Commercial Style Challah MG

Sometimes you want a challah like your favorite Jewish bakery makes it: a little denser, a little more yellow, a touch more sweet, with a darker crust and great toasting abilities. This is that bread – but made by you.  I make this and slice the entire bread for the freezer, simply to be used as toasting or sandwich bread. It makes two smaller challah breads or one medium challah and a few rolls. This is a great bread dough to prepare in a bread machine on Dough cycle.

Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water
5 teaspoons dry yeast
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 yolk
¼ teaspoon egg yellow food coloring (in paste, not liquid)  *
1/3 cup oil
6-8 cups bread flour

Egg wash1 egg
Sesame seeds for sprinkling

* The use of  egg-yellow food colouring is an old trick from commercial bakeries. I am not sure they still use it but it makes for that somewhat more deeply yellow crumb. You can omit it but it’s fun to try.
Line a doubled up baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixer bowl, stir yeast and water together and let stand a few minutes. Then add in a cup of the flour and stir. Then add in remaining ingredients, holding back about one third of the flour so that you mix everything well. Then, using dough hook, knead on slow speed, add in more flour as required, to make a soft dough,  knead 8-10 minutes, until dough is soft but elastic. Dough will be more yellow than your usual challah but that is the commercial appeal (and the cheat bakeries used to use to make bread seem richer and more egg laden)

Gather dough together in mixer and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cover entire mixer with a huge plastic bag and let dough rise 45-60 minutes or until almost doubled in size. (A cool rise is fine too).

Gentle deflate dough and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide in two (one part is 2/3’s the dough, the rest, save for 3-5 challah rolls or make two smaller braids). Let rest 10 minutes and then form the larger portion into two or three ropes and braid. Make rolls of the remaining dough (this is what I do but feel free to make two smaller loaves instead). Place on the prepared baking sheet.

Spray the loaf with non-stick cooking spray and cover loosely with a large plastic bag. Let rise until almost doubled and then glaze with egg wash. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place in oven, immediately lowering temperature to 350 F. Bake until done, about 35-45 minutes. Cool well before serving.

Makes 2 medium breads or one larger bread and a few rolls