Making chili cheese fries, one of my favorite snacks, is simple when done this way.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 50 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 2 to 1 1/2 – pound loaves |
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups bread flour
- 1 egg white, beaten
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the oil, salt and 3 cups flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into two long oval loaves. Place on two lightly greased baking sheets. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Just before baking, give the risen loaves three shallow slashes with a sharp knife. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, turn heat down to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), brush with beaten egg white. Return loaves to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped.
Reviews
This recipe is missing a key ingredient present in every other Challah recipe I’ve ever made or seen- eggs. By its very definition, Challah is a “traditional Jewish egg bread”. The recipe is also lacking enough salt. I would suggest adding 1/2 teaspoon more. Definitely add the last three cups of flour 1/2 cup at a time. I should have stopped at 5 cups of flour, but ended up adding a little extra warm water when my dough became too stiff at 5 1/2 cups. After kneading, this dough was a dream to work with. If I make this again, I would replace some of the water with eggs and add more salt. (The addition of eggs might make extra salt unnecessary.) Also, the directions for forming the loaves are very vague. It would help to know about how long the formed loaves should be before baking. I made one loaf in the “weiner dog style” and divided the other into 3 ropes and braided for a more traditional looking Challah.