Baking Challah is a labour of love. It's one of my favourite mitzvot of being a married Jewish woman. After many ups and downs and trying different recipes, I think I have a winner!
INGREDIENTS:
8 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 packs yeast (10g each)
3/4 cups olive oil
2.5 cups warmed water
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp honey (I try use only organic ethically farmed honey)
1 packet raw cashew nuts
sweetened soya milk
METHOD:
1. In a bowl combine the water, sugar, oil and yeast. Lightly mix and leave it to bubble and naturally mix together for 10 minutes.
2. Add 7 of the 8 cups of flour and mix it all together. The consistency is meant to be slightly sticky and doughy. Transfer the mixture onto a lightly floured surface(this flour comes from the extra cup left over!) and start to knead.
3. Right - kneading the dough is where the 'labour of love' part comes in. I learnt this the hard way - don't punch the dough. Its a gentle and consistent knead that's the key for success. Knead for a good 10 minutes and gradually add more flour where needed to make the dough less sticky.
4. Once you feel the dough is sufficiently needed, place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and make sure all the sides of the dough are covered in a small layer of oil. This prevents a crust from forming on the dough. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave it for a couple of hours. (by this I mean 2 hours!)
5. Punch the dough down and cover again for another hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Move the dough onto your lightly floured board and break into 10 smaller pieces. Roll the 10 pieces into strands and set aside.
7. Use 5 pieces for each loaf and braid your challah by taking each strand out to the sides. After braiding your 2 loaves, put them in your baking dish and put them aside to rise for another 20 minutes. At the same time, I usually pop the cashew nuts covered in honey into roast. Leave them until you put the challah into the oven.
8. Wait patiently for the braided challah to rise.
9. Put your challah in the oven for 20 minutes, you will start seeing a golden brown colour on the top. Remove the chalet from the oven and paint the top with a bit of soy milk, pop the roasted cashews on top and drizzle a bit of sugar too. Put the challah back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
10. Check your challah is done by inserting a knife and pulling it out clean. Leave to cool and enjoy!
Shabbat Shalom everyone! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
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