Best Orange Juice Challah Recipes

MOM'S CHALLAH

Steps:

• Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk yeast and water to fully dissolve yeast. Add sugar, orange juice, salt, melted butter, and 2 eggs, and whisk to combine. Then add raisins and flour. Attach a dough hook and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together and is not sticky. Mix an additional 2 minutes, the last 15 seconds on medium speed.
• Turn dough onto a work surface and knead a few times to bring it together, then place in a large buttered bowl. Place plastic wrap over dough, making sure to lightly tuck the plastic around the sides of the dough. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.
• The dough is ready when you can press your finger into the dough and it holds the indentation. Gently move the dough onto your work surface in one piece. Cut the dough into thirds and, without deflating the dough too much, roll each piece into a strand about 10 inches long. Lay the strands out parallel to each other, and pinch them together at one end. Pull the rightmost strand over the center one, then the left over the new center, alternating until you have a tightly finished braid and can pinch the end together. At this point, you can wrap the braid around itself to form a "turban" and seal the ends together. If it doesn't look right, just unbraid and try again! Place challah on a parchment-lined baking tray and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whisk the remaining egg with 2 tablespoons water in a bowl. Glaze the top and sides of the challah with this egg wash, then bake 35-45 minutes.
• To test if the challah is fully cooked, tap on its bottom-it should sound hollow. Let cool 30 minutes. Serve. (And remember, if you're eating it fresh, tear it apart with your hands!)

FENNEL AND ORANGE-SCENTED CHALLAH

Steps:

• In the bowl of a standing mixer, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup of lukewarm water.
• Using the paddle attachment, stir orange zest, juice and oil into yeast mixture, then add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, and remaining sugar and salt. Switch to the dough hook and gradually add 6 cups of flour, kneading for about 5 minutes and adding more flour as needed to make a slightly sticky, smooth and elastic dough.
• Grease a large bowl, turn dough into it and then turn the dough over to grease the top. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
• When the dough has almost doubled, punch it down, remove it to a lightly floured counter, knead it briefly until smooth and divide it in half. Roll each piece into a cylinder about 27 inches long, making sure there are no seams in the dough. Bring one end of the dough up to the other and twist to form a spiral. Push both ends together to make a squat 12-inch loaf. Repeat with other piece of dough and arrange loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. You can also twist the long spirals into a circle if you like; the dough is very malleable.
• Beat remaining egg and egg yolk and brush about half the mixture on the loaves, reserving the rest. Let the dough rise uncovered another half-hour or overnight in refrigerator.
• If dough was refrigerated, bring to room temperature. Heat oven to 350 degrees and in a small bowl, combine fennel, poppy and sesame seeds. Brush the loaves with egg again and sprinkle with seeds.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and firm when tapped with a spatula. Cool on a rack.

OLIVE OIL CHALLAH

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine orange juice and 1 tablespoon water. Sprinkle yeast over top and let sit until frothy, about 5 minutes.
• Add oil, 2 eggs, 1 yolk, the sugar, the salt and the zest, if using, and beat with a dough hook until just combined. Add in flour, 1 cup/125 grams at a time, until dough comes together into a sticky mass. You may or may not use all of the flour, so at the end, add it gradually. The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl but not be at all stiff. You're looking for a slightly sticky, soft dough.
• Transfer dough to floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl and turn the dough over. Cover bowl with a clean dish towel and let rise in a draft-free place until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. (It may take longer in colder kitchens.) Press down dough to expel all the air, cover bowl, and let rise for another 45 minutes.
• In a small bowl, make egg wash by combining the remaining 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water. To make a classic braided challah, cut dough into three equal pieces and roll them each into ropes 12 inches long. Or, to make a braided round loaf, cut dough into six equal pieces and roll them each into thinner ropes 12 inches long.
• Braid the challah: If you are making a classic challah with three ropes, just braid them into a loaf, tucking the edges under. To braid it into a round loaf, first lay three ropes parallel to one another on the work surface, leaving 1 inch between them. Take one of the remaining ropes and hold it perpendicular to the three ropes, across the center. Weave that rope through the three ropes, as if you were creating a lattice for a pie; leave the edges free. Repeat with remaining two ropes. The resulting shape should look somewhat like a pound or number sign, but with a woven center. Then, starting from the ends of the three ropes closest to you, braid the loose edges of the ropes and pinch the ends together. Repeat with the remaining ends of the ropes; you should end up with a lattice in the middle with 4 braids radiating out from it. Tuck the braids underneath the lattice to create a round loaf, place on a small rimmed baking sheet, then brush with egg wash. Let rise uncovered for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the middle. Gently brush a second coat of egg wash on the dough, then bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until challah is a deep rich brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. (When it starts smelling like freshly baked bread, start checking.) Cool on a wire rack before serving.

MY FAVORITE CHALLAH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
• Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading.)
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
• To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
• Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
• If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking. Then dip your index finger in the egg wash, then into poppy or sesame seeds and then onto a mound of bread. Continue until bread is decorated with seeds.
• Bake in middle of oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool loaves on a rack.