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Sourdough Challah Bread Recipe

Name: Sourdough Challah Bread
Prep time: 24 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 24 h 30 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 400 g bread flour; 102 g water; 70 g sourdough 100% hydrated; 2 g dry yeast; 95 g egg; 60 g light olive oil or sunflower or grape seed; 30 g honey; 10 g salt

Bake-Street.com

Sourdough Challah bread, bread of Jewish origin made with 5 strands and a upper decoration in the form of a pearl necklace. Step by step with video.

Ingredients

400 g bread flour

102 g water

70 g sourdough 100% hydrated

2 g dry yeast

95 g egg

60 g light olive oil or sunflower or grape seed

30 g honey

10 g salt

Method

We must use a strong, active sourdough. If you have it in the refrigerator, remember to give several refreshments before using it.

In the KitchenAId bowl, add all the ingredients except for the honey, salt and oil.

Knead at speed 1 with the hook and make a homogeneous dough. We will stop the KA as many times as necessary to lower the dough from the hook, even helping a little kneading by hand. It is a dough that will take some work to develop the gluten.

We will combine kneading with resting to avoid the dough taking too much temperature due to friction. Every time we make a rest, cover the bowl with a shower cap or plastic film.

Add the salt after the first kneading and rest we do to the dough. Knead very well to help it integrate into the dough.

Incorporate honey and mix again until fully integrated.

Once we have a developed dough with a smooth and soft appearance, add the oil. I recommend you do it in 3 batches.

Add a little and knead until it integrates completely into the dough. Repeat the same process until everything is added.

Remove the dough out of the bowl and dough rounding gently.

Put it in a container, previously greased. Leave it until it grows 1/3 of its volume. In my case it was 1 hour and 30 minutes at 72ºF/22.2ºC.

Refrigerate until the next day.

Remove the dough from the fridge and temper it before working with it. In my case I left it for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 73,4ºF/23°C.

The dough will triple in volume overnight.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces of 125 g each. We will use 5 of them to braid the challah and the last one to make the upper decoration in the shape of a pearl chain.

Preshape gently trying to give each piece a disc shape.

Stretch all the pieces with the help of a roller pin. Leave to rest for 5 minutes so that the gluten relaxes and does not put up any resistance when stretched.

Stretch again, trying to give a larger diameter. There is no specific size, the ideal is to stretch the dough without forcing it to shape the strands later.

Roll it up on itself and stretch it in the same way we would do with baguettes. We put both hands in the center and slide one of them to each side.

Let them rest, covered, for 8-10 minutes to relax.

Stretch, for the last time, the challah's strands before shaping it. Try to refine the ends for a more beautiful finish.

Braid the challah the way I show you in the video. Put 3 strands on one side and 2 on the other. Pass one cord placed at the end to the inside of the other side and repeat the same process until all the bread is braided.

Sharpen the ends.

To shape the upper balls, take the cord that we have reserved for this use. With the edge of your hand, roll it over and form balls. Try not to go too far when forming the balls to prevent them from separating. We must achieve a chain of balls joined together, as if it were a pearl necklace.

With the help of a fine roller pin or even the edge of our hands if we don't have any, press the central part of the challah in a longitudinal way.

Place the ball chain and adjust it. If we have any pieces left over at the end, remove them.

Put the challah on a perforated tray lined with baking paper and covered with film.

Leave it until it doubles in size, in my case it was 4 hours 73,4ºF/23ºC. It is very important that you carry out the second fermentation well to avoid the bread to force its way into the oven and end up with a torn appearance.

Preheat the oven to 347ºF/175ºC.

Brush the surface of the challah with beaten egg.

Bake at medium height for 30 minutes or until the interior temperature is 190º-194ºF/88º-90ºC. This indicates that the baking has finished.