horizontal rope back down over the vertical ones. You should have a small lattice where the ropes are almost touching and there are 4 groups of three rope ends on the top, left, right and bottom.
STEP 4
Take the bottom centermost rope, and pass it over the strand to the right. Work counter clockwise passing the next rope over its neighbor. When done, there should be 6 pairs of ropes where one rope is crossed over the other. Now beginning with the pairing in the bottom right, take the strand that is under its partner and pass it over the rope to the left. Continue moving clockwise until you are back to having 6 pairs of strands. Repeat the prior step in the clockwise direction, pulling tightly to ensure no gaps remain, and tuck any remaining dough tightly underneath the challah.
STEP 5
Transfer the prepared loaf to the baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest until almost doubled in size for an additional 60 minutes. Toward the end of this final proof, preheat the oven to 375° and beat the remaining egg with a fork.
STEP 6
Preheat oven to 350°. Beat egg and cold water; brush over braids. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake until golden brown, 30-40 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.