I have got a lot of updates to share with you lovely readers, because we haven’t met in past two months. I know, it feels like ages, and life has been going through so many changes lately that I just couldn’t keep up with baking and blogging. But then, I couldn’t hold myself any longer from my first love, which is expressing myself on this creative outlet. Previously, I had been going through some work related issues, which I couldn’t resolve, but give it a pass. That is when I decided to change my employer and move onto some other exciting opportunity, where I am supposed to join in a couple of months time. And when that got sorted, I packed my backpack and left on a solo backpacking journey for two weeks in Spain. Yup! it was my most memorable maiden solo travel which I completed last week only. I travelled through five different cities of Spain, stayed in hostels, shared accommodation with complete strangers, yet alike solo travelers, met so many wonderful people and made friends with some of them too, ate tons of Iberico Jamon, Paella, and drank gallons of Sangria. Walked barefoot for miles on pristine sandy beaches of Costa del sol and basked under the glory of Mediterranean sunshine. I even went adventurously crazy and did my first plunge of scuba diving in Mediterranean sea. Boy! what a heart warming and lively experience that was. In short I made hell load of fun memories to be with me for my lifetime. In case you wanna flip through the pages of my travel diary, I have some beautiful memories shared on my Instagram feed too. And after all this, I never wanted to return home. Alas! what could I do. But when I came back, I was all the more lively and full of positive energies. What could have been a better way to direct that positive energy into than food photography. I was eagerly waiting for this weekend to come, as I already had planned what am I going to create. I made this lovely jewish bread which is called Challah, which is basically baked at the time of Easter and hence it is supposedly quite rich because of the eggs and oil which goes into baking this bread. In fact, I found this bread quite similar to brioche. It had that sunshiny golden hue on it’s crust and the lovely fortified and moist texture inside. It gets it’s sophisticated look from the six braided shaping of loaf, which sounds daunting at first, but is actually easy to follow and do. And with all this hard work you put into baking this bread, you get a beautiful looking pièce de résistance for your Sunday brunch table.
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk (reserve the white for the egg wash)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- Sprinkle the yeast over the water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let stand until a thin frothy layer forms on the top.
- Whisk together 4 cups of the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer.
- Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs, egg yolk, and oil. Whisk these together to form a slurry.
- Pour the yeast mixture over the egg slurry. Mix the yeast, eggs, and flour with a long-handled spoon.
- With a dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low speed for 6 to 8 minutes. If the dough seems very sticky, add flour a teaspoon at a time and knead until it is soft, smooth, and holds a ball-shape.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place somewhere warm. Let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Separate the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope roughly 1-inch thick and 16 inches long.
- Make a 6-stranded challah, following the directions in the video link in notes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and place the loaf on baking sheet. Place the baking sheet somewhere warm and let it rise until puffed, about an hour.
- Heat the oven to 180 degree C. When ready to bake, brush the reserved egg white all over the challah. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake challah on its baking sheet for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking. The challah is done when it is deeply browned.
- Let the challah cool on a cooling rack. Slice and eat.
- https://youtu.be/22p3wIHLupc