Honey Whole-Wheat Challah Bread . . . with Dried Cherries

Whoa . . . can't quite believe it's been so long since I last posted. I think I've set a Jane's Sweets non-attendance record. Where have I been? Well, I can tell you I wasn't circumnavigating the globe in a sailboat. And I haven't been languishing in suspended animation in a hospital bed. Nor have I been hard at work on a cookbook destined to take the pastry world by storm, and I most certainly have not just had a baby. Nothing as remarkable as all that.

To be perfectly honest with you, I needed a little break. One that did not involve a laser focus on baking fantastic treats. I've been working, you see, on shrinking off a few pounds and it seemed expedient to lay off the homemade delicacies in order to help facilitate that thorny effort. You might say I temporarily pulled my own baking plug. And joined Weight Watchers in the process.

I mean, let's face it . . . I'm essentially a junkie when confronted with high-quality confections, especially those of my own creation. (Yeah, yeah, I know. A stunning revelation. You never could have guessed that, right?) I realized it was truly necessary for me, literally and figuratively, to back away from the dessert cart for a while in order to regroup. At least I can report that, in this semi-unplugged interim, I've made some meaningful shrinkage progress. Nothing dramatic or jarringly obvious, mind you, but all such progress is relative if you inherited chubby genes like mine.

So, anyway, a couple pounds off here, a couple pounds off there, and it all adds up. More exercise, less sugar and butter, way more veggies. It's a happy development. Progress, at this point, is admittedly slower than molasses, but that's okay. I can live with that. Slow and steady wins the race . . . right? 

What does this mean for me and my beloved blog? It just means I'm baking more selectively, for now at least. And if I do bake something luscious, I need to be darn sure that leftovers won't stick around here to tempt me. Earlier this week, for example, I had to make this big birthday cake for my younger son, who just turned 17. It's a chocolate extravaganza of a cake, and he's requested it every year for his birthday since 2010. Naturally, I was concerned at the idea of it lingering around here; lock me and a chocolate cake in a house together for a few days and the cake doesn't stand a chance. So, after his small celebration here at home on Tuesday night, about three-quarters of the cake remained. I put it in a cake-keeper, relegated it to the basement fridge, and repeatedly encouraged him to take the whole kit 'n' kaboodle away to share with his pals. Wednesday night, thank heaven, that's what he did. Problem solved.

About this recipe . . . 

All that said, I just wanted to share this bread with you while it's still fresh, both in my mind and on my kitchen counter. Adapted from a formula in Simply Great Breads, by bread master Daniel Leader (I love this little book), this is a great variation on traditional challah, with a lovely crust and appealing crumb. Wonderful flavor, too. And it's not something that will completely destroy one's diet, if partaken of judiciously.

What did I change? Well, the original recipe included olive oil and, while I do periodically use olive oil in bread, I didn't want it to compete with the other flavors in this loaf so I substituted the more neutral-tasting canola oil. Also, I fiddled with the flours a bit (Leader uses whole wheat flour and all-purpose; I used mostly whole wheat, then a combo of bread flour and all-purpose). I reduced the amount of honey slightly, and I used chopped dried cherries instead of dried apricots, though I think either one would be tasty. And, of course, I reworded the recipe to reflect exactly what I did. This is a very simple loaf to put together, with a pleasingly soft and pliant dough that's not too sticky to work with easily.

The bread is yummy, even unbuttered. I haven't tried it toasted yet but I'm sure it's divine. Maybe a nice, thin, toasted slice tomorrow morning will be called for.

Honey Whole-Wheat Challah Bread with Dried Cherries

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Yield: One large braided loaf, or two smaller standard size loaves baked in 9"x5" pans

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour (about 8.5 oz)
1 cup bread flour
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 and 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt or kosher salt
3/4 cup luke warm water
2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons of honey
1/4 cup of well-chopped dried cherries

For egg wash: 1 large egg, lightly beaten with two teaspoons water (to brush on the unbaked loaf before putting it in the oven)

* * * * *

In the large bowl from your mixer, lightly whisk together the three flours, the yeast, and the salt. Into that, pour the water, eggs, oil, and honey. Using a spatula, stir this up by hand for a few seconds. Now put the bowl back on the mixer and, using the dough hook, mix the dough for about five minutes on the lowest speed, sprinkling in the chopped cherries after about two minutes of mixing. Take the bowl off the mixer and dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Flour your hands and finish the kneading by hand, for a couple more minutes, until the dough feels soft, smooth, and spongy. It should be tacky but not wet/sticky.

