Weekly Challah

Preparing the Shabbat loaves is a wonderful way to wind down at the end of a busy week. For us, challah isn’t just bread. It’s home, family, and tradition. When you’re preparing to make challah for the first time, take a deep breath and relax. It’s not as hard as it may seem. The dough is very forgiving and with practice we know you’ll ease into it and own the process, creating your own family traditions.

NOTE: To prepare challah the night before, place the dough in an oiled resealable plastic bag and refrigerate it overnight. The next morning, open the bag and, with the dough still inside it, punch the dough down by pushing on it 3 or 4 times with the heels of your palms. The dough will need to come to room temperature before you shape it, about 2 hours. To speed up the process, remove the dough from the bag, flatten it out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and place it in a warm, draft-free space. It will be at room temperature in about 30 minutes. Shape the dough into braided loaves and proceed according to the recipe below.

MAKES 2 LARGE LOAVES

Bread

2 cups warm water (105°F)

2 packages dry yeast (4½ teaspoons)

2 teaspoons plus ⅓ cup sugar

¼ cup honey

4 extra-large eggs

6 to 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, as needed, plus more for dusting

4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup grapeseed or safflower oil, plus more for oiling the bowl

1 cup white whole-wheat flour

1 cup bread flour

3 tablespoons of one or a combination of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and za’atar (optional)

Glaze

1 extra-large egg

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons honey (optional)

To make the bread, place the warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast and 2 teaspoons of sugar over the water. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes (this is called proofing or activating the yeast).

Add the honey, eggs, 2 cups of all-purpose flour, and the remaining sugar to the yeast. Beat hard with a bread whisk or stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Add the salt and oil and continue to whisk or stir until the oil is incorporated. Stir in white whole-wheat and bread flour. Gradually add remaining all-purpose flour, starting one cup at a time. When you can no longer stir in the bowl, transfer to a lightly floured surface and continue to gradually add flour, kneading gently until dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. (The flour amount may vary depending on the age of the flour, the humidity, and the size of your eggs.) Form the dough into a ball.

Oil a large bowl and add the dough, turning it once to coat it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place it in a warm, draft-free spot, such as in an oven that’s turned off. Allow the dough to double in bulk, 1 to 2 hours. (To slow the rising process, refrigerate it at this point and let it rise for as long as 8 hours or overnight, see the headnote.)

Poke the dough with 2 fingers; if the indentations remain, the dough has adequately risen; if the indentations fill in, cover the dough and allow it to rise 15 to 30 minutes more.

When the dough has doubled, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and deflate the dough by pushing down on it with the heels of your palms 3 or 4 times (called punching down the dough). If the dough feels sticky or seems too soft, knead in more flour. Divide the dough into two portions and braid them according to one of the sets of braiding instructions below.

Transfer each loaf to a parchment-covered baking sheet. Allow the shaped dough to rise in a warm place until an indention remains when the dough is poked lightly with a finger, 30 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the glaze, beat the egg in a small bowl with the water and honey, if using.

Bake the challot until they sound hollow when tapped (or to an internal temperature of 195 to 199°F; you can use an instant-read thermometer to test the temperature), 45 to 60 minutes. Just before the they are done (at 190 to 193ºF), remove them from the oven and brush with the glaze. Return the breads to the oven and bake until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Brush again with the glaze, sprinkle with the seeds, if using, and return them to the oven until they look shiny and the glaze looks cooked, about 2 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks.