Sweet Vanilla Challah

Delicious! The only issue I ran into this time were the grubby hands of my little boy, who changed my oven temperature from 350 F to 500...yes, not good. Luckily I caught it after ten minutes so I quickly lowered the temperature and covered the bread with tinfoil to avoid burning the top any worse. It was pretty doughy in the center though, so it's currently drying out in the oven to make a batch of overnight french toast. But the bit that I did taste was really good. I do love the taste of vanilla!

In a large bowl place 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast (1 packet), 1/2 a cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 cups of flour. Whisk to combine.

Then add 1 3/4 cups HOT water (120 F), I used my candy thermometer to make sure it was hot enough since this was my first experience using water this hot with yeast involved. Then add 4 large eggs, at room temperature. I cracked them into a small bowl and whipped them there before adding to the main bowl.

Then add 1/2 a cup of oil (I used canola), then 1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla. Mix about three minutes. I used my hand mixer with the dough hook attachments, you can also use a stand mixer if you have one.

Then add the remaining 5 cups of flour half a cup at a time. I like to put the flour in a bowl so I don't have to keep track. You may need more flour, if you have added the 7 cups total and it's still sticky then add about 1/4 a cup at a time until you have the right texture for kneading.

Knead 4-5 minutes on a floured surface.

Place in a greased bowl (turning to coat) and  cover with plastic wrap. Let raise 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Or until doubled.

Divide in half.

Roll each portion out until about 30 inches long, tapering one end to the other. One end should be 2-3 inches wider then the rest. You can also google some instructions or pictures if you would like. It's called the turban swirl.

You can use either cookie sheets, or spring form pans. Grease or parchment line the pan(s) you use. I decided to put both loaves on my large air bake cookie sheet.

Let raise about 30 minutes (or until almost doubled). Since the dough has eggs it will do most of the rising in the oven. Twenty minutes before baking preheat the oven to 350 F and brush on the vanilla egg glaze: 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

Bake 40-45 minutes.

This makes great cinnamon toast, french toast, and I personally think it would make great bread pudding!

Brioche

Now keep in mind that this bread requires a cold rise, so it takes FOREVER!!! The amount of time it took was quite a bit longer then stated in the recipe. But I think I may have had it a little colder then necessary. But it was all worth it because it is SO good! I'm one of those people that makes a lot of sound effects when I'm eating something that is just amazing, and there were a lot of sound effects this morning while I was eating my toast with an egg on top.

Note that the recipe wants you to use a mixer, but there are also directions if you are doing it by hand and I will include those. Also be sure to pull out 6 eggs and 2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter in advance, they need to be at room temperature. The butter needs to be cut into small pieces and then softened.

So to begin: 1 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast, 1/4 a cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add 1/2 a cup of hot water (120 F) and beat until smooth. About 2 minutes.

Add the six eggs, one at a time, beating after adding each one. Then add two more cups of flour, half a cup at a time.

Add the pieces of butter several pieces at a time.

Beat until smooth. With my hand mixer and little dough hooks it took 2-3 minutes. If you are using a stand mixer it should take around 30 seconds.

Then add another 1 1/2 cups of flour, a little at a time. Beating on low speed while doing this. The dough will be a lot like batter not like your traditional bread dough.
Scrape the dough with a spatula into a well greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let raise in a cool room until doubled. About three hours.
Now this is where it was different for me. I put the bowl down in the basement and I think it may have been colder then necessary because four hours went by and it wasn't anywhere near double. I think it may have been about a third of the way there, but it was after midnight and I was about the turn into a pumpkin (bahahaha) so I went ahead and just put it in the fridge for the 12 hour raise there.

So yes, place in the fridge overnight (or for 12 hours)

The next day sprinkle flour over your work surface, take the dough and cut it in half. (Work quickly because if it starts to soften it will be impossible to work with, if it does start to get soft put it back in the fridge until cold again!) I used a rolling pin to roll each piece into a rectangle. Then roll up tightly, kinda like cinnamon rolls without all the fillings. (Oh and by the way, this type of dough is highly recommended for cinnamon rolls!!). Place in two greased 9x5 inch pans. Raise until double, once again in a cool room. I put them in my bedroom closet, haha, the things you do to keep them from little fingers! I covered them with the same plastic wrap I used from the bowl.
The recipe says it takes 1 1/2-2 hours to double. Mine took a record breaking 6 hours...yeah. Next time I will definitely re figure the cool room concept! I think if I did the raising a little better it would have had a much nicer shape.

Bake at 375 F for 35-40 minutes. Immediately place on a cooling rack.

Mmmm, I was completely amazed at how soft this bread was, even the crust! It was super easy to slice and tastes amazing. I can't wait to try it again!

Monday February 17th
Oopsie! I was just looking through this post and realized I didn't include directions for making this by hand. So here goes:
Put all but a half a cup of the flour in a pile on your work surface and make a well in the center. That would be four cups of flour.
Into the well place the yeast (1 packet or 1 tablespoon active dry), 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/2 a cup of warm water. Stir carefully to dissolve the yeast, then let sit until foamy.
Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of salt around the rim of the well.
 Add the 6 eggs (at room temp) into the yeast mixture and blend well with your fingers. Then gradually bring all the flour, etc. into the mixture as well, also using your fingertips.  The dough will be very sticky, but elastic.
Lifting a little at a time slap the dough onto the work surface to knead the dough. Knead quickly like this for 8-10 minutes. Gradually adding the remaining 1/2 a cup of flour as needed.
To incorporate the butter: divide the softened butter into four equal amounts.  Place each portion on one corner of the dough. Hold four fingers stiff and slap the butter until malleable (able to be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking)  Quickly ( the butter MUST stay cold!If it starts to melt put the dough in the fridge for a few minutes) smear the butter into the mass of dough, then knead quickly to incorporate into the dough. Don't slap or crash anymore after the butter is added. This process shouldn't take more then 5 minutes. 
Then follow the instructions for raising and baking for the original recipe.

Jewish Egg Braid (Challah)

A delicious, slightly sweet bread! (And a great excuse to make yet another bread braid!)

To begin....

In a large bowl place 6 cups of unbleached all purpose flour. Make a well in the center and pour 1/2 a cup of warm water and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast and a tablespoon of sugar.. Stir well (a little bit of flour will also be incorporated...). Let stand for 15 minutes.

Then add 1/3 a cup sugar, 2 cups of warm water, 3 large eggs (at room temp), 1/2 a cup vegetable oil (I used canola), and 2 teaspoons of salt.

Mix together, then knead 5-8 minutes. It should be soft and springy. (Springs back when pressed). Dust with flour 1 tablespoon at a time to prevent sticking. (If kneading by machine switch from paddle to dough hook and knead 4-5 minutes).
Place in a greased container, turn once to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled. 2- 2 1/4 hours. Don't let it rise over double, or it may tear and the baked loaf won't have the full volume.
Gently deflate, then rise another hour.

Gently deflate, then divide in half. We like the four strand braid (third strand up, first strand over). Or you can do it with just three.
You can also do some other fun shapes such as:

A turban (A good tutorial HERE)





A wreath

Or Pretzel shaped. I think this one looks so fun!
You can also just do a regular loaves (four 9by5's to be exact)

Let rise until dough is almost doubled in bulk. About 40 minutes. If using loaf pans dough should be about an inch above the rims.
Bake at 350 F. 40-45 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Enjoy!!