Whole Wheat Challah

Submitted by Gary Dubester

Ingredients: 

3 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups high gluten flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon instant yeast

2 large eggs and 3 large egg yolks plus enough water to measure 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons of liquid

½ cup oil

6 tablespoons honey

Egg wash: 1 beaten egg and 1 tablespoon water

Sesame seeds

Directions:

Measure the whole wheat flour and 2 ¾ cups high gluten flour in a large bowl. Add the salt and instant yeast and stir. Add the egg/water mixture, the oil, and the honey. Mix together and knead for a couple of minutes. The mixture should be sticky.

Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rest for about 40 minutes.

Add the remaining ¼ cup of high gluten flour and knead the mixture for several minutes. The dough should transform from sticky to tacky.

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and place in plastic wrap covered oild bowls or oiled food safe bags. Place the bowls or bags in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 3 days.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let the dough sit out for 2 hours to bring it up to room temperature.

Grease 2 9 X 5 inch bread pans. Divide each dough ball into 3 equal pieces and form each piece into a rope. Let the ropes rest for about 10 minutes.

For each loaf, braid the 3 ropes, fold the ends under and set the braided loaves into the bread pans. Let the loaves rise until double, approximately 75 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375. Brush the loaves with the egg wash and sprinkle seeds on the loaves. Spray the loaves with a water mist and bake at 375 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes. After about 3 minutes, open the oven door and quickly mist the loaves with water again. If the loaves are getting too brown, adjust the oven temperature to 350.

The internal temperature of the loaves should be 185 when they are done. When you take the loaves out of the oven, mist them again with water to give the crust a shine.