Challah Recipe
This Challah is sweet and delicious. A favorite at my Shabbat table.
Makes 4 large loaves of 6 medium loaves.
1 packet yeast (use all three pockets)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ cup lukewarm water
(barely warm – hot water kills yeast)
3 cups hot water
¾ cup oil
1 cup sugar (if you like extra sweet increase to 1 ½ cups)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
12 cups of flour (add more if necessary)
Oil
1 egg for egg wash
Poppy or sesame seeds (optional)
In small bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in lukewarm water and set aside. Let yeast mixture stand 8 – 10 minutes. Combine hot water, oil, sugar, salt, vanilla and eggs in large bowl and mix. Add the yeast mixture to above. Add flour, one cup at a time and knead. When soft dough is formed, place some oil in the bowl. And then pat dough with oil. Cover dough with towel and let rise for 45 min. in a warm place. After 45 minutes, punch out air from dough.
Remove a chunk of dough (the size of an egg) and make the following blessing:
Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-hainu Melech Haolam Asher Kidshanu B’mitzvotav V’tzivanu L’hafrish Challah.
Wrap the chunk of dough in tin foil and burn on the stove.
Braid the remaining dough into desired shapes. Grease pans and let Challah rise another 45 minutes in pans, covered with towel. After 45 minutes, mix 1 egg with a little water and brush on Challahs with a pastry brush. Sprinkle poppy or sesame seeds on Challahs, if desired.
Bake on 300 degrees for 25 minutes; rotate upper and lower pans and bake on 350 degrees for another 20 minutes.
