Bread Machine Challah
Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving to you all.
Challah is said to hold rich symbolism in regards to the daily manna God provided for the Israelites in the desert. Personally, I am reminded how God sent Jesus to be the bread of life that truly satisfies.
This is a shout-out to all my fellow BSF’ers (Bible Study Fellowship) who have been studying Moses this year. Wouldn’t it be awesome to bake this bread and talk with your family about the way God faithfully took care of His people as recorded in Exodus and continues to do the same today?
One of my readers recently requested a recipe for Challah to make in the bread machine. That’s all the excuse I needed to experiment. This recipe is closely adapted from the Challah recipe in the wonderful paperback entitled More Bread Machine Magic by Linda Rehberg and Lois Conway. It’s quite eggy as you can see by the 3 eggs specified in the recipe. It is also a bit sweet with a fine, soft texture. What you don’t eat the first day would make good French toast or even bread pudding.
Don’t leave off the egg wash. It’s important to produce that lovely shiny, golden glaze characteristic of Challah. By the way, some people make their bread with four ropes and some put an extra braid on top. Wish I knew how to braid four ropes. I plan to try it next time.
p.s. I’m so thankful to all of you who stop by to read, and for your encouraging words, hints, and suggestions. Whether you leave them in the comments, Facebook, or tell me in person, they help keep me cooking and taking pictures. My husband also thanks you because he gets to eat the leftovers.
Prep time 2 hours 30 mins
Cook time 40 mins
Total time 3 hours 10 mins
Author: Paula Rhodes Recipe type: Bread Serves: 1 large loaf
Ingredients
- ⅜ cup water
- 3 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons oil
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3-1/4 to 3-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Heat water until warm and add to bread machine.
- Add remaining ingredients in order given.
- Select dough cycle.
- At the end of dough cycle or whenever dough has risen to double its original size (open the lid and check), remove dough to a floured surface.
- Roll into a rectangle 8 x 14 inches. Cut into three strips. Use fingers to pinch long sides of each strip so you now have 3 cylinder-shaped pieces of dough. (See picture above.)
- Loosely braid strips, tucking each end under braid to make a neat loaf. Place onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat, or you could also spray pan with aerosol oil/flour like Baker's Joy.
- Cover formed Challah with a tea towel and allow to rise until almost doubled. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F about 10 minutes before you are ready to bake.
- Brush entire loaf with egg wash and pop into oven for 40 minutes. Cover after 10-15 minutes to prevent loaf from over-browning.
- Move loaf from cookie sheet to rack and allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing.
- With a whisk or fork, combine egg yolk, water and salt in a small bowl.
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