BEST PULL-APART JEWISH CHALLAH RECIPE BY TASTY

Best Pull-Apart Jewish Challah Recipe by Tasty image

Here's what you need: unbleached all-purpose flour, water, active dry yeast, egg, egg, granulated sugar, kosher salt, vegetable oil, sesame seed

Provided by Dora Delman

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 9

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Ingredients

3 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup water, warm
1 active dry yeast
1 egg, (to be used in bread)
1 egg, room-temperature for egg wash
½ cup granulated sugar
1 pinch kosher salt
2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil, or canola oil
sesame seed, (Optional)

Steps:

Dissolve active dry yeast in warm water. Add 1 tsp sugar and stir, activating yeast - the yeast should foam. (This should take 5 to 10 minutes).
In a stand mixer, mix one egg, sugar, oil, and salt together. To this, add two cups of flour and mix.
Add activated yeast to flour and mix well. Then, add the remaining flour until dough forms and is kneadable.
On a clean surface, very lightly sprinkle flour and knead dough. Let stand on the counter for one hour and then punch down to deflate. Shape into a ball.
Next, place dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 10 hours.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F. Punch down dough and knead for an additional. 5 minutes. Form into a ball and cut this into 3 equal pieces.
Roll out the pieces into strands and let rest for 5 minutes. Then, roll out a second time - strands should have become a little more elastic at this point.
Braid into a loose challah, being careful not to braid too tightly as the dough will rise again once down.
Now, allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes until doubled in size. To test, gently poke a finger into the dough - if it's ready, this should leave a dent that slowly bounces back.
Once ready, whisk room temperature egg until homogenized to create an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to apply this onto the entire top of the challah. If desired, add sesame seeds at this step (optional).
Place challah on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until light golden brown.
Remove from the oven, let rest, and serve.
Enjoy!