Challah by Peter Reinhart in the oven - recipe photographed on Mcooker: the best recipes

Hala by Peter Reinhart in the oven

Category: Yeast bread

Ingredients
Wheat flour *)	500 g
Sugar **)	28 g
Salt	7 g
Vegetable oil	28 g
Egg	2 pcs
Egg yolk	2 pcs
Dry yeast	4 g
Water ***)	200 - 250 g
Protein for lubrication	2 pcs
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds for sprinkling	50 g

Cooking method

1... Combine flour *), sugar **), salt and yeast in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine water (200 ml), eggs, yolks and butter and add to flour, stirring with a spoon (or at low speed in a mixer) until all ingredients are combined and stick together into a ball. Add water by spoon if necessary ***).
2... Dust a work surface with flour and knead by hand for 10 minutes
(6 minutes with a hook in a mixer at medium speed), adding additional flour if necessary, until a soft, pliable, but not sticky dough forms.
3... Grease a large bowl with vegetable oil, form a ball, roll it over the bowl so that it is completely covered with butter, tighten the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
4... Remove the dough from the bowl, mash (2 minutes), form into a ball, put back in the bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour.
The dough should grow at least one and a half times.
By rolling it means squeezing out excess gases.
5... Remove the dough from the bowl, divide into three (or more, depending on the way of weaving). Shape the dough pieces into balls and let sit for 10 minutes.
6... Roll the balls into strands of equal length, thicker in the middle, thinner at the ends, and braid. If the dough is too elastic and shrinks, let it rest for 10-15 minutes under the plastic wrap. Place the braid on the parchment on a baking sheet, brush with beaten egg whites, brush with vegetable oil, cover with foil and leave to rise for 60-75 minutes or until the dough rises by half.
7... Preheat the oven to 175 ° C, once again grease the braid with protein, sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, unfold the baking sheet and bake for another 20-30 minutes.
Cool the finished product on a wire rack.

Cooking program:

In the oven

Note

*) I took 250 grams of premium flour and 250 grams of first grade flour for the dough. Otherwise, the dough is too tight, elastic.

**) You can add more sugar - the taste is much tastier this way.

***) Rhinehart talks about 200-250 ml. water.
I would advise you to start with 180 and be prepared for the fact that this will be a lot.
By kneading means squeezing out excess gases, I prefer to fold the dough.