Put the dough into a large, clean bowl that's been oiled/sprayed. Cover it with plastic wrap that's also been oiled/sprayed, and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes or up to 2 hours, until it's obviously doubled in size.

On a very lightly floured work surface, dump out the risen dough and deflate it by pressing on it with your palms. Divide the dough into three equal parts (I suggest weighing the dough first; my ball of dough weighed about 35 oz. total, so each of the three dough chunks for the braids weighed a little over 11 oz.). Roll each piece into a rope that's 15 inches long; be assertive and don't worry if the dough tries to shrink back a little as you're doing this.

On a large baking sheet, spread a sheet of parchment paper. Place the three ropes of dough in the middle of the parchment, right next to each other, and pinch the ends together tightly at the top. Proceed to braid the dough snugly (starting from the top with the right braid over the middle braid, then the left one over the center, etc.) until you reach the bottom end; tightly pinch the bottom ends together and tuck the pinched part underneath.

Dust the top of the braided dough with a pinch of flour (the bread flour or all-purpose flour) and cover it with a clean piece of plastic wrap. Let it proof for up to 2 hours, until it looks almost doubled in size. While its proofing, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Just before the bread is ready to bake, whisk together the egg and water to make a wash; brush some of the egg wash generously onto the top of the loaf and lightly down the sides.

Bake the bread for up to about 40 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees (use an instant-read thermometer to check if you're not sure), and the color is deeply golden all over. Let the baked bread cool on a rack for a while before slicing.

*If you're baking your bread as two unbraided loaves in standard size (greased) loaf pans, I'd suggest checking them after about 20 minutes in the oven.

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So This is Challah . . .

When I first decided to make challah, I thought of it simply as a beautifully braided, golden loaf of bread. To me, it was a baking challenge that I wanted to conquer--just one among many other such baking challenges. Of course, not being Jewish (yeah, I confess--I'm Presbyterian), and knowing almost nothing about the mystery and symbolism of this very special bread, I approached it as I tend to approach all recipes. That is, like a little research project. First, I hunt for and examine quite a variety of formulas. Then I narrow it down to what I feel are the best choices, based on certain general criteria and, finally, I select the recipe that I'll actually use. From there I pick the day I'll do the baking, and make sure I have all the needed supplies.

What I don't typically do, however, is give a great deal of thought to the history and cultural weight that may accompany whatever it is I'm planning to prepare. Challah, though, gave me food for thought--no pun intended. You see, my older son, Charlie, happened to comment to a close friend of his, who happens to be Jewish, that I might try making challah. Interestingly, according to Charlie, this fellow--who probably knows that I bake all the time--responded with mystification and essentially remarked, "Why would she want to do that?" That's pretty much all I know about his response, but it set me thinking--thinking and wondering.

So I did a bit of extra research, because I wanted to know just what I was dealing with, and I'm glad I did. I think I understand, now, the origin of and the sentiment behind the question posed by my son's friend. I understand that this bread's history is deep, rich, and laden with symbolism. For an awful lot of people, it's not just something to eat. Not just another egg-bread recipe. It's an important part of a complete way of life. I understand that.

This is special bread, and I loved making it.

About the recipe . . .

In scouting out a recipe, there were zillions of possibilities to choose from, but in the end I figured I'd better pick something rock-solid reliable, so I opted for the challah in the 2009 book, Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. I don't believe that this is the kind of cookbook that lets people down; I recommend it.

I chose to use honey in these loaves, versus sugar or agave nectar, and I slightly reduced the amount of vanilla in the recipe. (I think this was, in fact, the only challah recipe I saw that includes so much vanilla, let alone any vanilla at all.) The recipe also calls for no fewer than 8 to 10 egg yolks. That's a lot of eggs, but they're a big part of what characterizes this bread to begin with so they're well worth it, and they lend a lovely color to both the exterior and interior.

