Whole Wheat Challah , for those not familiar with bread machine

Print Recipe

I make this bread in a Bread machine. However, it is so incredibly delicious and the loaves are so beautifully shaped that everyone thinks that I spent all day in the kitchen. The trick is that I use the bread machine only for the kneading and rising. Then I form the loaves and cook them in my oven. The result is that you get the marvelous taste and texture, crust and all, of home baked bread. You will be proud to serve this to all your guests. It will become one of your easiest recipes.

For a quick meal, try serving Challah with a healthier, low fat cheese called neufchatel cream cheese. Both Horizon (circle U kosher) and Organic Valley (circle U kosher) make neufchatel that tastes exactly like regular cream cheese. Unlike the conventional "Lite" cream cheeses, they have no chemicals and taste really good. You can also pair the Challah with almond butter or cashew butter.

If you like spicy foods, try dipping the Challah in your favorite hot sauce. I personally love it dipped in olive oil mixed with freshly pressed garlic. You can also try Challah with Tahina and cayenne pepper.

Finally, this bread is so delicious that we most often enjoy it plain, with nothing on it at all. Bon Apatite.

Ease: super quick Type: bread Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: about 2 1/2 to 3 hours Yield:

Cook's notes

The more Wheat gluten, the fluffier the bread. Feel free to experiment. I once, by accident, added 4 1/2 T instead of 4 1/2 t wheat gluten. The bread was really fluffy!

I like the Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast (circle k kosher.) It comes in a jar and is less expensive than the little packets. Also, many of the other yeasts have additives.

Make sure that all of your ingredients are room temperature or warmer. Ingredients that are too cold will not activate the yeast.

Ingredients

3/4 c water
1 1/2 T Canola or Safflower oil
1 1/2 T Honey
3 Large Eggs
3 c Whole Wheat Flour
4 1/2 t Wheat Gluten
1 1/2 t Active Dry Yeast
1 c packed Thompson seedless raisins

Steps

• Bread machines typically knead the dough, let it rise, then knead the dough again and let it rise again. After the second rising, baking usually begins. You, however, will be baking the bread in your oven.
• Most bread machines have a setting for manual baking. Please use this setting on your machine. If you do not have a setting like this, just make sure to remove the dough before the baking begins.
• Some bread machines ask you to put in the dry ingredients first, others require the wet ingredients first. Either way, the yeast is separated from the wet ingredients as you put the ingredients into the machine. Please follow the instructions for your bread machine.
• Add all of the ingredients except the raisins to the bread machine. You are now free to do something else for about 20 minutes.
• When you come back to the bread machine, make sure that it has finished the first kneading. Add the raisins. Just open the machine and put them on top of the dough. Check and see when the second kneading and rising will be done. You can remove the dough from the bread machine immediately after the second kneading or wait until after the dough has risen a second time. It depends upon your convenience. I haven't found that either having or eliminating the second rising is critical for success.
• Usually you will have a couple of hours to go do something else before you need to go back to the bread. I have actually left it for over 3 hours and it was fine.
• When you come back, the raisins should be finely chopped and thoroughly incorporated into the dough. Remove the dough from the machine.
• Separate the dough into 3 equal parts. Taking each part in turn, squeeze and pull the dough until it looks like a rope. It should be about a foot long with a 1 1/2 inch diameter. Braid the three ropes. Pinch the ends together firmly.
  
  
• Place the braided dough on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. If it is a non-stick cookie sheet, no need to oil. Cover the braided dough with a slightly damp towel and put it in a warm place to rise. Ideally, if your oven will allow for such low temperatures, you can use a 110°F oven.
• Pre-heat oven to convection bake 350°F. For a regular oven, pre-heat to 375°F. Leave the Challah to rise until it has doubled its size, 1/2 hour to an hour.
• Remove the towel and bake 30 to 40 minutes.
• IMPORTANT: Because of the raisins, the challah burns fast. Check it after 30 minutes. When it is finished, it will be brown and make a hollow sound when you thump the bottom.

Read article