High-Altitude Challah
"I make this challah for my family and family gatherings in Colorado, and it turns out beautifully each time. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does! If you'd like, sprinkle poppy or sesame seeds before baking, but I never do. Videos for instructions on how to braid a six-strand challah can be found by entering "braiding a 6-strand challah" into the Search box at http://www.youtube.com (I originally saw the one by MayaSophia, on her blog). I always braid mine with the six-strand method now (shown in my picture), because it looks so pretty! *NOTE*: Prep time does NOT include time it take for the dough to rise."
photo by Greeny4444
- Ready In:
- 55mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
1 large loaf
- Serves:
- 16
ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
- 3 tablespoons white sugar, divided
- 2 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1⁄3 cup milk (as needed)
- 1⁄4 cup butter, melted
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
- 3 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
directions
- Combine the warm water, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and the yeast in a measuring cup. Let stand until the yeast dissolves and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs. Put the egg yolks in a 1/3 measuring cup and add enough milk to equal 1/3 cup with the yolks in it. Pour this into the bowl with the eggs and pour in the yeast mixture, butter, salt, and remaining (2 tablespoons + 2 1/2 tsp.) sugar. Gradually mix in the flour until the dough is firm enough to handle.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface until the dough does not stick to your hands. You will probably use more flour while kneading.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Cut the dough into 3 even portions and roll into long ropes. Press one set of ends together, and braid and tuck the other set of ends under, pressing gently (see the intro, above, for a video link to braiding a six-strand challah).
- Place the loaf on a greased baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise. Bread is ready to bake when your finger leaves an impression in the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk the remaining egg in a small bowl. Brush onto the loaf. This will give the bread a lovely golden color and delicious crust.
- Bake until the loaf is golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 35 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
- *To make rolls: Follow the steps to prepare the dough, and let it rise until it is doubled in size. Divide the dough into 15-16 even pieces (about 2 oz. [weight] each), and craft into desired shape. Brush with egg wash (as you would the bread), and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Questions & Replies
-
About how long is the second rise after braiding? I am at 5280 feet.
Reviews
-
This was delicious, even though I forgot the salt! Just gives me an excuse to make it again. We're at about 8,000 feet and it came out pretty well--probably not as tall as it would have been at a lower altitude, but certainly a decent (huge!) loaf.
Tweaks
-
So I wanted to get more good fat and fiber into my Challah. Here's how I did it: Substitute 1 cup Almond Flour and 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups bread flour for the All-Purpose Flour, substitute 3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for the Butter, substitute 3 tablespoons honey for the sugar, Add 1 tablespoon Psyllium Husk Powder and 1/2 teaspoon Guar or Xanthum Gum Powder. Follow the same proceedure with all the substituted ingredients. Add the Guar or Xanthum gum powder to the eggs with the yeast, honey and salt, and the Psyllium Husk Powder with the Almond flour first and follow with the bread flour. I knead it with the bread hook on my mixer and roll it out using olive oil rather than flour. This helps with the heavier flour to keep it lighter. I make 8 hamburger buns topped with sesame seeds baked at 350 for 25-30 min. They come out great and are light and delicious. I am in Denver, so at a higher altitude you may need to tweak the proportions of the gum powder and flour. The dough should be slightly sticky. -
-
I tweaked by using fresh cake yeast (2/3 cube) and I added the butter at room temperature, well after all the ingredients had been mixed into a smooth dough. I did this as to give the flour more time to develop gluten before adding in the bulk of the fat.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Greeny4444
Broomfield, Colorado
I am an active lady, and I am not the top chef in the world, but I can hold my own. I love making things that remind me of when I was little, I love trying out new recipes, and I love learning new things to cook. Most of the recipes I post are recipes I loved that I found online, but that I have tweaked just a bit. I do have some family recipes on here too. I love to bake, probably more than anything else in the kitchen. I love to bike ride. I like to read, travel, kayak (I've only been twice, but I loved it), hike, camp, basically any outdoorsy/active stuff.?
