My challah recipe...vegan or not!

I love baking challah! It's relaxing and fun. But over many, many years of practise, I have come to realise that it's not about the ingredients.

It's about leavening, proofing temperature, the delicacy with which you treat the yeast, the moist of the dough, the breading with plump braids, the second raise and finally, the oven temperature!

And this secret ingredient: the LOVE with which you swaddle your challah, when it's ready, in a clean and magical tea towel.

And now, I've tweaked it a little, to make it vegan, because someone at my table is a vegan. Eating challah is a moment of inclusion, of sharing and of love -- preserving that is effortless!

---

This challah can be made vegan or not, I share the 2 recipes!

Challah vegan or not

.

Download • 74KB

Ingredients, for 1 challah bread:

Oven 25 minutes @ 175°C / 345°F with fan

• Yeast: 9g fresh or 3g dry yeast - 1tbsp fresh or 1tsp dry yeast

• Strong bread flour: 300g // 1 cup + ¾ cup

• 1 large egg at room temperature or 40g water for a vegan version

• Neutral oil: 30g / 2 tbsp

• Sugar: 15g /1 tbsp

• Salt: 5g / 1tsp

• Water: 140ml to start + up to 40ml if needed //½ cup + 1 tbsp to start and 2.5 tbsp if needed

Glazing:

• 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to make it more golden

• OR 1 tbsp of balsamic cream diluted with a couple drops of water (VEGAN)

Method:

1. Activate the yeast: stir it in lukewarm water and let it stand. The water mustn’t be too hot otherwise it will kill the yeast.

2. After five minutes, start mixing the other ingredients. The flour, the oil, the egg or the alternative water for the vegan version, the sugar and the salt.

3. Knead 10 mn, and add water if needed to end with a slightly sticky dough.

4. Place the dough in a large bowl and brush it lightly with oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until the volume has doubled.

5. Punch the dough and divide it into 4 roughly equal pieces.

6. Make plump braids like on the video, and start braiding.

7. Let it rise for another hour.

8. Heat the oven

9. Gently brush your challah with the glaze

10. Cook for 25mn. The loaf is placed on a baking parchment put directly on the oven rack.

11. Wrap in a clean tea towel when you take it out of the oven and let it cool.

Bonne dégustation!