This egg-twisted bread, also called challah bread, is gorgeous. It may look complicated, but I’m going to show you how to make yours at home. Place about 3 cups of flour in a large bowl. Add some sugar, instant yeast, and a pinch of salt. Stir the dry ingredients together and make sure they’re all well combined.
Get your mixer ready. Add two eggs and one egg yolk, then add melted butter and some room-temperature water. You don’t want the water to be too hot; otherwise, it might kill the yeast. Mix that together, then gradually start adding the dry ingredients and knead the dough for about five minutes or until it is well formed. Challah bread is a rich bread because it has butter, eggs, and sugar together.
Roll the dough into a nice bowl then cover it and let it proof for about an hour and a half. Once your dough has risen, flour your work surface and dump the dough on the work surface. Cut the dough into two pieces, one roughly half the size of the other.
Divide the first piece of dough into three sections and roll it out into a big rope about 16 inches long. Use your palm and fingers to roll out the dough and spread it out. Once you are done with the last piece of dough, it’s time to braid it and this technique is much easier.
So just pinch together the three pieces of dough then just do a simple basic braid. Be careful not to tug on the dough too much so it doesn’t get stretchy when you get to the end, pinch the ends too. You don’t have to worry about your braided dough being super perfect because the dough is going to rise once it finishes braiding and it’s going to puff up.
Repeat the same with the second piece of dough that you had cut earlier. Place the two braided doughs on a baking sheet and brush them with egg yolks so they stick together. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise once it has risen, brush once more with the egg yolk then place it in a 375-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes r until it is golden brown and beautiful.
Ingredients;
- 3 to 3 1/4 cups (15 to 16 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs, one egg separated
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, at room temperature
Instructions;
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk, melted butter, and 1/2 cup of the water until combined.
- Gradually add the flour mixture. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough comes together.
- Knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding up to a 1/4 cup more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky.
- Mix the egg white and the remaining 1 tablespoon of water cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Shape the dough into an even ball and place it in a lightly oiled ball.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Gently press down on the dough to deflate it then cover with plastic and let rise until doubled again about 40 to 60 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one about half the size of the other.
- Divide the large piece into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 16-inch long rope.
- Line up the ropes and pinch them together at one end. Braid the rope pieces, pinching the other end together to seal the braid.
- Place the braid on a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the exact steps with the remaining 3 smaller pieces of dough.
- Brush egg washes onto the large braid then carefully place the smaller braid on top.
- Loosely drape the loaf with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 375°F.
- Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown.
- Let the loaf cool completely before slicing.
