For those unfamiliar with Challah, it is a sweet egg bread which is a staple at Jewish holiday meals but enjoyed all the time. Typically, it baked as a braided loaf or a round swirled loaf, both with shiny tops as a result of an egg-white wash prior to baking. The recipe here differs from the typical challah by being made in a bread machine with its tall loaf shaped pan. Another difference is that most store bought challahs are made without any dairy so that those who keep kosher can enjoy the bread with a meat meal. This recipe contains butter and milk and is very delicious (I find the top 1.5 inches of the loaf to be heaven – almost as enjoyable as cheesecake).
I assume if you do not have a bread machine, you can combine the ingredients below and prepare it as you would any white bread. In addition, many people enjoy adding ingredients. Feel free to add a half cup of golden raisins (but possibly reduce the sugar content to compensate for the added sweetness of the raisins). Some enjoy a little vanilla extract in their challah.For those with a bread machine, you know how simple making bread can be. Place your wet ingredients in the pan first and then place the dry ingredients on top; let the machine do the rest. I find with some bread machine recipes that the machine has some trouble combining all the ingredients together. That is not the case here.
Bread Machine Challah – 1 Rolling pin
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup milk (I use ½% milk and have found using whole milk makes no difference)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons salt (approximate)
- A pinch of saffron, crumbled (optional)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, either melted or softened
- 3½ cups bread flour
- 1½ teaspoons dry yeast (not rapid rise)
Cook:
- Measure milk into a measuring cup and microwave to a slightly warm temperature (settings vary based on microwave strength – start with 20 seconds and go from there if needed)
- Pour milk into the bread pan
- Add the next 6 ingredients (though you might want to beat the eggs first)
- Top with flour and yeast. If you are starting the machine with a time delay, place the yeast on top so it does not come in contact with the wet ingredients.
- Set bread machine to the standard white bread setting, 1½ pound loaf, light crust. Start and wait (about 3 hours).
- When done, remove from loaf pan to cool on a rack. Try not cool in pan as the bread machine paddle may have trouble coming out. You don’t have to let it cool too much before you can slice. Who doesn’t love fresh, warm bread? Enjoy!
Looks great…I’ll have to give this a try!