Honey Wheat Challah Revisited (1/2 batch version)

I've never been happy with my wheat challah.  I keep trying to create something successful, and I never reach that success.  It's always tough and dry.  I've read a few suggestions around LeInterwebs... beating the eggs to soft peaks, adding milk, and adding extra egg yolks.  So, this time I figured I'd try the last option.  Extra eggs.  Here's what you'll need...

3/4 c water
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp honey
3 egg yolks plus 1 egg for wash (you can actually save the whites for a day in the fridge)
1/4 c canola oil
1 1/2 c white flour
1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt

Proceed as normal, as you would with my traditional 1/2 batch.

For this challah, I decided--more out of practicality than design--to give a second rise.  So, after the dough has doubled in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours), punch down and allow to rise again.

When I took this dough out of the bowl, I had high aspirations.  That it would be light and fluffy like my white flour challah.  It. Was. Not.  It was just as stiff and heavy as all my other wheat challot.  When I poked my finger in it, the hole would stay there.

Not to be completely dissuaded, I attempted to braid this challah, said a quick prayer and baked at 350 for 25 minutes (click here to read about how I really start at 375 and then turn the oven down...)

You can see hear how the strands even when rolling wanted to break apart. Didn't seem very elastic.

Success! Well, they looked pretty.

However, in the interest of journalistic integrity, one of the strands managed to completely escape from beneath the challah.  Thus, my challah had a bit of an extra arm.

But, here's the truth: This IS the best whole wheat challah I've ever made.  I know it's not completely whole wheat.  But, as I write this post 24 hours after baking, the bread is still chewy, flavorful, and actually surprisingly light and fluffy.  I think {science people, feel free to jump in} it has something to do with the fats in the egg yolks {you know, the really tasty, really unhealthy part} and how they interact with the whole wheat.

I'm getting closer to the perfect wheat challah, haverim.  Closer.  Closer.  Have YOU had success with whole wheat flour?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Eggsellent Challah... or... The Yolk's on You

{Insert further witty egg-related jokes here}
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I've been eye-balling Martha Stewart's challah recipe in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook for months. I looked around online for the recipe for you all, but wasn't able to find it. I'm not going to give you all the proportions but I will tell you why I've been hesitant to make this bad boy... 8-10 egg yolks.

Holy cholesterol, batman!

I've found a few other baking websites that attempt to justify this crazy quantity in Martha's and others' recipes.  "It's 8 yolks in two big loaves" ... "I'm sharing it with my guests" ... "It's just once a week."  Well, for The Hazz and I, we are fully capable of eating a full loaf (or two) when it's just the two of us at the dinner table.  So, I could quite justify it yet.

That said, I made my own proportions up. This recipe will yield two small-ish loaves or 1 medium loaf plus 3-4 small rolls. Here's what I did...

3/4 c water
.6 oz fresh yeast or 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tbsp honey
5 egg yolks
1/4 c canola oil or other neutral oil
3 c flour plus more as needed
1 1/4 tsp salt

To reach that 5 egg yolk conclusion, I cracked two large eggs (my normal amount for a 3 cup flour batch) into a glass measuring cup. This equalled roughly 1/2 cup of egg yolk plus white. Then I fished those two egg yolks out with my (clean) fingers and dropped them in a half measuring cup. I repeated the process twice more and found I wasn't reaching 1/2 cup even closely, but couldn't bring myself to use like 18,000 egg yolks. So I compromised with five.


Proceed as normal. Had I planned better, I would have used the egg yolks from a batch of egg-white only cupcakes I made earlier this week for The Hazz's birthday. But, egg whites will keep in a tight container in your fridge for a few days. So save 'em, and bake an angelfood cake or have some omelets.

Ohh, one note. I couldn't quite bring myself to crack another egg for the egg wash, so I just used the egg whites. That in combination with an oven that was originally at 375 for a previous item and turned down to 350 when I put in the challah produced a somewhat crustier and flakier challah. We're not quite sure how, but it was quite delicious!


The dough itself is a lot yellower than my regular dough but it felt roughly the same to braid. In the oven, however, a few of the strands broke apart (I'm not sure how!) and the bread itself wasn't the loveliest I've ever made. In the interest of blogging-integrity, here's the "ugly side" of the challah...

Will I make it again? I don't know. The Hazz said it was awesome, but we felt a little guilty about devouring it as quickly as we did. I'm not sure it was THAT much better than 2 egg challah to be incredibly tempting.

But the calories in this loaf? Omlettin' 'em slide.

View of Shabbat - Rosh Hodesh Heshvan 5772

Shabbat starts earlier now! And soon it will be even earlier after Daylight Savings. That means most of my recipes will now be coming Saturday evening or Sundays. But here's a teaser. It's EGGsellent.

Shabbat Shalom v'Hodesh Tov from our bayit to yours!