Name: Challah (Jewish Plaited Sabbath Bread)
Yield: Makes two 41-46 cm challahs
Cuisine: Europe
Ingredients: 112 g warm tap water, about 38°C; 2 x 7 g sachets fine granulated active dried yeast or instant yeast; 100 g strong white bread flour; 800 g strong white bread flour; All the sponge; 1 medium egg yolk (save the white for the egg wash); 65 g light brown sugar; 2 teaspoons water; 1 medium egg white (from egg above); 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 tablespoon fine sea salt; 3 medium eggs, at room temperature; Poppy seeds for the outside of the loaf, optional; 100 g mild-flavoured vegetable oil, such as safflower or rapeseed; 225 g room-temperature tap water, about 24°C

Preparation info

Makes
two
41-46 cm challahs

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Nick Malgieri's Bread

By Nick Malgieri

Published 2012

About

In most observant Jewish homes, the mother begins the Friday evening Sabbath meal by lighting candles and the father recites a blessing over the challah, a plaited bread enriched with oil and eggs. The plaited shape of the loaf symbolises the bond between man and the deity and is always used - except for Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the New Year, when a spiralled round challah is baked to recall the continuous circuit of time and Passover, when matzo, the unleavene