Challah for Shabbat

In our house there is no Friday without a challah 😋
So, naturally this is the first recipe I would love to share with you ❤️🙏

Ingredients for 2 large challahs:

• One kilo of white flour (or: half whole wheat flour and half white, Whole wheat flour will affect it to be more condensed)
• 2 tablespoons of dry yeast
• 4 tablespoons of sugar (or maple)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of fine salt (Himalaya is recommended)
  For coating:
• 2 tablespoons of soy milk or a tablespoon of maple mixed with water.
• Sesame seeds / pumpkin / sunflower / flax / oats.

Preparation:

Put the flour in the mixer bowl and mix well together with the yeast, salt and sugar. Mix the liquids in a separate small bowl – water and oil (it’s good to start with 2 cups of water and add more if necessary). Add the mixed liquids to the flour bowl: pour slowly while running the mixer on slow speed.
Mix for at least 7-10 minutes in a mixer. In the first few minutes of kneading, the mixture should look muddy and sticky, but should soon become flexible, smooth and slightly sticky.
If it is very sticky, add flour bit by bit and continue kneading. If it is too dry, add a little water (a tablespoon) and continue kneading until you get a soft, flexible, pleasant dough that does not stick to the sides of the mixer/work surface (a little sticky is fine).

Gather the dough and form a ball. Lightly flour the mixer bowl, place the ball of dough in it and cover with a clean towel.
Leave to rise for a hour in a warm place, or until the volume of the dough doubles (You can also let it rise in the fridge for a few hours or overnight if you are busy / need to leave the house / want to bake the next day).

At the end of the rising, remove the dough to the work surface and divide it into 6 equal parts for the benefit of 2 challahs.
Make 6 smooth rolls about 30 cm long each. 3 rolls per each challah.
Start braiding from the middle of the challah and finally fold the ends on both sides under the braid and tighten inward. Make sure to braid it not too loose, but not too tight either.
Place the challahs on a tray with parchment paper, cover with a towel for about a hour in a warm place or until the challahs double in size.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees. When the challahs are ready for baking, brush them with a little soy milk or maple mixed with a little water, and generously sprinkle sesame or oat, seeds and kernels on top of them.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes (200 degrees) or until the crusts become golden-brown, puffy and beautiful. The bottom of the challah should be brown and beautiful as well, not white and soft.
Cool completely before you are tempted to tear or slice.

Comments:

👉 You can add some more sugar for a sweeter challah