3 hr 30 min
3 hr 30 min
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Natural challah made with 100% organic whole wheat flour, free-range egg, raw local honey, and extra virgin olive oil. For the first challah after Passover, I decided to share with you guys my recipe for 100% whole wheat challah. Many recipes claim to be whole wheat but actually using a mix of white flour and whole wheat. In my opinion- whole wheat bread should be made from 100% whole grain flour only. In this recipe, I use honey instead of cane sugar to give more moisture to the dough. The result is stunning, and because it’s whole-wheat I feel better to finish it all alone 🙂
Stand mixer
Hook attachment
Parchment paper
Baking tray
Bench knife
Scale
Brush
In a stand mixer’s bowl, mix water, yeast, and honey. Stir well, then add the egg.
Add the flour to the bowl and don’t stir.
Pour the olive oil on top.
Set the mixer to the lowest speed and start mixing for 10 minutes.
Change the mixer to a higher speed, only one level faster than the slowest one. We don’t want to stress our dough. Add the salt and keep kneading for additional 2-3 min (total kneading of the dough should be 12-13 min).
Round the dough and place it in an oiled bowl to proof. Cover with a towel to avoid the dough from drying out.
After doubled in size, punch the dough and divide the dough by the desired amount of strands you want: Using this recipe, let’s understand how to divide the dough:
2 Challahs of 3 strands: Divide to 6 balls of 150 gr | 2 Challahs of 4 strands: Divide to 8 balls of 110 gr | 2 Challahs of 5 strands: Divide to 10 balls of 90 gr | 1 Challah of 6 strands: Divide to 6 balls of 150 gr | 1 Challah of 7 strands: Divide to 7 balls of 120 gr | 1 Challah of 8 strands: Divide to 8 balls of 110 gr.
Round each piece to a perfect, sealed ball. Place them an inch apart and cover with a towel. Let them rest for 10-15 minutes.
Flattening each ball to a pita shape, start to roll the top towards you creating a sausage shape. In this way, we avoid air pockets in the strands.
Open the strands in a way that the edges are slightly thinner than the center of the strand. It will result in beautiful and easy-going braiding.
When the strands are ready to be braided- flour them gently. This way they will stay separate from each other when being baked.
Attach the top of all the strands together and start to braid.
Cover the braided challah with a towel and let it proof. You know it is ready to be baked when you touched the strands (gently!!!!!) and it bounced back slowly.
Brush with egg yolk mixed with a sip of water. Don’t make a pool of egg on the challah. Light Brushing. We don’t want an omelet on our bread!
Spread your desired toppings.
Bake in a preheated oven to 380°F or 190°C for about 25 min. If the top of the challah gets brown too fast, cover the top with an aluminum foil. You know the challah is ready when the internal temperature reaches 190°F or 95°C.
Once the challah is coming out from the oven, cover immediately with a couple of towels. The towels will keep all the steam that is coming out from the hot challah, which will result in a super soft crust.
If you plan to eat it in the next few days, close in a plastic sealed bag once cooled down.
YASSS!
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