Our Challah bread recipe is a rich and irresistible bread with a fine story and is a super delicious centerpiece for any well laid table. To make our Challah bread recipe, you should allow 3 hours.
Tip: Plait your loaf from the middle for an excellent shape. Bake at 210°c and so that the plait gets a wonderful golden lustre from the sugar in your loaf, watch carefully at the end of the baking that it doesn’t get burnt. Warning: it can happen quite quickly.
Firstly just blend the ingredients in the mixing bowl until a rough and sticky dough is formed, then empty the budding dough onto a clean, firm work surface and knead by hand for 15 minutes, or do it in a mixer with a dough hook until your dough is creamy, stretchy, smooth and elastic.
Back in the mixing bowl, leave the well developed dough to double in size in a warm place - covered with cling film. This should take between half an hour, and an hour, no more. Then tease the dough out of the bowl, gently knock back the dough and using the scraper, divide into three pieces.
Roll out each dough piece into a tapered sausage shape, then plait them together. Place the loaf in the roasting tin and glaze the plait with an egg yolk and top the loaf with poppy seeds. Then cover the tin with cling film and put the loaf in a warm place for its final rise.
Whilst the loaf doubles in size (about half an hour), pre-heat your oven and baking stone to 210°c. Carefully take off the cling film and slide the plait on the baking tray, onto the baking stone and bake for about half an hour until the Cholla is beautiful and golden.