Challahback Girl

I think my big city snobbery is wearing thin on my friends and family here at home. 'What do you mean the library's closed Sundays AND Mondays?' 'What do you mean the traffic lights turn off after midnight?' 'What do you mean there's no Jewish bakery??' The last one however can be compensated for. St. Viateur Bagel from Montreal (the best of all the bagels, in my opinion) delivers to a local grocery store, making for easier access than in Toronto. As soon as I have access to a freezer of my own aka when I sort of grow up, it will be stocked with mail-ordered bagels, ice cream and booze. Somewhat surprisingly, I am not in fact obese.

But bagels are only one part of the equation. Homemade challah is something I've made several times and never falls short of delicious.

Challah (Cook's Illustrated)

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, extra for dusting workspace
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs + 1 yolk
• 4 tbsp/1 stick/56 g unsalted butter, melted (I hate butter conversions)
  
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp hot water
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp poppy or sesame seeds (optional, but adds deliciousness)
  

1. Whisk together 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Mix together 2 eggs, yolk, melted butter, and 1/2 cup water in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook (if a KitchenAid mixer with all the attachments is the only reason you would get married, except possibly for EU citizenship, and that day has yet to come, use your hands-it works for me). Add flour mixture to wet mixture; knead at low speed until dough ball forms, about 5 minutes, adding remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to prevent the dough from sticking (this will take a bit longer by hand). Whisk reserved egg white with remaining 1 tbsp water in small bowl, cover and refrigerate.
2. Transfer dough to lightly oiled large bowl, turning dough over to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Gently press dough to deflate, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size again, 40-60 minutes. (Rising will go quicker in a warm area, I always end up sticking the bowl on top of the fridge-warm air rises and all that)
3. Lightly grease large baking sheet and set aside. Transfer dough to lightly floured workspace. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one roughly half the size of the other. Divide large piece into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 16-inch rope, about 1 inch in diameter. Line up ropes side by side and pinch ends together. Braid, and pinch other ends together. Place braid on baking sheet. Do the same with the smaller piece of dough, brushing some of the egg white mixture on the top of the larger braid before placing smaller braid on top, as shown. Loosely drape loaf with plastic wrap and let rise until loaf becomes puffy and increases in size by one third, 30-45 minutes.
4. Heat oven to 175˚. Brush loaf with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if using. Bake until loaf is goldern brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into side of loaf reads 190˚, 30-40 minutes. Place baking sheet on wire rack. Cool loaf completely before slicing.