Guest contributor: Chef Louise Mellor
This savory challah loaf is the perfect accent or centerpiece for your dinner table as a side during dinner or as an appetizer while guests are mingling.
Makes 1 large braided loaf
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 packet of active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
- 1/4 cup good-quality olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 large eggs
- 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (loosely measured) + 1/4 cup for garnishing bread
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped + 2 teaspoons for garnishing bread
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Directions
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the 1/4 cup water (about 110 degrees—a little warmer than the inside of your wrist), yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Wait 10 minutes to see if the yeast has activated; it should look bubbly and foamy. If it doesn’t, your yeast may have expired, or your water may have been too hot or too cold.
- Once the yeast has activated, add the remaining 1 1/4 cup water, olive oil, honey and eggs. Stir to combine.
- Attach the bread hook to a standing mixer, and over low speed, add the flour to the bowl 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the flour to combine each time before adding another. After 1 or 2 cups of flour have been added, mix in the salt. Once you have added all the flour, allow the mixer to run about 1 minute, then remove the dough to a floured surface and slowly begin kneading the dough, adding more flour as you go. Continue to add flour and knead the dough until it’s smooth and not sticky, about 8-10 minutes. You can also mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon in a large mixing bowl and once all the flour has been added, knead it by hand.
- Knead in the 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and rosemary.
- Lightly oil a large mixing bowl and dampen a clean dish towel.
- Place the dough into the mixing bowl and cover with the dish towel. Place the dough into a cold/off oven and allow to rise for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the dough from the bowl and punch down until smooth, then put it back in the bowl, cover with the dish towel and return to the oven to rise once again for another hour.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down until it is no longer sticky. Cut in half and then separate each half into 3 equal-size pieces.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the 3 pieces of dough into a small rectangle shape. Then rolling from the top down towards you, roll the dough into a rope shape. Gently roll the dough back and forth, toward and away from you, from the middle to the outer edges, to create a long rope about 10 inches long. Leave the center of the rope the thickest by gently applying pressure to the outside edges as your roll the dough back and forth.
- Place the 3 strands onto the baking sheet and braid. Brush generously with egg wash and allow to rise uncovered for 30 more minutes.
- Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush again with egg wash and sprinkle with cheese and rosemary; bake for another 15-20 minutes. The challah will be done when it is golden brown on the bottom. Allow to cool before slicing.
