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challah bread

Challah Bread with Dates and Dried Figs

5 from 2 votes
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Course: Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Tea Time
Cuisine: Medium
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 900 g bread: one large braid or 15 buns
Author: Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

For the bread

  • 500 g all purpose flour
  • 5 g instant yeast or 10g dry yeast or 20g fresh yeast*
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 50 g granulated sugar
  • 230 g lukewarm water
  • 1 egg
  • 40 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 40 g dates chopped
  • 40 g dried figs previously hydrated for 10min in boiling water

To egg wash the bread

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp water

Instructions

For the bread

  • Mix all the ingredients except the figs and dates until you have a uniform dough. You can do it by hand or using the hook with a stand mixer. At this moment you can adjust the level of water of flour if needed. The dough should be wet but not stick to your surface or bowl sides.
  • Add the dates and figs and knead the dough to incorporate. Don't knead it more than this, we want a really soft final product.
  • Place the dough in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic. I like to use shower caps so I can reuse them. You can also use bee's wax paper or cling film. Let the dough proof for an hour in a warm spot. I place it in my oven turned off but with the light on. Since that bulb isn't energy saving it emits a light heat.
  • After an hour it's time to shape the bread. Braiding the bread is a great idea and for that you want to divide the dough in whichever amount to strands you'll use. Roll them out a bit into cilindres and then flatten them out. This flattening will shape the crumb. Roll them into cilindres again but this time make them long so you can braid them. Flour the strands before braiding so they don't stick to each other. That also helps if you miss a step and want to go back. Alternatively you can make buns with the dough. In the video for this recipe I teach you how to make a 6 braid strand and also small buns which are SO easy to make. I recommend that you go check them out! Also you can make a 3 strand braid but I wanted to show you something a bit different.
  • Let the bread or buns proof again in a warm spot for an hour.

To egg wash the braid

  • Whisk together the egg and water.
  • Paint the bread with a layer of the mix and wait for 5 minutes and then paint it again.
  • The bread goes to a preheated oven at 180C / 350F for 30-40min if it's a large bread of 15-20min if they're buns. They should be golden and also sound hollow if you knock gently at the bottom.

Notes

*Si no usas levadura instantánea mezcla primero la levadura con el agua tibia y el azúcar usando con un batidor de mano. Deja que descanse 10min y luego la puedes usar. Ojo que si no ves espuma formarse es que la levadura murió y no la puedes usar.
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