There isn't really much to say about this bread.
It's amazingly good.
The uncooked dough smells so good I'd like it to be the next Scentsy flavor.
I ate the rest of it for breakfast with ghee this morning on the way to work.
Hopefully that sums up how much I loved it?
The original recipe was much faster moving from start to eating,
but I got started on this before work and let it rise all day.
It just wasn't in the books for me to do this before dinner,
we can't eat dinner at 8pm because I let bread rise all evening.
Making this before work though, it worked out just fine.
Easy Whole Wheat Challah
Ingredients::
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 package dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup warm water (very warm from the tap)
Glaze - 1 egg beaten & poppy seeds
Directions::
Measure out all ingredients first. Combine whole wheat and all purpose together in the same bowl when measuring. (all whole wheat would make the bread extremely dense in my opinion)
From the sugar combine 1 tbsp of sugar with the yeast and warm water in a large mixing bowl. Let sit between 5-10 minutes until foamy.
After the yeast is dissolved and foamy add the rest of the sugar, salt, and 1 3/4 cup of the flour, mix well either by hand or using a stand mixer with a bread hook. (I used the hook)
Add the egg and oil.
Slowly start mixing in most of the remaining flour, the dough will become very thick. When the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl turn it out onto a floured surface. Knead from 5-10 minutes. (I only had time to knead for 5 but 10 would give the gluten a chance to work its magic better)
Be sure to only add enough additional flour to make the dough manageable. (I ended up not using all of my initial flour before it pulled away from the sides of the bowl and used what was left to flour my counter, in the end I still had a bit left on the counter)
Place the dough in a large oiled bowl turn to get oil on all sides. Cover with a damp towel and allow to sit for at least two hours. (I let mine sit for 10 while I was at work and it was totally fine, this could also work overnight in the fridge. I would have liked to punch it down a few times but I wasn't home to do so) If you have time and want a bit faster route you can punch the dough down a few times and only allow it to sit 2 hours.
When you are ready to form your dough turn it out onto your floured work surface.
Divide it into 3 equal parts. Roll into long snake like pieces and begin braiding. From here you can either choose to get fancy with your braid and YouTube a tutorial, or go my route and make a basic braid.
Transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to rise for 30 minutes in a warm area (I let it sit on the counter near the oven while I prepared the rest of dinner). Before baking brush the top with your beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
Preheat oven to 375.
Bake for 25 minutes
After 25 minutes turn off oven and allow bread to stay in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Serve!
I have grand plans of making a few of these over the holidays, maybe with cinnamon and another with Nutella.
And then making french toast with them!
