AuthorSteve Nubie
The traditional bread for any Jewish meal is Challah bread. It’s essentially a white bread with a twist. And we mean a literal twist. The bread is a series of braided ropes of dough and we’re going to go all out and do the classic and complex 12-tribes loaf with 12 braids.
We covered this recipe once before with a simple 3-braid approach, but this time we’re going to go for a 12-braid symbolizing the 12 Tribes of Israel. It’s not as hard as it sounds and we’ll give you photos that will take you through the process step-by-step.
Place the water, egg yolks, salt oil, flour, sugar and yeast in the bread pan in the order indicated in the recipe. Select the dough cycle.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Divide the dough in half. And then divide again until you have 12 equal sized chunks of dough
Roll each section into a long strand. I usually try for 20 to 24 inches because it will shorten as you braid the bread.
Place all 12 of the strands next to each other and begin with the strand on the far left and fold it over the other 11 strands. Grab the strand on the far right and fold it over the opposite way. Move towards the next long strand on the left and continue and repeat back and forth. When all twelve strands have been overlaid over each other repeat the process. Pinch the base of the strands. (check the photos)
Place on a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet and braid the dough by laying over each other -one strand at a time. Let the Challah rise, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.
Brush the Challah with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, the poppy seeds, or a combination of both. You can also bake it plain.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F or until brown. Let it rest and served or after cooling, wrap in plastic wrap and save at room temperature until you’re ready to eat.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the water, egg yolks, salt oil, flour, sugar and yeast in the bread pan in the order indicated in the recipe. Select the dough cycle.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Divide the dough in half. And then divide again until you have 12 equal sized chunks of dough
Roll each section into a long strand. I usually try for 20 to 24 inches because it will shorten as you braid the bread.
Place all 12 of the strands next to each other and begin with the strand on the far left and fold it over the other 11 strands. Grab the strand on the far right and fold it over the opposite way. Move towards the next long strand on the left and continue and repeat back and forth. When all twelve strands have been overlaid over each other repeat the process. Pinch the base of the strands. (check the photos)
Place on a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet and braid the dough by laying over each other -one strand at a time. Let the Challah rise, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.
Brush the Challah with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, the poppy seeds, or a combination of both. You can also bake it plain.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F or until brown. Let it rest and served or after cooling, wrap in plastic wrap and save at room temperature until you’re ready to eat.
Hi.
I bought a Panasonic SD-2511 bread machine, and am sorry I did. I use, or try to use it, to prepare challah dough. This machine calls for dry ingredients first. There is no recipe that allows for either honey or eggs, but I add them as well as a few spices. I use dough cycles, which call for a rest period first – about an hour. The knead cycle, which follows, is about 15 minutes, no way near what my dough requires.
I’m sorry I bought this top-of-the-line Panasonic. Any suggestions?
I would contact the manufacturer and see if they’ll send you a new paddle. You could also put a small strip of foil over the spindle to increase the friction of the paddle on the spindle.