This is *the* challah recipe – as in ‘the ultimate’ challah recipe – and it is for the bread machine.  I have been entrusted with this recipe by my mother-in-law, and she received it from her in-laws (machatanim) in Los Angeles. And we’re not really sure where they got it from – but I am pretty sure it dates back to Moses on Sinai.  Its a real crowd pleaser. It even won the esteemed golden spatula award. And now, I share it with all of you. Consider it a privilege.
In its original form, this recipe calls for 4 cups of flour, but that never works for me. I have found that in Israel I always need at least an additional 1/2 cup of flour or I use 4 heaped cups of flour. Other wise the dough turns out way too sticky. And sticky is bad.
As an aside: my Panasonic bread machine also has a separate compartment for yeast- which i honestly find slightly annoying because when you try to pour the yeast into this little compartment it tends to start rolling all over the place. The significance of the yeast dispenser, is that the yeast goes in last instead of first. Contrary to this recipe where the yeast is the first ingredient in a regular bread machine. Moral of the story: None of this really makes any difference.  Just get the ingredients into the machine and press “go”. It will all be ok.
The challah recipe:
4 tsp instant yeast (dried, not fresh)
4 cups bread flour (sometimes called strong flour)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
2 beaten eggs
1 cup water
In the order above, place ingredients into machine bowl (or see above comment).
Set on dough mode. On my machine the setting says “rolls/croissants/chelsea buns”- mode 16. (You can tell its a UK machine. Who else would know what a chelsea bun is?) The duration of the cycle should be about 2hr 20minutes.
Take dough out of bread maker and weave, braid or shape your dough. Rise in fridge overnight or in a warm area for a 30min-1hr.
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If you let the dough rise in the fridge, bring it to room temperature before baking.
Coat with egg wash (beat an egg mixed with some water) and seeds, if you want. Check out the Yom Tov streusel recipe below for an awesome topping option.
Bake at 180-200ºC for between 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your challahs.
Glicka’s Yom Tov Streusel Topping
This is a recipe that my friend amazingly talented friend Glicka wrote down for me before I got married. It’s the icing on the cake. Ok, more like the crumble on the muffin. It’s an easy added touch, that brings a wow factor to your challah. And a good distraction if your braiding and shaping didn’t go to plan – just add more streusel on top. No one will notice.
4c flour
2c sugar
2 pkgs vanilla sugar
1/2 c canola oil
**Before you freak out over the fat and sugar content of this recipe, you should know this: This makes A LOT of streusel topping and it keeps for a long time in your freezer. So you really only use a little at a time.
All you need to do is mix it all up, by hand or machine, until the ingredients are combined and mixture is all crumbly. Â It shouldn’t feel too wet, so if it does add a little more flour. Spoon it all into a ziploc bag and store in your freezer. Sprinkle a little on your challah before baking.
Looking forward to trying this recipe!!! Can you be a little more specific (as in name in hebrew and brand- maybe even a picture) about “strong bread flour”
Thank you!!
Hey Elisheva – that’s a good question: Here in Israel, they list it as just “bread flour” (kemakh kheetah l’afiat lekhem) and I usually buy Shufersol’s own brand bread flour or Maimon’s bread flour (or whichever is on sale, because it can be more expensive than regular flour). In England it was called strong flour – which will have a higher gluten content. The difference should be in a better texture and a higher rise in your challah. Let me know how yours turn out 🙂
Fantastic recipe ! Perfect everytime . I wish I could do it manually because bread machine doesn’t allow me to make enough. The kids sometimes get their hands on it before Shabbat.