This challah smells glorious while it's baking, and I loved how shiny and burnished the crust looked when it came out of the oven. I kept going back into the kitchen to gaze at it as it cooled on the counter. For a first-timer with challah, I think these loaves turned out pretty well.

I reworded the instructions here and there for brevity, and within them I focused on making this with a mixer. Also, I adjusted the ingredient list to reflect the specific preferences that I chose, in cases where Reinhart offered ingredient choices. Please note, this is a recipe that requires the dough be made one day, and chilled at least overnight. The slow rise during the long chilling period brings out the best flavor.

This stuff makes fantastic toast. Fantastic.

Challah

This makes 2 large loaves.

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

2 and 1/4 cups of lukewarm water (about 95 degrees)
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast
8 to 10 egg yolks (6 oz. total)
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I used canola)
4 and 1/2 Tbsp. honey (I used clover honey)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
7 and 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (I used King Arthur)
4 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1 whole egg, mixed with 2 Tbsp. water, for egg wash

Combine the water and yeast in a mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to dissolve. Into this, add the yolks, oil, honey, and vanilla. Whisk lightly to break up the yolks, then add in the flour and salt. Using your mixer, with the paddle attachment, mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes. The dough will be coarse and, per Reinhart, "shaggy" (Mine didn't look shaggy exactly, but it did look sort of rough.) Rest the dough for 5 minutes in the bowl.

Remove the paddle attachment and put the dough hook on your mixer. Mix on medium-low speed (my mixer will only do bread dough on low speed!) for 4 minutes.

Using a bowl scraper, plop the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, then dust the top of the dough with flour.

Lightly knead the dough with your hands for 1 to 2 minutes, adding flour as needed to keep it from sticking. The dough should be soft, supple, and tacky but not sticky (mine felt exactly like this, lo and behold!).


Form the dough into a ball, put it into a clean lightly-oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Immediately refrigerate the dough, overnight, or for up to 4 days. (I just did the overnight thing.) It will double in size in the fridge. (Mine doubled alright, and was pressing against the top of the plastic when I went to take it out the next day.)

On the day you're ready to bake the bread:

Take the dough out of the fridge about 2 hours before you plan to bake.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Gently dump the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and, using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut it into however many pieces you will need. If you're making two simple 3-strand braided loaves, cut the dough into 2 big chunks, then cut each of those big chunks into 3 small equal-sized chunks.

Roll each piece into a cigar or torpedo shape. After doing this with each piece, go back to the first piece and roll it out further into a long rope that's 10" to 14" long. Do this with all of the pieces, and try to make them even in length.

To braid each loaf :

(There seem to be a few philosophies on how to do this; the method below is just the way I chose to do it--simple as can be, no fuss, no muss. There are countless examples available online that can show you how to do this a variety of ways, if you're interested.)

Lay three strands of dough side by side and pinch the dough strands together at the top. Braid the strands just as you would braid someone's hair, starting at the top and going down. Braid snugly but without stretching the strands too much. Pinch the ends together at the other end of the loaf and tuck the pinched edge under the loaf. Transfer each braided loaf to one of the parchment-lined baking sheets.

The photo just below is a simple 3-strand braid. The one below that, is a simple 3-strand braid that's been topped by a smaller 3-strand braid! Do it however you like!
Brush the entire surface of each loaf with the egg wash.

Let the egg-washed loaves rise at room temperature for about an hour; they will not rise very much. About halfway through the rising time, when the first coat of egg wash has mostly dried, gently brush on a second coat, being careful not to press on the dough. If you like, you can sprinkle on poppy or sesame seeds at this point (I left my plain, as you can see).

About 15 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans. If the loaves are getting too dark too quickly, lightly lay a sheet of foil over them. Bake for another 15 minutes or so. (Mine were done quickly, since my oven can be unpredictably hot; Reinhart suggests leaving the bread in for up to 30 minutes, but if I'd done that mine would have been quite burned.) When they're done, the loaves will sound hollow when thumped and they will have reached an internal temperature of 190 degrees. (I used the thermometer to make sure mine were done; rich breads like this can look like they're done on the outside way before they're done on the inside.)

Cool the loaves on wire racks for about an hour before slicing.

(If you'd like to comment on this post, or to read any existing comments, just click on the purple COMMENTS below!)