My Grandma's Award-winning Challah
My house is going to smell GREAT today! It’s Friday. The grandkids are coming for the weekend. That means challah with dinner, Challah French Toast in the morning.
There are few things that smell as good as a challah baking in the oven.
This challah recipe is from my father’s mother. Last year I had lunch with a long lost cousin on my father’s side who had been brought up by that grandmother (and grandfather). I hadn’t seen him in 40 years. We started to talk about his life with them and at some point got to the cooking and of course, the challah. He told me that grandma’s challah was legendary and that once, one of her challahs went up at auction for their synagogue and it raised $100. And that was in the 1930s! A fortune of money, but I guess the buyer knew how good that challah would be.
Grandma’s recipe, as handed down by my mother, had no instructions and the list of ingredients said stuff like “8 hands of flour” and “1/2 hand of sugar.”
It took several tries for me to work this out but I finally did get it right.
Here is the award-winning challah recipe:
Challah
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (about 105 degrees; feels slightly warm to touch)
1/2 cup sugar
8 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
1 tablespoon salt
5 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1–1/2 cups warm water (about 105 degrees)
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds, optional
In a small bowl, mix the yeast, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of flour. Stir and set aside for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly.
While the yeast is resting, place 7-1/2 cups flour with the remaining sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook. Add 4 of the eggs, the vegetable oil and the 1-1/2 cups water. Mix, using the dough hook until well combined. Add the yeast mixture and blend in thoroughly. Knead for about 3-4 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour as needed to make the dough smooth and soft, but not overly sticky.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch the dough down, cover the bowl and let rise again for about 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Remove the dough to a floured surface.
Cut the dough into 3 or 6 pieces, depending on whether you are going to make a 3 or 6 strand braid. Make long strands out of each piece. Braid the strands and seal the ends together by pressing on the dough. Place the bread on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Beat the last egg. Brush the surface with some of the egg. Sprinkle with seeds if desired. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
While the dough is in the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the challah for about 30 minutes or until firm and golden brown.
Makes one large challah. You can cut the dough in half to make two smaller loaves (bake for about 22-25 minutes) or make a half recipe. (For half recipes you can use a food processor to make and knead the dough).
****If you want to make a6-braid challah, click here: 6-braid challah