Challah Bread/French Toast

Challah Bread

Recipe makes 2 loaves.

Dissolve Yeast

*9 ounces Water, warm but not hot
*1/2 tablespoon Dry Yeast
*2 pinches Sugar

Add a small amount of flour to yeast before adding oil and eggs.

*1/2 cup Light Olive Oil
*5 Egg Yolks

Whisk together the dry ingredients and add to the above mixture.

*1 1/2 tablespoon Sugar
*2 1/2 teaspoon Salt
*4 1/2 cups Bread Flour, more if needed

Combine all of the above in mixing bowl.

Kneading Bread

In Bread Mixer: mix with bread hook on low speed for 3 minutes and then 7 minutes on medium speed.

Or Hand Kneading: 15- 20 minutes until smooth supple dough.

Cover dough with damp cloth and allow to raise/ferment 45 minutes.

Braid the Bread and let raise 30 minutes to 1 hour or until double in size on Half Baking Sheet with Silpat.

Right before baking whip up 1 egg in bowl and using a basting brush, brush braided bread with whipped egg and then sprinkle with Poppy Seeds. (You can also sprinkle Poppy Seeds on Silpat before placing braided Challah Bread ready to bake.)

Bake the bread at 375*F for 25-30 minutes. No steam.

You can see how to Braid with 6 dough strands on You tube, there are lots of videos.

Braid Challah Bread with 6 stands of dough for each loaf.

Number of Strands———————Braiding Sequences
3———————————–1 over 2, 3 over 2
4——————————1 over 3, 2 over 3, 4 over 2
5——————————1 over 3, 2 over 3, 5 over 2
6—————————-1 over 3, 5 over 1, 6 over 4, 2 over 6

Fix the ends of the braided loaves and round with hands so it looks nice and smooth.

Challah French Toast

*2 Loaves Challah Bread, sliced in about 1 inch slices (using the recipe from above) or you can use your favorite Bread for making French toast, we also like using a Cinnamon Drop Bread.

Dipping Egg Mixture for Sliced Challah Bread:

*6 well beaten Eggs
*1/2 cup milk, I used Skim Milk
*1 teaspoon Vanilla
*1 tablespoon Sugar
*1/8 teaspoon Salt
*1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
*pinch of Nutmeg

Beat the above Egg Mixture (in a bowl big enough to dip bread slices) until well mixed.

On a greased Griddle place each dipped slice of bread on medium heat until lightly browned, flip and lightly brown the other side. Remove them from griddle eat them while their warm with toppings of your choice.

Some of the toppings we enjoy:

*Maple Syrup
*Homemade Freezer Jam
*Bananas
*Whipped Cream
*Fresh Ground Cinnamon
*Fresh Sliced Strawberries
*Fresh Peaches